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6 World champions

The International Softball Federation holds world championship tournaments in several categories. The tournament in each category is held every four years.

As of February, 2004 the defending world champion of men's fast-pitch softball is New Zealand, while the current women's champion is the United States.

The current world champion of men's slow-pitch softball is the United States, while the mixed champion is Great Britain.

7 Origins and development

The first version of softball was invented in Chicago in 1887 by George Hancock, a reporter for the Chicago Board of Trade, as a winter version of baseball. The game, known as indoor baseball, was first played at the Farragut Boat Club. Hancock took a boxing glove and tied it into a ball. A broom handle was used as a bat. The ball, being soft, was fielded barehanded rather than with gloves like those which had been introduced to baseball in 1882. The Farragut Club soon set rules for the game, which spread quickly to outsiders.

In 1895 Lewis Rober, Sr. of Minneapolis organized outdoor games as exercise for firefighters; this game was known as kitten ball (after the first team to play it) or diamond ball. Rober's version of the game used a twelve-inch (305 mm) ball rather than the sixteen-inch (406 mm) ball used by the Farragut club, and eventually the Minneapolis ball prevailed (although the dimensions of the Minneapolis diamond were passed over in favour of the dimensions of the Chicago one). Rober may not have been familiar with the Farragut Club rules. The first softball league outside the United States was organized in Toronto in 1897.

The softball name dates from 1926 (in addition to indoor baseball, kitten ball, and diamond ball, names for the game included mush ball, and pumpkin ball). Standard rules were agreed on only after the formation of the Amateur Softball Association in 1933.

Sixteen inch (406 mm) softball, also sometimes referred to as "Mush Ball" is a direct descendant of Hancock's original game. Defensive players are not allowed to wear fielding gloves, and thus must catch the ball with their bare hands. Sixteen inch softball is played extensively in Chicago, Illinois.

After World War II, Canadian soldiers introduced softball to The Netherlands.

Women's fast-pitch debuted at the 1996 Summer Olympics.

8 Related articles

• Baseball
• Little LeagueLittle League is the name of a non-profit organisation in the United States which organises local children's leagues of baseball and softball throughout the USA and the rest of the world. Wayne, Michigan These "little leagues" are divided into four groups
• RoundersFor the movie of the same name, see Rounders (movie Rounders is a sport which originated in the United Kingdom. The sport is very old and it has been documented as early as the seventeenth century. Baseball and softball evolved from rounders see origins o
• RiseballA riseball is a pitch thrown by a pitcher in fastpitch softball. Upon release by the pitcher, the ball has backspin. The backspin on the ball affects the flight of the ball toward the batter. To a batter, the ball appears to "rise". Although called a rise
• a comparison of baseball and softballSoftball is directly descended from baseball and thus contains many similarities, however there are several pronounced differences. The primary reason for these differences is that softball was originally intended to be played indoors. The majority of dif

9 External links

• Amateur Softball Association
• International Softball Federation

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SoftballSoftball is a team sport for two teams in which the object is to score runs by advancing around a circuit of four bases, known as a "diamond". It is a direct descendant of baseball, (sometimes referred to as "hardball" to differentiate the two) but differ Softball roverA softball rover usually just referred to as a rover or sometimes a shortfielder is a position that is located in the middle of the outfield, between the center fielder and second base. This is in non-competitive softball, because the pitcher is on the sa Softball at the 2000 Summer OlympicsFinal results for the Softball competition at the 2000 Summer Olympics: Medal Team Gold United States Silver Japan Bronze Australia 2000 Summer Olympics events. Softball at the 2004 Summer OlympicsSoftball at the 2004 Summer Olympics was held at the Olympic Softball Stadium in the Helliniko Olympic Complex from August 14 to 23. It was one of the three sports at the Athens Olympics that was for women only along with Synchronized Swimming and Rhythmi Softball at the 2004 Summer Olympics (team squads)Below are the team squads for the Softball at the 2004 Summer Olympics which take place Olympic Softball Stadium in the Helliniko Olympic Complex, from August 14 to 23. Australia Canada China Chinese Taipei Greece Italy Japan United States 2004 Summer Oly