History of Softball
By: Leah Greenich
Softball… it is a must. Softball is a game enjoyed by millions and is a major part in the history of sports. The game dates to Thanksgiving Day of 1887. After Yale’s victory, a man picked up a stray boxing glove and threw it at someone, who hit it with a pole. This was considered the creation of softball. George Hancock, considered to be the inventor of softball, said “Growing up, I looked up to major league baseball players, and now these young women have amazing, incredible women across the board, from swimming to gymnastics to softball to basketball. It is incredible how far women have come and women in sports have come (https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords /softball.html). Softball is a symbol of a sport that men were known to play, altered and now played by women around the world. In 1965, the international softball world championships made softball an international sport. This shows that many people worked hard to have softball as a separate sport from baseball. That group was disbanded after four years due to the lack of funding. Shortly after, in 1991, The Olympic Committee decided that they were going to include softball as an Olympic sport. Although softball resembles baseball, we should still have softball because of the unique history behind the sport.