State Games stickball event continues tradition

Spectators from multiple counties will come together this weekend for the 16th annual Choctaw Stickball Championship in Philadelphia, a competition that fans describe as a mixture between the “Choctaw World Series” and a family reunion. 

Part of the State Games of Mississippi, which hosts amateur athletic competitions throughout the state each year in June, stickball is distinctly unique from each of the 40 other sports featured in the event’s lineup. 

“Stickball is like a combination of baseball, golf, tennis and basketball,” joked Gurdy Farmer, who was serving as an official for Thursday night’s stickball match, with Pearl River’s team facing off against Oka Homma in the 9 to 13-year-old division.

The game, which many spectators often compare to lacrosse, is played with 20 players on each side of the field. Players hold handcrafted sticks called “kabotcha” in each hand. The point of the game is to advance the “towa”, a stone or piece of wood wrapped in leather, close to the size of a golf ball, down the field to the others teams goalpost using only their kabotcha. 

“It’s probably like the hardest sport there is,” said Patsden Williams, a defense player for Pearl River. “But I still like to play it.”

Eight teams will compete at this year’s event, playing in elimination rounds until the championship round on Sunday.  

“It’s almost like a family reunion,” said Craig Bell, who serves as coordinator for the Conehatta stickball team. “But it’s also like bragging rights. Just like NFL football, if you win the championship, you get to brag for the whole year.”

The competition and fun isn’t limited to players. 

“A lot of spectators come out to watch the game, because it’s traditional for the Choctaw,” said Gurdy Williams. “Everyone comes out to cheer for their community team.”

Despite being a chance for Choctaw tribe members from multiple communities to gather together, the game is well known for its rough nature. Matches are played without any type of protective gear, leaving its players vulnerable to bumps and bruises acquired in battles for the ball.

If asked, most members of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians will describe stickball as a “sport of the elders”. 

However, the games played at this week’s championship are small in comparison to the “traditional” matches once played by Choctaw ancestors, who used the game as a peaceful way to settle disputes. 

“The fields used to be so much bigger than this,” said Bell. “They would be acres and acres. Sometimes the goalposts would be maybe 10 miles away from each other… Old folks, grandparents would be out there, cooking hominy and stuff on the sidelines.”

While other tribes may have games considered similar to stickball, it is a game that is specific to the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, and one that is close to their hearts.  

“The Cherokee from North Carolina have tried to come down here and play, but other tribes have different games,” said Bell. “Stickball is special because it is only played by the Choctaw.”