Softball is a variant baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller
field. It was invented in 1887 in Chicago as an indoor game. It was at various
times called indoor baseball, mush ball, playground, softbund ball, kitten ball,
and, because it was also played by women, ladies' baseball. The name
softball was given to the game in 1926. A tournament (1933) at the
Chicago World's Fair spurred interest in the game. The Amate
Softball Association of America (founded 1933) governs the game
in the United States and sponsors annual sectional and World Series
championships. The International Softball Federation regulates rules
of play in more than 110 countries, including the United States and Canada.
Women's fast-pitch softball became an Olympic sport in 1996, but it (and
baseball) was dropped in 2005 from the 2012 games. Despite the name, the ball
used is not soft. It is about 12 in. (30 cm) in circumference (sometimes larger
for slow-pitch), which is 3 in. (8 cm) larger than a baseball. The infield in
softball is smaller than in baseball; each base is 60 ft (18 m) from the next,
as opposed to baseball's 90 ft. (27 m). There are two types of softball: in the
most common, slow-pitch softball, the ball, sometimes larger than the standard
12 in, must arch on its path to the batter, 10 players make up a team, and
bunting and stealing are prohibited; in fast-pitch softball the pitch is fast,
there are 9 players on the field at one time, and bunting and stealing are
permitted. Softball rules vary somewhat from those of baseball. Two major
differences are that the ball must be pitched underhand—from 46 ft. (14 m) for
men or 43 ft. (12 m) for
women as compared with 60.5 ft. (18.4 m) in baseball—and that seven innings
instead of nine constitute a regulation game.
The earliest known softball game was played in Chicago, Illinois on
Thanksgiving Day, 1887. It took place at the Farragut Boat Club to hear the
outcome of the Yale and Harvard football game. When
the score was announced and bets were settled, a Yale alumnus threw a boxing
glove at a Harvard supporter. The other person grabbed a stick and swung at it.
George Hancock called out "Play ball!" and the game began, with the boxing glove
tightened into a ball, a broom handle serving as a bat. This first contest ended
with a score of 41-40. The
ball, being soft, was fielded barehande.
George Hancock is credited as the game's inventor
for his development of ball and an undersized bat in the next week. The Farragut
Club soon set rules for the game, which spread quickly to outsiders. Envisioned
as a way for baseball players to maintain their skills during the winter, the
sport was called "Indoor Baseball". Under
the name of "Indoor-Outdoor", the game moved outside in the next year, and the
first rules were published in 1889.
In 1895 Lewis Rober, Sr. of Minneapolis
organized outdoor games as exercise for firefighter; this game was known as kitten ball
(after the first team to play it), lemon ball, or diamond ball.
Rober's version of the game used a ball 12 inches (305 mm) in circumference,
rather than the 16-inch (406 mm) ball used by the Farragut club, and eventually
the Minneapolis ball prevailed, although the dimenscluded "mush ball", and
"pumpkin ball".) The
name softball had spread across the United States by 1930. By the
1930s, similar sports with different rules and names were being played all over
the United States and Canada. The formation of the Joint Rules Committee on
Softball in 1934 standardized the rules and naming throughout the United
States.
Sixteen-inch softball, also sometimes referred to
as "mushball" or "super-slow pitch", is a direct descendant of Hancock's
original game. Defensive players are not allowed to wear fielding gloves.
Sixteen-inch softball is played extensively in Chicago, where
devotees such as the late Mike Royko consider it the "real" game, and
New Orleans. In New Orleans, sixteen-inch softball is called "Cabbage Ball" and
is a popular team sport in area elementary and high schools.
By the 1940s, fast pitching began to dominate the game. Although slow pitch
was present at the 1933 worlds fair, the main course of action
taken was to lengthen the pitching distance. Slow pitch achieved formal
recognition in 1953 when it was added to the program of the Amateur
Softball Association, and within a decade had surpassed fast
pitch in popularity.
The first British women's softball league was established in 1952.
In 1991, women's fast-pitch softball was selected to debut at the
1996 Summer Olympics. The 1996 Olympics also marked a key era in the introduction of technology in
softball; the IOC funded a landmark biomechanical study on pitching during the
games.
In 2002, sixteen-inch slow pitch was written out of the ISF official rules,
although it is still played extensively in the United States under the ASA rules
The 117th IOC Session held in Singapore
in July 2005, voted to drop softball and baseball as Olympic sports for the 2012 Summer Olimpic Games
Other sanctioning bodies of softball are AAU, NSA, PONY,ASA , ISC, USSSA, and ISA.
http://wikipedia.com
http://ncca.com
field. It was invented in 1887 in Chicago as an indoor game. It was at various
times called indoor baseball, mush ball, playground, softbund ball, kitten ball,
and, because it was also played by women, ladies' baseball. The name
softball was given to the game in 1926. A tournament (1933) at the
Chicago World's Fair spurred interest in the game. The Amate
Softball Association of America (founded 1933) governs the game
in the United States and sponsors annual sectional and World Series
championships. The International Softball Federation regulates rules
of play in more than 110 countries, including the United States and Canada.
Women's fast-pitch softball became an Olympic sport in 1996, but it (and
baseball) was dropped in 2005 from the 2012 games. Despite the name, the ball
used is not soft. It is about 12 in. (30 cm) in circumference (sometimes larger
for slow-pitch), which is 3 in. (8 cm) larger than a baseball. The infield in
softball is smaller than in baseball; each base is 60 ft (18 m) from the next,
as opposed to baseball's 90 ft. (27 m). There are two types of softball: in the
most common, slow-pitch softball, the ball, sometimes larger than the standard
12 in, must arch on its path to the batter, 10 players make up a team, and
bunting and stealing are prohibited; in fast-pitch softball the pitch is fast,
there are 9 players on the field at one time, and bunting and stealing are
permitted. Softball rules vary somewhat from those of baseball. Two major
differences are that the ball must be pitched underhand—from 46 ft. (14 m) for
men or 43 ft. (12 m) for
women as compared with 60.5 ft. (18.4 m) in baseball—and that seven innings
instead of nine constitute a regulation game.
The earliest known softball game was played in Chicago, Illinois on
Thanksgiving Day, 1887. It took place at the Farragut Boat Club to hear the
outcome of the Yale and Harvard football game. When
the score was announced and bets were settled, a Yale alumnus threw a boxing
glove at a Harvard supporter. The other person grabbed a stick and swung at it.
George Hancock called out "Play ball!" and the game began, with the boxing glove
tightened into a ball, a broom handle serving as a bat. This first contest ended
with a score of 41-40. The
ball, being soft, was fielded barehande.
George Hancock is credited as the game's inventor
for his development of ball and an undersized bat in the next week. The Farragut
Club soon set rules for the game, which spread quickly to outsiders. Envisioned
as a way for baseball players to maintain their skills during the winter, the
sport was called "Indoor Baseball". Under
the name of "Indoor-Outdoor", the game moved outside in the next year, and the
first rules were published in 1889.
In 1895 Lewis Rober, Sr. of Minneapolis
organized outdoor games as exercise for firefighter; this game was known as kitten ball
(after the first team to play it), lemon ball, or diamond ball.
Rober's version of the game used a ball 12 inches (305 mm) in circumference,
rather than the 16-inch (406 mm) ball used by the Farragut club, and eventually
the Minneapolis ball prevailed, although the dimenscluded "mush ball", and
"pumpkin ball".) The
name softball had spread across the United States by 1930. By the
1930s, similar sports with different rules and names were being played all over
the United States and Canada. The formation of the Joint Rules Committee on
Softball in 1934 standardized the rules and naming throughout the United
States.
Sixteen-inch softball, also sometimes referred to
as "mushball" or "super-slow pitch", is a direct descendant of Hancock's
original game. Defensive players are not allowed to wear fielding gloves.
Sixteen-inch softball is played extensively in Chicago, where
devotees such as the late Mike Royko consider it the "real" game, and
New Orleans. In New Orleans, sixteen-inch softball is called "Cabbage Ball" and
is a popular team sport in area elementary and high schools.
By the 1940s, fast pitching began to dominate the game. Although slow pitch
was present at the 1933 worlds fair, the main course of action
taken was to lengthen the pitching distance. Slow pitch achieved formal
recognition in 1953 when it was added to the program of the Amateur
Softball Association, and within a decade had surpassed fast
pitch in popularity.
The first British women's softball league was established in 1952.
In 1991, women's fast-pitch softball was selected to debut at the
1996 Summer Olympics. The 1996 Olympics also marked a key era in the introduction of technology in
softball; the IOC funded a landmark biomechanical study on pitching during the
games.
In 2002, sixteen-inch slow pitch was written out of the ISF official rules,
although it is still played extensively in the United States under the ASA rules
The 117th IOC Session held in Singapore
in July 2005, voted to drop softball and baseball as Olympic sports for the 2012 Summer Olimpic Games
Other sanctioning bodies of softball are AAU, NSA, PONY,ASA , ISC, USSSA, and ISA.
http://wikipedia.com
http://ncca.com