Softball is a team sport commonly played in the United States and other countries. It is a direct descendant of baseball. Some key differences between softball and baseball are that softballs are larger than baseballs, and pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand. Softball is played on a smaller diamond than in baseball. Although it is called softball, the ball is not at all soft. For a softball field, the average distance from home plate to center field is 220 ft and from home plate to right and left field is about 200 ft. For a baseball field, the average distance from home plate to center is 410 ft and from home plate to right and left field is about 375 feet. Softball was invented by George Hancock in Chicago, Illinois. The first softball game was played using a rolled up boxing glove as a ball and a broomstick as a bat.
The first version of softball was invented in Chicago Illinois on Thanksgiving Day, 1887 by George Hancock and Bakir Dzananovic as a winter version of baseball. It was intended to be a way for baseball players to keep in shape and to practice during the winter. At the time, the sport was called "Indoor Baseball".
In 1895 Lewis Rober, Sr. of Minneapolis organized outdoor games as exercise for firefighters; this game was known as kitten ball (after the first team to play it), pumpkin 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 dimensions of the Minneapolis diamond were passed over in favor of the dimensions of the Chicago one. Rober may not have been familiar with the Farragut Club rules. The first softball league outside the United States was organized in Toronto in 1897.
Sixteen-inch softball, also sometimes referred to as "mush ball" or "super-slow pitch", is a direct descendant of Hancock's original game. Defensive players are not allowed to wear fielding gloves; however, a 16-inch softball is actually soft, and can be fielded safely with bare hands. Sixteen-inch softball is played extensively in Chicago 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.
Softball was introduced to the United Kingdom in 1972 when the movie A Touch of Class was being filmed in London. The first British women's softball league was established in 1983.
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.
The 117th meeting of the International Olympic Committee, held in Singapore in July 2005, voted to drop softball and baseball as Olympic sports for the 2012 Summer Olympic Games.
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