Broken Windows.

In 1663/4, citing damage caused by children, Springfield, Massachusetts, passed a bylaw that punished anyone who played sports that might break Meeting House windows, effectively prohibiting most ball play. Within a year the bylaw was revised, no longer punishing those who played sports, but instead assigning fines for windows actually broken. Thus, in contrast to the popular image of Puritans as joyless scolds, sports in Springfield were regulated, not suppressed. The revised bylaw provided relief to four families within a mile of the Meeting House, the only "public playground" for their 13 children between ages eight to 12. Given that many Springfield families came from England's West Country (Devon, Somerset, Dorset, Wiltshire), children would have played games such as stool ball, trap ball, and cat. Springfield also had a significant contingent of families from Wales, where the practice of playing "fives" (handball) in churchyards persisted well into the 18th century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]