I started school in 1989, but I remember recess very well. We had recess between K-6th grade at the elementary school. I believe we got a full hour outside. Reading the comments I see that I was lucky to have had a large group of friends in elementary school. There were at least 12-15 of us who played tag nearly every day. We also used to see who could jump out of the swings and land the farthest. Then we had tag and of course there was kickball. We had three outdoor basketball courts too.
I wish I could go back to those days. That was before the world went crazy and it was well before my health problems. In 2010 I had an opportunity to go visit the old elementary school before they moved to the new buildings and sold it. I couldn't get over how small everything felt. Even though I hadn't been there for nearly 15 years the same stickers and decals were on the windows and everything looked the same as it did. The classrooms were still the same. The math classroom was still the math classroom. The computer lab, music hall, and science rooms were all still there. It was like stepping through a time machine.
I also remember Recess the cartoon too.