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A Game is Introduced
On Thanksgiving Day a fan rolled up a glove into a ball at the Harvard-Yale football game. The fan hit the "ball" with a broom and they didn't need to use gloves because the ball was soft. This as the start of an indoor game and the beginning of a new sport. -
Rules
The Farragut Club wrote the first rules of the new sport. Every sport needs rules and this began the diffusion of it. -
Women Playing Softball
At the beginning of the nw sport women began to play. The first women's softball team was formed in Chicago at West Division High School. This impacted women because at that time women were starting to gain independence and a new sport that was similar to a boy's sport made them feel very independent. -
Moving
The new sport was then moved outside. The reason it was moved outside was because firefighters needed some extra exercise. Leagues then began to form and the sport from then on was played outside. -
A New Name
The game was first named "kitten ball" because the ball was so soft. It was then transferred over to "diamond ball" when the game was moved outside. In 1922, however, the name officially became softball and with a more professional name the sport got more attention. -
A League of their Own
The first softball association was formed, the ASA. The ASA stands for Amateur Softball Association. Today, the ASA is pretty much the leaders of softball and they regulate and change the rules and guidelines. -
Softball Around the World
The first international women's sotball tournament was held in Melbourne, Austrailia. The sport then spread around the globe and created softball players from all over the world. -
The Olympics
First olympic softball tournament was held in Atlanta. This sport became an olympic team. -
Explosion of Opportunities
As softball grew into a popular sport, colleges were giving women more opportunities for scholarships and this helped the sport turn into a pro league. -
Going Pro?
The International Women's Professional League was formed. -
Bad News Bears...
The International Women's Professional League folded. -
"The Real Dream Team"
The USA team won the olympics and became known as "The Real Dream Team". -
Softball Today
This game started out as a silly indoor game and became a popular world sport.