Fuzzball is another St. Louis-made game, and like Corkball, it's a derivative of baseball. Southsiders see the sport as the minor leagues for Corkball. The rules are the same -- but the equipment is a bit different.
Sean Peters from Sportsman's Corkball Club said the ball used is a tennis ball but "you burn the fuzz off the ball with a torch." After the fuzz is gone, he said, "you could make the ball do all kinds of things."
Organized Fuzzball was a big ordeal at South Broadway Athletic Club back in the 70's and 80's. There would be upwards of 20 teams a couple of nights a week. Fuzzball even made it on TV. Local channel 24 would air the games. Peters said, "it was a way to keep your eye in the winter for Corkball in the summer."
Fuzzball in JeffCo
Meanwhile in Jefferson County, on an unsuspecting street back in the 1990's, a group of kids made their own Fuzzball rules. KMOX's Stuart McMillian was a part of that group, and he explained his experience on the team on Total Information AM.
The JeffCo kids wanted it to be as close to baseball as it could be -- without breaking any windows. McMillian said they mostly played on Hensley Field, which was named after the guy who owned the lot.
Stuart McMillian/KMOX news
McMillian said he and his friends used a modified wiffle ball bat with concrete and ash inside and duct tape on the outside. The strikezone was a sandwich board sign or a chair in the early days. Three strikes, you're out. No walks. They ran bases with their version of Fuzzball. Pickoffs were possible but no stealing was allowed unless the pitcher threw over. When there were less than six players (three per team), the pitcher could grab a ground ball cleanly as an out.
Stuart McMillian/KMOX news
Another place McMillian and his friends played often, as they got older, was at the Schnucks parking lot off Richarson Road in Arnold. He explained on Total Information AM that they had premission from the manager at the time to play on the side lot after 10 o'clock at night. The lot had a few overhead lights to keep the game lit. They'd play a series of games most nights, going into the wee hours of the morning.
McMillian said he's sure there were others playing Fuzzball out there -- he and his friends just didn't know it.
