By Mike May
The 2024-25 stickball season is now underway in Wellington. Tuesday, December 3, was officially Opening Day for the Wycliffe Stiffs Stickball League which began its 23rd season of competition. The stickball games – always played on Tuesday afternoons – are held on the grounds of Village Park, located off Pierson Road, in Wellington.
This year’s stickball season has five teams competing throughout the season. They are the Brooklyn Bums, Atlantic Whalers, New York Egg Creams, Hoboken Zephyrs, and the Bronx Clippers.
On Opening Day, Brooklyn played Atlantic in the first game while the Clippers faced off against Hoboken in the ‘nightcap.’ In the first game, Brooklyn doubled-up Atlantic, 8-4 while the Hoboken Zephyrs and the Bronx Clippers played to a rare 1-1 tie. The NY Egg Creams had a bye.
In honor of past Opening Day traditions, a ceremonial ‘first pitch’ was each thrown by Marty Ross and Harry Klaff prior to the first game while Rob Martin, the general manager of the Wycliffe Golf & Country Club, tossed the ‘first pitch’ in the second game.
In this version of stickball in Wellington, there is only pitching, hitting, and fielding.
According to league director Arthur Spector, there is no base running involved, but just like in regular baseball, the games last nine innings and the team with the most runs wins.
“If there’s a tie after nine innings, a two-inning extra-inning session is held,” said Spector. “If the tie is not broken, the game remains a tie.”
Prior to the actual competitive games on Opening Day, all those in attendance gathered and removed their hats in order to sing “The Star Spangled Banner,” which is a weekly tradition.
The last regular season game for the Wycliffe Stiffs Stickball League will be played on March 18. The post-season playoffs begin on March 25. The league championship game is scheduled for April 1. The annual all-star game will be contested on April 8. Ross and Klaff are the only two players who have played in the league since its inception in 2002.
