Crockey is an amateur bat and ball sport. It is played between two teams of 1 to 3 players each on a grassy field marked with a "split H," which separates the two sides and delineates boundaries. The ball is propelled back and forth between the two sides with the bat, hands and feet. A team scores a point by getting the ball to stop on the opposing team's side.

Crockey bears similarities to several other sports. It has been compared to field hockey and cricket, and its name derives from those two sports. It also uses equipment from the games of baseball and softball. However, it is more similar in play to sports like tennis or volleyball, which involve returning a ball to the opposing team's court.

The sport can appear chaotic to the untrained observer, as it involves several different ways of propelling the ball that can appear at first to be indiscernible from other illegal "touches." It is nonetheless easy to pick up the game by participating, and participation can become an hours-long test of endurance, strength and coordination.

History and early development

The game was invented in 1997 by the Inman brothers, Joshua and Josiah, of Seaman, Ohio. It began with an attempt to see how many times they could hit a softball back and forth with their bats while keeping the ball off the ground. This game proved unfeasible, so they developed alternatives for returning the ball, such as hitting it on the ground, kicking it, hitting it with the hand, or hitting it with a thrown bat. The game is now played substantially as it was then, with some minor rules developments.

The original crockey ball was a plain, unmodified softball. The repeated battering sustained by the ball in the game necessitated the use of yarn and duct tape to keep it together. The use of hands and feet to propel the ball also took its toll on the players, and this led to the addition of foam padding on the ball, in the interest of reducing pain and injuries.

The two sides were originally divided by a single thin line. This resulted in many exciting yet dangerous batting duels at the line, with opposing team members wildly swinging bats mere feet from each other. The invention of the "flying crack" maneuver (discussed later) also added significantly to the danger, with the hard ball flying at a high speed, and little chance for opponents to dodge line drives. These dangers proved untenable for more reasonable practitioners of the sport, and a "neutral zone" of about 7 yards depth was added between the two sides. This neutral zone is also referred to as the "buffer" or "no-mans-land."

The equipment and playing field

The equipment consists of one bat for each player, and one ball. Cones or other means of marking the field are used. A roll of duct tape for ball repairs is also often kept on hand. No protective equipment is required. Many players like to use spiked shoes such as those used in baseball, soccer or football. Batting gloves are also often worn to provide grip and prevent blisters.

The bats are typically wooden or metal baseball or softball bats, though the rules do not restrict bats to any particular size, shape or type. Other improvised "bats" have included field hockey sticks, fence posts, a wooden dowel, two-by-fours, and even a boat oar. The preferred bats, however, have been long, heavy baseball bats, as these provide a good combination of control and distance.

The ball, also know as the "crock," is a regular softball encased in foam padding and wrapped in several layers of duct tape. A Nerf-type foam is typically used to pad the ball, and this is accomplished by slicing the foam ball in half, coring it to the size of the softball, and reassembling it around the softball with duct tape. Attempts at making the ball more durable and waterproof by encasing it in silicone sealant have proven unsuccessful, as this results in a very heavy ball, and warm weather play results in melting. An oversized and padded "Chicago style" softball would also work well as a crockey ball, and require no modification.

A large, grassy field is the preferred site of play. While the aforementioned "split H" markings separate the sides and help determine foul balls, the valid field of play theoretically extends infinitely in all directions.

Each half of the split H is separated by a 7 yard space called the neutral zone. The lines on either side of the neutral zone are 20 yards wide and are called the frontlines. Two lines extend 20 yards from each end of the front lines at a right angle away from the neutral zone. These are called the sidelines. The frontlines and sidelines may be marked with string, paint, or chalk, or they may simply be defined by cones. Each side consists of 1 frontline and 2 sidelines, which form 3 sides of a square. The square is completed by an unmarked line opposite the frontline. It is called the endline.

The rules

Each team may have between 1 and 3 players on the field. Additional players may be substituted. Each player has a bat. There are no designated positions, and players may switch positions at any time during play. The name of a player's position depends entirely on where he or she is playing, and what role is being fulfilled. In three-player teams, there is typically one person, called the "front" or "server," playing at the frontline, and two people, called "backfielders" playing behind and to the left or right of the front. There are other configurations, such as two fronts and one backfielder. It is not uncommon for a backfielder to follow the ball forward and play momentarily as a front.

One point is awarded each time the opposing team fails to return the ball to the other side. A game is won when a team scores 10 points. Games must be won by at least 2 points, so it is possible for a game to extend well beyond 10 points. The teams switch sides once per game. The switch occurs after the sum of the teams' scores is 10.

The team that serves first is chosen at random. The player designated as the server (usually the front) begins play by tossing the ball up and hitting it to the other side. Alternatively, the server may place the ball on the ground and strike it from there. The server and the ball must both be behind the frontline and between the sidelines during service. The ball must cross the opposing team's frontline without crossing either of their sidelines to be fair. A ball that crosses the endline is fair as long as it meets these two criteria. If the server fails on the first serve attempt, a strike or foul is called. If the server fails on the second attempt, the other team wins the serve. No point is awarded. If the serve is in the air and the other team succeeds in touching it with a bat (called "batting it down") before it touches the ground, they automatically win the serve, even if the serve was foul (crossed a sideline). No point is awarded.

If the serve is fair and is not batted down, play continues. The receiving team must return the ball to the other side before it stops moving, thus becoming a "dead ball." They do this by propelling the ball in the following ways:

1. Hitting or "cracking" the ball with the bat held in the hand or hands. There is a limit of three hits per team every time the ball is received.
2. Kicking the ball once. Any touch of the ball below the knees, intentional or not, is considered a kick.
3. "Scooping" and/or "smacking" the ball, or touching it with any part of the hand once.
4. "Bunting" the ball once by throwing the bat at it to keep it moving. This is a desperation move, and is rarely used. This does not count as a hit.
5. Players may hit the ball with their head as many times as they like.

The scoop has special rules governing its proper use. The ball may not be grasped and thrown in the usual manner. It must rest in the hand, rather than being clutched. It must also be kept moving in one smooth, continuous motion. A ball that is tossed in the air after a scoop may also be "smacked" once by the same player while it is in the air. This is still considered one scoop. The ball may also be clutched momentarily to lift it from the ground and toss it into the air. This must be accomplished with a brief motion, so as not to qualify as a hold, and may be followed by a smack. However, it is typically followed by the player hitting the ball with the bat in a combination maneuver called the "flying crack." This counts as a scoop and a hit.

If a team fails to keep the ball moving or return it by using these methods, or exceeds the limits put on each type of maneuver, the ball is dead and the other team scores a point. To be called fair, the returned ball must cross the returning team's frontline, the neutral zone, and the receiving team's frontline without crossing either of the receiving team's sidelines before they touch the ball. A returned ball that crosses the receiving team's sideline after hitting any part of a receiving player or bat is considered fair, even if the touch was inadvertent.

The receiving team is allowed to hit the ball accross their own sidelines. Players may enter the neutral zone momentarily, provided they return immediately to their own side. The ball may not be played while it is in the neutral zone. The neutral zone is defined on either side by the imaginary extension of the team's sidelines. The returning team may continue playing a ball if it has exited the neutral zone without crossing the opposing team's frontline. At no time may a player enter the opposing team's square, as defined by the frontline, endline and sidelines. At no time may a player cross the imaginary extension of the opposing team's endline. Players may not interfere with the opposing team's movement or play of the ball.

If a ball comes to rest against a fence, tree, a bit of brush, or other obstacle not considered part of the playing field, it is called a "weedball" and may be played by the receiving team if they have not already touched the ball. The receiving team has one chance to remove the ball from the obstacle by any of the standard methods, though the scoop is typically used. If the receiving team fails to liberate the weedball, it is called dead, and the other team wins a point.

Though a ball that has come to rest is generally considered dead, there is a brief "grace period" during which an immobile ball may still be considered alive. If, for instance, the player has already started the motion of kicking, hitting or scooping the ball, or has already tossed his or her bat in a bunt attempt, and the ball stops moving during these player motions that have already been inititated, the ball is considered still alive until such motions are completed. If the attempt fails to move the ball, or if the player hesitates during the motions, then the ball is called dead. One exception to this is in the case of the "decoy hit," in which a player misses a crack attempt (intentionally or not) and immediately kicks the ball upon missing with the bat. The kick must be made before the player has completed the motion of following through with the bat swing.