The Wycliffe Stiffs Stickball League started its 20th season of play on the afternoon of Tuesday, Dec. 7. The games are played on the premises of Wellington’s Village Park on Pierson Road.
On opening day, there were two games. In the season opener, the Hoboken Zephyrs blanked the Bronx Clippers 3-0, while the Long Island Whalers defeated the Brooklyn Bums 3-2 in the second game. The New York Egg Creams were idle on opening day.
Games for the second week of the season were held on Tuesday, Dec. 14. That day, Long Island played Hoboken, while New York played Brooklyn. The Bronx Clippers had a bye week.
Harry Klaff, the league’s director of operations, said that opening day was memorable and featured a visit from Wellington Mayor Anne Gerwig. She threw out the ceremonial first pitch and gave an uplifting message of support prior to the games.
“Opening day was fantastic,” Klaff said. “We also did a beautiful eulogy to our friend, Norm Graff, who passed away over the summer at the age of 94. We were fortunate to have his wife, Gladys, and his daughter, Randy, at the field. We made them very happy.”
League founder Marty Ross — nicknamed “The Commish” — was ecstatic to see stickball still being played in Wellington, two decades after its debut. The game is a street adaptation of baseball.
“I feel so excited and good about creating something that gives so many people so much fun and pleasure,” Ross said. “We’re 1,221 miles from Brooklyn, where we first started playing stickball, and we’re still playing on Stickball Boulevard here at Village Park in Wellington.”
Other key dates for the 2021-22 stickball season include the annual Barbecue/Hall of Fame Induction Day on Feb. 8. On March 3, the league will honor the Wycliffe All-Star Championship Team, which won the Palm Beach Senior Stickball League back in 2008.
The league’s post season begins with the tournament semifinals on March 29. The championship game is set for the following week on April 5. The league’s all-star game will conclude the season on April 12.
All games are played Tuesday afternoons on Stickball Boulevard at Village Park.
