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74:, specifically). There are also fully official organized leagues for indoor fuzzball in St. Louis. Interest in the game was waning, however, at the turn of the century: by 2004, most serious players were in their 40s, with a decreasing number of new players becoming interested. Many St. Louis locals consider fuzzball to be a
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The batter may be out after one, two or three strikes. The batter may also walk after three, four, or five balls. If a batter is hit by a pitch, it can be worth two balls or the strike count may be reset. Once again, this depends on regional rules. If the ball lands behind a fence, on a roof, on a
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If small teams play, "ghost runners" can take the place of an on-base player who must go back to home plate to bat once more. Ghost runners move the same number of bases as the batter gets on a hit. For example, if a "ghost runner" is on second base and the batter hits a double, the ghost runner
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that has had its outer layer burned or worn off. The rules come from baseball and are modified to fit the situation, i.e. whether it is played indoors or outside. Fuzzball can be played by as few as two players; outside of leagues in St. Louis, the Bevo Area
Fuzzball League and the St. Louis Metro
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porch, or breaks a window far away it is usually ruled a home run. In some versions of fuzzball where space is a concern, hits are decided by how far the ball travels, in which case there is no running (similar to corkball).
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Fuzzball League and the annual Kearns Park
Fuzzball Tournament of Champions, it exists as a pickup game, which has been successfully transplanted to "players leagues" which play a quasi-legal, quasi-outlaw version in
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that were played in St. Louis in the 1920s and 1930s. Fuzzball Nation has hosted a tournament in South St. Louis City since 1982 every Labor Day weekend. John Enger serves as the commissioner.
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field. Serious players will also use a cigarette lighter or a blowtorch to burn the felt off of the ball, thereby making it much faster when pitched. Bats may consist of
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Indoor fuzzball is usually played inside of a large net with no base runners. Outdoor fuzzball can be played either on paved school playgrounds (typically marked off for
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The Sports Guy: In Search of
Corkball, Warroad Hockey, Hooters Golf, Tiger Woods, and the Big, Big Game
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Game length (including innings and outs-per-inning) also varies considerably from region to region.
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of St. Louis, Missouri. Markwort also makes an official fuzzball for use in games.
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Street Games: Memories of a St. Louis
Childhood, the Fifties and Sixties
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Fuzzball rules follow the same general rule structure as
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bats, or official fuzzball bats, such as those made by
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225:. AuthorHouse. pp. 1, 52–53.
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45:where it is called "strikeout",
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191:"The Sport That Time Forgot"
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189:Pierce, Charles P. (2000).
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76:minor league
60:Philadelphia
37:(especially
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350:Team sports
309:November 1,
262:"Get Fuzzy"
55:tennis ball
24:street game
334:Categories
303:0306810050
173:References
92:bottlecaps
72:Santa Cruz
197:. Esquire
125:handles,
102:Game play
82:players.
39:St. Louis
195:The Game
152:See also
131:corkball
119:softball
115:kickball
108:baseball
96:corkball
80:corkball
68:San Jose
31:baseball
17:Fuzzball
86:History
47:Florida
43:Chicago
27:related
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49:, and
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19:is a
311:2012
298:ISBN
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227:ISBN
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