Your Memories of Marbles As A Kid

[PittsburghMarbles]

I grew up in the mid 90s and when I was a kid the only marble related thing I played with were these plastic marble runs. I had a huge set and it provided loads of fun for me. I’m sure all the marbles I would have used were just Chinese cats eyes. I never played the actual game of marbles when I was a kid. I wouldn’t have a clue how to actually play the game of marbles; even though I spend ungodly sums of my money on marbles made to do so. 
 

Do you have fond memories centered around marbles as a young kid?  

[Steph]

Around age six I remember liking the look of the 1960's All-Reds.  And bumblebees.  Cat's eyes as well.  

I almost got to play some marbles when I was 11, but my mother wouldn't let me play for keeps so I had to turn down the invitation.    

Santa filled my brother's and my stockings with clearies in 1974 or 1975.  I would have been 12 or 13.     Teeny ones and big ones and everything in between.   I was mesmerized by those clearies.  

[Nantucketdink]

I grew up in the 70s and 80s and unfortunately the only bag of marbles I had were Asian made coke bottle cats.  Hard to believe I even got interested in marbles with that history.  However, my mother had a single small jar of marbles that she added to whenever she found a stray that was randomly in our dining room.  My Dad had a small container of marbles I never even knew he had stashed away that he gave me after I started collecting.

[Nantucketdink]

I do have a great marble story from my Uncle who took the lead shot out of a shotgun shell, replaced with a marble, and somehow managed to put a hole through one ceiling and out the roof of my grandmother’s house.  I can only imagine the trouble he got in.  I can’t remember more details other than that  it wasn’t shot out of a shotgun and was set off on the floor somehow.

[Chad G.]

My Grandfather, who was born in 1914, gave me his childhood marbles in the  60's when I was young. I have very vague memories of the event, but not good enough to remember what the marbles looked like. I do remember it being a pretty good mess of them though, so I'm supposing he was a pretty good player. It took me half the afternoon to fire them over the hill in my slingshot @ birds and squirrels. Sure would've been nice to know then what I know now  .....  

[Melissa]

I grew up in the 80s and the only memory I have of marbles is having them, liking them and playing with them occasionally. They weren’t anything as cool as the ones I have now. Probably just game marbles. I didn’t start my collection until last year. 

[Kimbernugs]

I remember playing marbles in elementary school at recess in the 70's. I wasn't particularly good and we played for keeps, so I vowed to practice and practice until I was the best! I never did and I lost them all. All Cats, I'm sure. 

[PittsburghMarbles]

8 hours ago, Chad G. said:

My Grandfather, who was born in 1914, gave me his childhood marbles in the  60's when I was young. I have very vague memories of the event, but not good enough to remember what the marbles looked like. I do remember it being a pretty good mess of them though, so I'm supposing he was a pretty good player. It took me half the afternoon to fire them over the hill in my slingshot @ birds and squirrels. Sure would've been nice to know then what I know now  .....  

go back and look for them on the hill lol

[Chad G.]

3 hours ago, PittsburghMarbles said:

go back and look for them on the hill lol

Believe me I've seriously contemplated it. The trees are 40 feet high and the brush is so thick you need a machete, that's over 50 years ago, I can barely remember how to navigate my backyard ...  

[schmoozer]

Grew up in the late 50’s-and 60’s. Marbles were a fun schoolyard game. Unfortunately they were better slingshot ammo. I did shoot my older brother in the butt one day with a wristrocket, paid for that one dearly.

we also used to take an old steel sprinkler head ( before pop-up heads) with steel 4” nipple, load a firecracker in where the fuse came out the nozzle. Load in a marble, light the fuse, and wham! Used a cottonwood tree as a target, so it was soft enough for the marble to imbed in it.

didn’t start collecting until I got some Vacor meteors from my MIL when she passed in 1998 or so.

[Carowill]

We played “pots.”  You dug three shallow holes side by side by side.  The middle “pot” was “winner takes all.” The one on the right was take a marble and the pot on the left was loose a marble.  You drew a line anywhere from 5-10 feet and tried to get your marble in the center pot to win all the marbles.  

[schmoozer]

2 hours ago, schmoozer said:

Grew up in the late 50’s-and 60’s. Marbles were a fun schoolyard game. Unfortunately they were better slingshot ammo. I did shoot my older brother in the butt one day with a wristrocket, paid for that one dearly.

we also used to take an old steel sprinkler head ( before pop-up heads) with steel 4” nipple, load a firecracker in where the fuse came out the nozzle. Load in a marble, light the fuse, and wham! Used a cottonwood tree as a target, so it was soft enough for the marble to imbed in it.

didn’t start collecting until I got some Vacor meteors from my MIL when she passed in 1998 or so.

The other thing we did was take a bicycle spoke and reverse the nut to create a chamber. We would cram some caps in it, along with shot from a shotgun shell. Hold it over a lit candle, and bang! My brother blew a hole thru his bedroom door…

these are things I never told my kids😬