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Softball was
first played in Chicago in Thanksgiving Day in 1887. It was invented by
George Handcock. At first, they used a boxing glove for a ball and a a
broom stick for a bat. It was an indoor game of baseball. Soon, the game
grew very popular and a new bat and ball were introduced. The ball was
larger than a baseball and the bat has a smaller head. Soon, the game
moved outdoors. It really grew during the First and Second World Wars.
softball was intoduced to people all over the world.
Tn the 1930's Softball became more organized and in 1933 a tournament was scheduled at Chiago World's in diameter. In the 1930's, girls were banned from baseball because the thought it was too strenuous for women. So, they turned to softball and soon after girls learned how to make the game more competitive top prove that they could handle the strenuous activity. In the 1940's, Softball reached new heights of popularity. It extended from coast to coast and American woman participated in International Competition. The International Softball World Championship in 1965 devolped women's softball by making it a international game. A step towards the Olympics. Eleven years later, woman softball players were given the closest equivalent to Major League Baseball with the 1976 formation of the International Woman's Professional Softball League. Playser's contracts ranged from $1,000 to $3,000 per year, but the league disbanded in 1980 because of finacial ruin. A St. Louis Softball Hall of Famer recalls this league being the high point of her career. The popularity grew rapidly since the league declined in 1980. In fact, there is over 260,000 teams that register annually. All together that is over 5.4 million people that register to play. Every year Softball was in the Olympics, the US has domimated. We got gold in the 1996, 2000, and 2004 Olympics. |
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