The History of Softball - a Significant Sport

Introduction

The topic researching for this softball essay is about the history of softball and why the creators wanted to organize a game that was like baseball. As the researcher, the hope is learning more on this topic is the find out the true meaning behind this game that is enjoyed still to this day. Learning how softball first started is something that should be talked about more and not just brushed aside to let baseball take over. Softball has a lot of meaning to many people, especially to girls, because it is one of the sports that they can shine in instead of always being overshadowed by baseball players. Softball brings people together in so many ways and helps build up teamwork at a young age. This sport needs to have more of a recognition in the world instead of always being a male dominated sport era. This research will all so talked about how the fans and community come together and cheer on this sport. How even the smallest fan groups of this can still make a big impact to the players.

Historical Context

Softball is a game that was created to match baseball back in the late 1880’s and was originally started by playing indoors. It is believed to have originated in Chicago, Illinois on Thanksgiving Day when it first was played indoors. They used chalk to mark the lines on the floor to show in and out of bounds for the game. George Handcock tied a boxing glove to make a pocket and used the handle of a broomstick to use in the game.

This game that first took place at night was one of the highest scoring game finishing at 80 runs in the end. Years after the first rulebook for the game was issued in the year 1889 by George Handcock. Within the next 10 years after softball first start, it was moved outside to a vacant field in Minneapolis. The term softball was created in 1926 by Walter Hakanson while he was at an event for the YMCA. It became to official name of the sport in 1930 since to term just stuck with everyone. “The game especially flourished as a women's game and by the end of the 20th century had spread around the world to more than 100 countries”. Today, the standard size of a softball in 12 inches in circumference in higher level organizations. Little league teams often use a 10-inch ball since young girls cannot grip the bigger ball with their small hands. When the game was first starting out, the original size of the softball was 16 inches in circumference. Thanks to Lewis Rober Sr. the ball was officially changed to be a 12-inch ball. 

After entering in the second world war, the United States needed a way to keep the hopes of the people alive. They wanted to fill the stadiums again, that once had thousands of fans, to bring joy back for the people who was not severing in the army or for the families who had loved ones severing. The owners of baseball teams decided to form an American women’s team to bring back the crowds. This is when the fans were introduced to the All-American Girls Baseball team and softball soon after was a sport all girls wanted to play. With the girl’s baseball team, it paved the path in allowing my women to play sports in high school and in college. In 1972 the Title IX act went into place allowing equal treatment for the women in school. Once being added to the athletic programs in schools nationwide, interscholastic playing of this sport grew bigger than most expected. “Today, softball is one of the most popular sports in the country, and an estimated 40 million Americans engage in at least one softball game each year”. Being able to play this game indoor and outdoor allows people to play during any season anywhere in the world.

Cultural Aspect of Sport

There are many reasons on why people start playing softball and their true meaning behind the game for themselves. Many start to play the game from their up bringing’s or from finding it on their own. To most it is a way of life because of growing up around the sport and to others it is a blessing from finding the sport on their own. It is a way of life for most girls who play because they spend most of the year on the field playing. Club teams go from the beginning of the year all the way to the end. Being apart of a club team is like being apart of family that has each other’s back on and off the field. Players build long lasting friendship because they grow up with one another all the way till college. Many start in a minor league then transition into a 12u or 14u club team after. Once making it to a 16u team, the “off season” is taking a break from club and participating in high school softball for three months. This cycle continues all the way into college ball and the family continues to grow bigger along the way. During tournament weekends, friends play against friends and no matter who wins or loses players will stay friends in the end. Once a year there is a “world series” tournament that allows teams from all over the world to come and play one another. This gives players a chance to meet others from different countries and learn how they play the game. Sometimes during this special tournament, teams exchange pins with one another of their team logo. Many display the pins on towels provided by the ones who run the tournaments. Other ways a team can learn from different teams around the world is by watching countries play in the Olympics. Even though softball hasn’t been in the past couple of Olympic Games, old footage can show young players what it is like to play on the biggest stage. It shows how many countries play the game and not just the United States of America. Though the United States and Canada were the two major countries winning most of the titles, they “spearheaded its growing international popularity and won a preponderance of international titles, but these nations are facing increasingly challenging competition from such Pacific Rim powers as Japan, China, New Zealand, and Australia”.

Conclusion

Softball is a sport that does not get a lot of recognition in the eyes of most people in society today. It is a sport that is only streamed on television during college season for fans to watch. Even though the sport is not as popular as many male sports, the community-built form this game is a second family to most. The fans are what make this sport so great and shows little girls that you do not need a big amount of recognition. Being able to know the fans on a different level is how this sports stands out form the rest. Hopefully one day professional softball will become as big as the other professional sports that way young players have role models they can watch on television. Softball is loved by everyone around the world and should be given a chance to form a bigger organization for professional players just like the male organizations. “In 2009 the ASA registered more than 245,000 softball teams comprising more than 3.5 million players in the United States, and sponsored more than 90 separate championships for the various kinds of softball”.

References

• 'The History Of Softball. Who Invented Softball?' Find College Athletic Scholarships and Get Recruited with Athnet Sports Recruiting, 10 June 2010, www.athleticscholarships.net/history-of-softball.htm.
• 'History of Softball.' WBSC, www.wbsc.org/softball/history-of-softball/.
• 'History.' Softball is a Champion Sport 'on and Off' the Diamond, www.softball.org.nz/Softball+NZ/History.html.
• Pruter, Robert. 'Softball.' Sports around the World: History, Culture, and Practice, edited by John Nauright and Charles Parrish, vol. 3: Latin America and North America, ABC-CLIO, 2012, pp. 387-389. Gale Ebooks, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX2729700862/GVRL?u=mcc_estm&sid=GVRL&xid=5ae856c0. Accessed 24 Oct. 2019.
• Riess, Steven A.. Sports in America from Colonial Times to the Twenty-First Century: an Encyclopedia, Routledge, 2011. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/emcc-ebooks/detail.action?docID=2005297.
• 'Softball | Definition, Rules, History, & Facts.' Encyclopedia Britannica, www.britannica.com/sports/softball.