If you've attended any of the Jelly NYC Pool Parties since they started five years ago, you'll recognize this guy. The mysterious shirtless man who presides over the dodge ball games every Sunday is known only as Dodgeball Tom, the ubiquitous organizer of/participant in the hotly contested games. We've always wondered what his story is, so on Sunday we cornered him for a long chat about his passion for the dodging of the balls, the future of the Pool Parties, and his absurd struggle with the Man over the dodge ball in East River State Park. The interview, which was conducted at the All Saints Pub in the park, began auspiciously when we nearly ripped our shorts as we sat down on the deck floor. more ›

Last night we sent photographer Jeanne Wilson over to The 69th Regiment Armory to check out an attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the largest dodgeball game. The title was previously owned by San Diego, who had 450 in attendance for a game, but yesterday New York stole that honor when around 700 folks showed up to whale rubber balls at each other. Way to go, Team NYC! Check out some video below—the chaos ensues around the 1 minute mark. more ›

Take 100 middle school students, dozens of soccer balls, and one confined space and what do you get? A lawsuit! The staff at Intermediate School 219 in the Bronx used that dangerous recipe to pass by a rainy day last year. One dodgeball expert told the Daily News, "The force of those balls going across the gymnasium, especially thrown by middle school students, could be quite strong." more ›

When it's nature versus hipsters, nature usually wins. First it was the Brooklyn Kickballers being scared of the newly planted saplings in McCarren Park, and now this. The Daily News reports that 23-year-old Justin Calicchio was playing a game of dodgeball in Carroll Park yesterday when a tree branch came out of nowhere and pinned him to the ground. Yikes. He told the paper from his hospital bed that, "I blacked out. Everything is starting to become clear again. My girlfriend has been telling me about it and I'm starting to remember now." He is suffering from back injuries but was told he barely dodged more serious problems. A friend reported back saying the branch was too big and fell too fast that there was no escaping it. Calicchio has lived in Carroll Gardens his whole life, and says the tree has always been there, and "branches have fallen off before." Paging the Parks Department! more ›

As is so often the case, a game of dodgeball erupted in violence at a New Rochelle elementary school on Friday when a substitute teacher got into a fight with a third-grader. The teacher, Daniel Sanabria, claims he was acting in self-defense, but police have charged him with third-degree assault and child endangerment. It seems that the incident was sparked after Sanabria (pictured in his mugshot), who was officiating the game, called the unidentified boy "out," and the child disputed the ruling. Sanabria tells the Post, "He wouldn't sit out when I asked him to." more ›