Throw a ball against a wall

Ever wonder the purpose of those white painted boxes found on countless Toronto schoolyard brick walls?

Years ago, and almost exclusive to the Toronto, burby was the game of choice for many Toronto youth.

Also known as wall ball or balk, it thrived in pockets of Ontario - particularly in the GTA - in the 1970s and '80s, but its origins derive loosely from the once-popular stick ball, made famous in Brooklyn and Bronx, New York, circa the 1970s.

Toronto, which for one reason or another embraced the game as its own back then, added its own flavour to the game over the years.

Attempts were made to create a sanctioned league, but nothing took. Until now.

"What we've basically done is taken a kids' game so to speak, and brought it back," explained Adrian Golombek, founder of the eight-team startup Toronto Burby League.

"There's such a passion for it here."

"When I talk to some people about Burby they don't remember it by that name, but when I describe it to them a bit more, their lights light up...they remember."

The new league, with team monikers such as the Leslieville Brickies and the Roncesvalles Rockets, plays a 15-game season with an all-star game at the midway mark, which sees the city's east meet west. It basically runs in sync with the Major League Baseball's season.

"When I started this I really wanted each team to represent the community they are in. So for Leslieville, a hundred odd years ago the industry was bricklaying. In Roncesvalles Village, it was the TTC," he said, adding, "some of the guys (in the league) today are the same guys that played together as kids...and their playing in their own neighbourhoods."

The Beach-East York and Roncesvalles players are both particularly strong supporters of the game.

Greg Majster was an original member and helped launch the Bloor West-based Bourbon League in 1992. It's a 25-member team loop with four divisions: Parkdale, High Park, Swansea and Bloor West.

Most of the players who participated in the league were from Humberside Collegiate. Membership in the league began to dwindle as its members began to focus on their futures.

The league folded in 1993.

Local proponents of the game managed to start up another burby league for grade school youth.

"They were too young to travel outside of their neighborhood so they mimicked our league within the confines of their grade school," said Majster, who manages the current 10-player Roncesvalles squad. "I have a couple of those kids on my team now."

He contacted players in the Bloor West area, particularly those in Roncesvalles, which is a hotbed for the sport.

"The game itself is a schoolyard classic because you don't need much to play it. Just a box on the wall, a ball and a bat, a tennis ball and away you go," he said.

Golombek said currently the plan is to continue to stir up interest through local media and social networks. In time he's hoping for two divisions - a premier and a reserve.

"I want to approach the city and get an actual park instead of using schools," he said. "I want to make this sport legit again."

He's also looking at introducing the game to Toronto schools.

Golombek is urging former players and newcomers alike to contact a league rep at www.hometeamsonline.com/burby or on facebook.com<http://www.hometeamsonline.com/burby%20or%20on%20facebook.com>for more info on the league.

"Anybody interested in playing, by all means get your boys you used to play with together and come on out," he said.