Documenting Organized Wiffle Ball’s History
http://jonathanmpittssports.blogspot.com/2008/07/wiffle-kings.html
One of the best pieces of Wiffle Ball journalism that I have read (and it’s not just because the Stompers are the focus of it). Pitts hits on the beauty of the game and what I used to love about it.
Click Here to download the Inside Sports article on the New Jersey Wiffle Ball Association from the Fall 1997.
I have added a Frequently Asked Questions link to the right hand side bar to fill in the gaps for important players, organizations, and events until I can get the feature articles completed and online. To view the FAQ, click here or use the link on the side bar.
Wiffle ball goes big time—well, not so big
by Lee Green
If the phrase “organized adult Wiffle ball” has a slightly ludicrous ring to it, that’s because we invariably associate the white plastic sphere with childhood, backyard fields, and quirky ground rules. A one-hopper off the tool shed was a double, a shot over the boxwood hedge was a home run, and a foul ball into the fenced province of the neighbors’ dog meant the game was over.
That version of the sport still exists, fostering, as one enthusiast’s Web site puts it, “the ruining of America’s backyards.” But in the mid-1990s isolated groups of adult players—usually in their twenties or thirties—discovered on the Internet that plenty of others out there shared their passion. Adult tournaments have been around for years, particularly in the Northeast, where the Wiffle tradition runs long and deep, but competitive adult Wiffle ball has now grown into a thriving subculture of self-described “touring pros,” structured competitions, cash prizes, and slick playing fields. Forget the boxwood hedges; these guys swing for low, Fenway-green outfield fences eighty to 110 feet from home plate. And forget those plastic Wiffle bats, too. “That little yellow bat just doesn’t cut it today, especially against the pitchers you’re facing,” says Mike Palinczar, the organizer of two annual tournaments in Trenton, New Jersey, and one of the game’s premier pitchers. “If you’re up there with a yellow bat, you might as well give up.” Today’s players wield sturdier plastic or aluminum bats (including one manufactured by Palinczar) with names like Ledge Sledge, King Stick, and Wiffle Pro. A carbon-graphite model, the Moonshot, sells for $120.
Continue reading ‘Atlantic Monthly - July 2002 - Wiffle ball goes big time—well, not so big’ »
Wiffle ball fan seeks to throw his own curves
by Mark Sullivan
Boston Glove - September 28, 1997
ARLINGTON — If the ghost of Shoeless Joe Jackson plays Wiffle ball, he surely decamped from his Iowa cornpatch last week for a road trip to Arlington.
For a few days here, Pat Vitale converted his Farrington Street back yard into his own field of dreams — a miniature version of the Brooklyn Dodgers’ old Ebbets Field.
Sports Illustrated has covered organized Wiffle Ball twice, once for Rick Ferroli’s World Wiffle Ball Association (09/25/1989) and once for Kevin Piressman’s Hamilton Park Wiffle Ball Complex, home of the National Championships of Wiffle Ball from 1995 to 1997 (06/12/1995). Check out the entire article after the break.
Continue reading ‘Sports Illustrated - Not Just a Child’s Game - June 12, 1995’ »
from the Saturday, April 19, 1997 edition of the Washington Post:
A Bethesda Back Yard, A Place for Men to Be Boys; Miniature Wiffle Ball Field Is a Labor of Love
by Frank Ahrens
Back, back, back, back . . . GONE!
Brendan McDonald’s wiffle ball whistles through the air, easily clearing the eight-foot-high plywood left-field fence. The ball’s track virtually traces the foul line.
“Oh, that is fair!” McDonald crows, tossing the yellow plastic bat aside and stalking around his back yard, index fingers pointing skyward. “That’s 90 feet!” He knows that because the ball has nestled in the soft grass about 30 feet behind the wall, which is marked for distance (62 feet), just like in a real ballpark. Now, his roommate Steve Dolan is at bat.
Continue reading ‘The newspaper article that got me into the Wiffle Ball world…’ »
Click Here to download Rick Ferroli’s Guide to Running Tournaments and Setting up Fields
This 11 page guide is an interesting look at how the World Wiffle Ball Association (WWA) and later the New Jersey Wiffle Ball Association (NJWA) looked at running tournaments. The idea of running tournaments for profit was very controversial in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s. The reasoning behind the controversy was a basic question: Why should a sport in its infantile stages be used to make profits for a few people? Why not build a solid foundation for the sport and then when the time comes, make money in order to keep bringing Wiffle Ball to the next level?
Continue reading ‘Rick Ferroli’s How to Run Tournaments for Fun and Profit’ »
published in the Monday, August 21, 1988 edition of the New York Times
Catching a Wiff Of Homey Fenway
Growing up in Boston as an avid Red Sox fan, Rick Ferroli dreamed of playing in Fenway Park and taking aim at the famed Green Monster. Though he pitched in high school and college and as a semipro, Ferroli never made it to Fenway as a player.
Continue reading ‘Catching a Wiff Of Homey Fenway - New York Times’ »
Click Here to download the 1992 WWA Rule Book
1992 saw major changes in the World Wiffle Ball Association (WWA) rule book. Amongst the highlights:
Continue reading ‘World Wiffle Ball Association 1992 Rule Book’ »