When none of the outdoor basketball options were available, when the older kids had kicked us off the court and the garbage cans were full or another group of kids had beaten us to the idea, when the basket had been ripped away from the backboard somehow or for some weather-related reason we were stuck indoors but still wanted to play, even before the advent of video games our options were only as limited as our imaginations. Our New York City apartments were notoriously small but so were we, and we didn’t need much room to make it happen, just a little ingenuity. So even if not in its purest form, basketball was a game we’d always find a way to play.
THE BALL
Of course we couldn’t use a real basketball in our apartments, so we had to use smaller instruments. Those hard, high-bouncing Spalding (we’d pronounce it “Spall-DEEN”) rubber balls we’d use to play games like stickball or handball weren’t the answer, either, as they’d only end up destroying the apartment.
Anything we could find around the place, like a rolled-up pair of socks, aluminum foil or some paper balled up and held together with tape — an invaluable part of this entire exercise — was fine. It didn’t bounce and wouldn’t cause much damage. It didn’t need to have the same circumference as a regulation basketball, but it had to be at least slightly bigger than a Spall-DEEN.
So we figured out the ball. That was the easy part; now we needed the hoop, and determine the best place to put it. This is where the creativity came in.
THE HOOP
DOLL HEADS AND CARDBOARD BOXES
My earliest recollection of makeshift basketball was during trips to a cousin’s apartment, where we’d rip the head off one of his sister’s oversized dolls to use as the basketball and we’d spend an entire afternoon shooting jumpers and dunking into a cardboard box securely taped to a wall. The concrete walls prevented us from getting too wild; the narrow hallway served as the “help defense.” The other rooms in the apartment were either too congested with furniture or off-limits (like the living room). So the hallway was our court.
WIRE COAT HANGERS DRAPED OVER THE DOOR
During the more desperate times, we’d use one of those thin wire hangers and twist them to our advantage, placing the hook over the top of the door to secure it. But this method had several issues. Forming a perfect circular-shaped hoop was a challenge; we’d usually end up with something shaped like a rhombus, which would have a negative impact on the shooting percentages. And the wire was so thin, it wasn’t always easy to determine of the ball actually went through the hoop. In addition, the sharp edges of the hanger, especially the portion going over the door, would leave some visible scratch marks. We didn’t care, but we weren’t the ones paying the rent.
HOT WHEELS TRACKS AND SOME TAPE. LOTS OF IT.
Yes, those multi-purpose, plastic, orange tracks from the Hot Wheels racing set. In some households, these were also used as old-school tools of discipline when a belt wasn’t available, and we’d also use them as a basketball hoop when nothing else was available. This track was pliable and would form a perfect circle when curled up. Then it was just a matter of holding the ends together with some tape and somehow attaching it to a wall by using…more tape.
Of course, when it was time to use those tracks for their intended purpose, they had to be taken down from the wall, and the tape would often bring the paint from the wall or door with it when removed, so this idea didn’t go over very well.
PUFF BASKETBALL
Puff Basketball was good and potentially great because it came with everything you needed — or so we thought — but somehow failed to deliver on its promise. It included a light sponge ball with a plastic hoop complete with a net for swish effect, but we had the darndest time keeping the hoop off the floor. This thing came equipped with suction cups (not unlike the ones you’d find on the bottom of those $1.99 sneakers from E.J. Korvette) that — with a little moisture — were supposed to keep the basket affixed to a door or wall. Of course, this never happened, and after watching the thing pop loose a few times we ended up having to use tape, anyway.
Still this became the makeshift basket of choice around that time (early-to-mid 70s) as we’d actually take turns hosting some hotly-contested elimination one-on-one “tournaments” with friends. Those were fun, but playing with a ball made of a soft, spongey material that didn’t bounce did nothing for our ballhandling skills, and the low ceilings forced us to shoot line-drive jumpers. We’d still have to use simulated dribbles, but traveling calls weren’t usually part of the deal.
NOTHING MORE POWERFUL THAN THE MADE UP MIND
All those minor obstacles mattered little, however, as we were just happy to be playing, we were determined to make it happen and — working around the guidelines set by our parents — we did. As long as we didn’t break the furniture we could play for hours worry-free; the older kids weren’t kicking us off the court.
So take that!
