History of Softball



Posted: Saturday, February 18, 2006

by Kevin Stith

The game of softball has an interesting history. America has always been the most innovative and inventive nations of the world when it comes to sports. Softball is one of the finest innovations in the history of American sports. Softball is another close relative of the popular sport baseball, but with slight and significant alterations. It is very interesting to note that though softball has never gained much popularity worldwide, it has its genesis right in the nineteenth century. The very first version of softball was invented in Chicago in the year 1887 by a reporter from the Chicago Board of Trade. His name was George Hancock, and he tried to innovate a winter version of baseball.

Farragut Boat Club was the first venue where the newly evolved game of what was then known as ‘indoor baseball’ was first played. There are many humorous incidents which have proven to be one of the most important developments of the game. Instead of a specialized glove for the game, a boxing glove was tied to the ball. Instead of a specialized bat, a broom handle was used to hit the ball.

IN 1895 came the first time softball was played as an outdoor game, in Minneapolis. Firefighters played it for exercise. The game of softball at that time was known as kitten ball. After years of development in the game, the first ever softball league outside the United States was organized in Toronto, Canada, in 1897. Softball’s name had itself undergone a series of changes since 1926. Some of the names include indoor baseball, kitten ball, diamond ball, mush ball, and pumpkin ball. Standard and international rules were first agreed upon only after the formation of the Amateur Softball Association in 1933.

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