Stickball
The Choctaw Stickball tournament, known as World Series Stickball (WSS), is arguably the most exciting and thrilling part of the Choctaw Indian Fair. The tournament has grown over the years. When the first Choctaw Fair was held in 1949, stickball was an important event, but it involved only a handful of teams and was played more as exhibition games.
Today, WSS is a single-elimination tournament with roughly 50 teams in five different divisions: Pushmataha (ages 10-13), Tulli Okchi Ishko (ages 14-17), adult women, Men, and Men 35 and over. Because of the number of teams, WSS is played over the course of two weeks.
Exhibition games for beginners (Alla Tik Osi/Alla Nakni Osi), ages 6–8; youth girls (Alla Tik), ages 14–17; and older women, ages 35 and up, are played on the opening day of the tournament. In addition, a men’s (50 and older) exhibition game is featured during the All-Star Game in August.
These games highlight that Stickball is embraced across generations — played by our youngest participants and, in many cases, our oldest — demonstrating the enduring spirit and tradition of the game.
Stickball Rules
Players use handcrafted sticks (kabotcha) and a woven leather ball (towa). Each team tries to advance the ball down the field to the opposing team’s goalpost (a 4”x4”, 14-foot-high pole) using only their sticks, never touching or throwing the ball with their hands. Points are scored when a player hits the goalpost with the ball. A stickball game is played in four quarters, time dependent on the division. Men play for 15 minutes, women and 35 and over teams play for ten minutes, and youth divisions play for eight minutes each quarter.