Please Your Inner Player with These 13 Facts About Softball

Here are some fun and interesting facts about softball.

1)George Hancoc invented this game as an indoor activity in 1887. He was worked for Chicago Board of Trade. As an indoor activity, the game was played mostly in winter. But just two years later in 1889, the game was adopted as an outdoor activity as well and leagues started to be organized.

2)Not many people know that softball was also called The Kitten Ball after Lewis Rober’s softball team “The Kittens”.

3)Softball was included in Olympic games in 1996. U.S. Olympic team member Dot Richardson who was an orthopedic surgeon by profession scored the winning shot and won gold medal game.

4)It has been reported that during all the softball matches held in 1996 Olympics, all seats were booked for the matches. It didn’t happen with any other game at that time and this shows how softball was popular even in the 1990s.

5)Softball was the first ever game to be dropped in Olympics in 70 years. The decision was made in 2005 and during 2008 Olympics games.

6)The story how softball started is quite interesting. The history shows that during a Harvard and Yale football match in Chicago, a fan threw the folded glove at Harvard supporter who threw it back with a stick. This gave George an idea of introducing another game for the people.

7)The first ever champion of softball was held in 1965 and it was a women’s tournament. Interestingly, the championship was organized in Australia and not the US.

8)Softball is considered the safest play for children as well as adults. The percentage of injuries in the game is very low when we compare it with other games. According to American Academy of Paediatrics, baseball and softball pose less injuries to the players. Even these small injuries can also be prevented if players follow the safety rules and use all tools.

9)You might wonder why this game is called softball. According to reports, the name has been taken from the fun play when people throw snow at each other and as the ice is soft so the game was named softball. While there are many people who believe the name was adopted in 1926 but has nothing soft like the name softball. Now that you know this, let’s talk about getting some personalized sublimated Softball jerseys.

10)The reports reveal that more than 40 million people play softball in every summer and this makes it one of the most played games in the United States.

11)The US has won three of four Olympic appearances in softball. The first was held in 1996 that the US won. However, the game was dropped in 2004 and 2008. It was Japan that won the last softball championships.

12)It is the only game where you can pitch slow as well as fast. There are two versions of the game played around the world and both are acceptable. Some people follow slow pitch while others use fast pitch.

13)The Championship of softball is held after every two years. However, men and women’s championships are held in the alternate years.

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