digboston.com – Playground basketball in Boston is dying. Which is a shame, because for more than half a century hoops soothed the Hub during racism, violence, and injustice.

Jimmy Walker invented the between-the-legs and crossover dribbles on a Humboldt Avenue playground. Steve “Stro” Strother had more moves than Ex-Lax. Willis “Spider” Bennett could jump so high he could take a dollar bill off the top of the backboard and leave change.

For more than 60 years, Boston streetball players put on a free show every summer—drawing oohs and ahs from crowds, sometimes outplaying NBA all-stars, and always bringing palms together on hot city nights.