RSA Softball

History of Softball

RSA

The development of Softball

• Softball developed as a younger version of baseball.

• Softball was started by elements of other sports of which were boating, boxing and football.

• A boating club, a boxing glove and a football game were key parts in the very first game of softball.

Multiple Choice

Softball developed as a younger version of baseball. What other sports were involved in the development of softball?

• Fishing, MMA, and Rugby

• Boating, Boxing, and Football

• Tennis, Golf, and Basketball

• Handball, Soccer, and Baseball

Introduction of softball

• Softball was first introduced on Thanksgiving Day in 1887 at a Harvard-Yale football game.

• A man from Yale playfully threw a boxing glove at the Harvard grads after the game was done.

• The Hardvard grad hit it bacl with a broom handle and so the game began to take place

Multiple Choice

When was softball first introduced?

• Thanksgiving Day in 1887

• Winter 1889

• Minneapolis Park Board 1913

• Denver YMCA 1926

Multiple Choice

Softball was first made by doing what?

• Creating an oversized tennis ball

• Using a bigger baseball

• Taking a boxing glove and tying it

• Making a huge rubber ball

Softball becomes popular

• The game that started in Chicago and Milwaukee became very popular and spread through the upper Midwest and Canada. 

• The game had many different names

• It was known as a different name (popular names were cabbage ball, mush ball, or pumpkin ball,) depending on the area in which it was being played. 

Multiple Choice

Softball had many different names, which of the following was not one of those names?

• Cabbage Ball

• Mush Ball

• Orange ball

• Pumpkin Ball

Softball becomes popular cont'd

• The game finally took on the name “softball” in 1926 after a Denver YMCA official brought the name up as a suggestion.

• Softball made a huge leap in 1933 when a reporter from Chicago and a salesman of sporting goods made a softball tournament to go along with the world’s fair. 

• A total of more than 350,000 people watched the games at the field inside the world’s fair grounds. 

• This tournament was what propelled softball onto the world stage. Teams, leagues and tournaments started to pop up in tons of U.S. cities and around the world. During the next seven years, it was estimated that more than five million people played softball. 

Standarizing the rules of Softball

• Amateur Softball Association brought rules that became standardized and were needed to the game.

• The association set rules for different age groups because it feels that softball is a game for all ages.

• A 12-inch ball is the standard with a lot of youth leagues.

• The size of the field varies with age and between the fastpitch and slowpitch games.

• The fastpitch game has caught the most attention internationally. 

Multiple Choice

This style of play caught most of the attention internationally. What style was it?

• Slow Pitch

• Medium PItch

• Fast Pitch

• Mega Pitch

Softball established for men and women

• The first women’ fastpitch world championships were played in 1965 in Melbourne, Australia. 

• The US women’s team has won six out of the eight tournaments. 

• The first men’s world championships were played a year later in Mexico City. 

• In 1996, women’s softball hit its highest peak when it became an Olympic medal event. 

• More than 25 million people in the United States alone now actively play the game of softball.