Outdoor and Night Games: Hyrum in the 60s

Some of the games we played growing up were large community games.  These were games such as kick-the-can, hide-and-seek.  We lived kitty-corner from Todd Nielsen and I remember going there for some very large kick-the-can games.  This was hard on whoever was "it" because it was almost impossible to capture a large group before someone kicked the can and set everyone free.
In this game someone is "it" and attempts to capture everyone while also defending the can (a can placed in an open location.)  this could become tricky as if you went on direction to capture someone, somebody could come from the other direction and set everyone free.  However it was a good evening game in the summer.
Tag was also common.  Again we would often play in the Nielsen yard.  They seemed to have a big front yard and many of us would congregate there.  Different tag versions included regular tag.  However we would also play frozen tag, where the person "it" had to capture everyone.  If he touched you you were frozen until someone not touched yet could tag you and then you were unfrozen.  This game seemed to be a bit more even than kick the can and not quite as difficult for the person "it."
Other communal games would be participating in sports.  On day we went to the Nielsen'a for a big game of football.  Everyone had their own t-shirt upon which they had put numbers with magic marker.  I remember I tended to Willie Wood of the Packers.  One child, whose mother didn't want to mark a shirt, came with the numbers pinned to the shirt.  Some people just don't understand.  You can't play with pinned numbers because they are dangerous if a tackle sport.
We would also organize baseball games in our community.  When we first moved to Hyrum, there were two vacant lots next door.  We used these for a baseball diamond.  We would have friends from a couple blocks away come to play.  This would include the Wengreens, the Nielsens and the Burnetts.  Even Denny McClain would come at times.  We had quite some adventures.  This lots included hills form soil removal when they put in our house.  This made a nice home run fence.  Our bases were not always conventional.  We had a big rock as our third base.  Charlie was playing third.  One game a low liner was hit.  The ball hit the rock and bounced up and caught Charlie a good one in the face.  I can't remember where, but it was bloody and painful.  We replaced our third base after that.
We had some good fun.  When they finally built homes next door it did not destroy our baseball games.  We then moved across the street next to the Burnetts where there was a pasture which sufficed for a good baseball playing field.  Weldon would usually put these games together.  It is interesting because when he was 15 he started running Hyrum Little League games and organizing leagues on a broader basis.

SIU Saluki Football

When we lived in Carbondale, we attended many of the Southern Illinois University football games.  I would often go with Weldon and maybe a few friends.  We would rarely sit in the bleachers and watch.  More often we had our own game going in the grassy area behind the end zone.  Another favorite activity was to go under the bleachers when the cheer leaders threw miniature footballs to the fans.  A few would always fall through and we would pounce on them.  At the homecoming game someone actually offered us money for a ball.  I think we sold them one because we had a few between us all.  Other notable things about SIU football was the Saluki dogs.  They were the mascots, and I remember petting them at least once.  Also they fired a canon after every home-team touchdown,

I remember two dogs on leashes

field goal and extra point.  They were really fireworks, but they made a big boom.  There was only one game when there were lots of booms, because they were only mediocre.