History Of Softball"A Fantastic Source for Baseball Information"
The history of softball can be traced back to a direct descendant of the sport baseball. In baseball, pitches are thrown over-arm, but in softball, pitches are thrown under-arm. Also, a softball is much larger than a baseball The history of softball shows that it originated from Chicago, on Thanksgiving Day, 1887. A group of about twenty young men had gathered in the Farragut Boat Club, to hear the outcome of the Harvard verses Yale football game. After the winner was announced, a man picked up a boxing glove left on the side and threw it at someone...who then hit it away with a pole.A man named George Hancock shouted, "Let's play ball!". The history of softball might have gone down very differently if he had never shouted that! Heck it might have even been forgot about! 
He tied the boxing glove into a ball shape, drew out a diamond on the floor and found a broom handle to use as a bat. He is now known as one of the most important people in the history of softball...he is known as the key inventor of softball.Over a century later, and people are STILL playing that game, and today that first attempt of a twisted version of baseball is known as the first softball game played. It wasn't long before George Hancock took his new fascination with this new form of baseball to the next level. "An Excellent Source for Baseball History" He created an over-sized ball and a slightly smaller bat with a rubber tip on the end. He also went and painted permanent white foul lines on the floor of the gym and wrote new rules to the game he called “indoor baseball”. Indoor baseball spread fast internationally. Many played it to keep practicing during the winter months, a great alternative to playing outside in the freezing cold snow! When the weather became warmer, the game was moved outdoors and the new name “indoor-outdoor” was given to the sport. The sport exploded in popularity and Hancock published indoor-outdoor rules in 1889. A fireman called Lewis Rober, played a huge role in the development of the game. He needed something to keep his fellow firemen busy while waiting to be called out to an emergency. He played the game in a field next to the fire station. "Your Baseball Site Is Amazing!" Because of the more fast, intensive action a smaller field and a larger softer ball created, he decided to limit game. He limited it to about an hours length by cutting down the innings to seven, and the shortened length of the game was favored. Records of the history of softball show that games between local firehouses were played, and attracted thousands of spectators...softball's popularity was increasing rapidly. "A Fantastic Source for Baseball History"
By 1913, the game was officially adopted by the Minneapolis Park Board and was played in parks and on children's playgrounds all over the city. Records of the history of softball show that it rapidly spread through the Midwest and Canada. As it spread, the size and weight of the bat and ball changed, as well as the name. Many new names for the game included; cabbage ball, mush ball and pumpkin ball. In 1926, softball history was made, when the game was finally given the name “softball”, after a Denver YMCA official suggested it. In 1933, a softball tournament was created to travel along with the world’s fair. 
Fifty-five teams were invited to compete in three tournament divisions; men’s fast-pitch softball, men’s slow-pitch softball and women’s softball. More than 350,000 spectators watched the games at the world’s fair. It was then that the sport was introduced to the rest of the world...the sport of softball had just exploded into a worldwide frenzy!In 1939, records of the history of softball show that the game was introduced to Australia, and Canadians introduced softball to the Netherlands after the Second World War. Later in 1962, softball was introduced to the United Kingdom, quite an ironic piece of softball history, as the game that baseball spawned from was invented in the United Kingdom...and now baseball's little sister has arrived! The first British women’s softball league was established in 1983. The Amateur Softball Association was founded in 1933. This was a big year for the history of softball as the association brought standardized rules to the game, including rules about different age groups, sizes of balls and sizes of pitches. In 1977, the American Professional Slow Pitch League became the first of three men’s professional softball leagues to play between 1977 and 1982. "Baseball-Brainiac is an Excellent Source for Baseball History" The first women’s fast-pitch world championships in the history of softball were played in 1965 in Melbourne, Australia. The first men’s world championships in the history of softball were played in 1966 in Mexico City. Since 1970, softball world championship tournaments have been played every four years and in 1996, women’s softball became an Olympic medal event. Today, million's of people in the United States, and the rest of the world play the game of softball...me included! Return from Softball ...to... Major League Baseball Alexander Cartwright, Baseball History Timeline, Baseball Playoff History, Baseball Records, Baseball World Series, Contact Us, First Baseball Game Played, First World Series, Gambling, History Of Baseball, History Of Softball, Major League Baseball Brainiac (home page), Loma Prieta Earthquake, Make Money Online, MLB Playoffs, Origin History Of Baseball, Search, Sports Betting, Steroids In Baseball, When Was Baseball Invented, Who Invented Baseball, Women In Baseball, World Series History, World Series Records, World Series Ring, World Series Trivia, World Series Trophy, World Series Winners You are on the page: HISTORY OF SOFTBALL Want me to add some extra information about the history of softball? Please feel free to contact me with all requests and queries.
|
