English 1 paper history of softball

Submitted By ashleykendra17
Words: 475
Pages: 2

The History of Softball

When we think of softball, we think only women play it. But that hasn’t been the case from the late 1800’s to the mid 1900’s. Softball has been around for over 200 years. Today, it’s mainly played by girls of all ages. But do we ever wonder how softball came to be?
In about 1887, in Chicago, Illinois, on Thanksgiving day, A bunch of young men at the Farragut Boat Club in Chicago were patiently waiting to hear who had won the game. Once it was finally announced one of the young men picked up a random boxing glove, and threw it at another man who hit it with a pole. Not realizing what they were doing, what could be the start of history, George Hancock shouted, “Let’s Play Ball!”. The young men chalked out a diamond shape on the gym floor, used the handle of a broom to act as a bat. They then played a small version of what was known as indoor-baseball. Over a hundred years later, that game is known historically as the first ever softball game.
George Hancock within a week of the young men playing indoor-baseball, he had made an oversized ball and an undersized rubber-tipped bat. He went to the gym to paint permanent white foul lines on the floor. He then wrote the very first set of rules and gave it the name “Indoor Baseball”. This game became popular very fast. His game caught on very fast and it spread to Toronto, Canada in in 1897. In the year 1998 Hancock’s game moved outside and it was then called, “Indoor-Outdoor”.
As years went by the first women’s softball team was formed in 1898 at Chicago’s West Division High School. They didn’t have a coach for completive play, because women playing sports wasn’t very popular back then. It was very difficult to create interest among fans. But in only five years