History of softball General purpose: To inform Specific purpose: to inform my audience how softball was introduced, the inventor, and the softball leagues that were formed. Thesis: when we consider the history of softball, it’s easy to see how the game developed as a younger sibling of baseball. What might not be quite so obvious is how three other sports helped shape softball. I. Introduction: Would you ever think a boating house, a boxing glove, and a football game could invent such an amazing game like softball. II.
Relevance: people tend to think that softball was developed from baseball which is not true. III. Credibility: however I’ve played softball and learned so much and with further research softball was developed by three other sports. IV. Preview: Today I will explain how softball was introduced, the inventor, and the leagues that were formed. (Transition) First I’ll start by talking about how softball was introduced. Body: I. The history of softball dates back to thanksgiving day 1887 1. Inside the Farragut boat club in Chicago, IL(VA) 2.
A bunch of Yale and Harvard alumni anxiously awaited the results of a Harvard-Yale football game (SC) (Amateur Softball Association of America (ASA). i. Yale supporter picked up an old boxing glove and threw it at nearby Harvard alumni, who tried to hit it back with a broom handle. (VA) (Transition) Second I would like to introduce the inventor of softball. II. George Hancock(VA) 1. Was a reporter for Chicago board of trade i. He suggested a game of indoor baseball. Naturally, Hancock’s friends thought he was talking about playing a game outdoors, not indoors. ii.
Using what was available, he tied together the laces of the boxing glove for a ball. Using a piece of chalk, Hancock marked off a home plate, bases and a pitcher’s box inside the Farragut Boat Club gym, with the two groups divided into teams(Invention of Softball). (VA)(SC) iii. Hancock’s invention eventually caught on in Chicago with the Farragut team challenging other gyms to games. In the spring, Hancock took his game outdoors and played it on fields not large enough for baseball. It was called indoor-outdoor and Hancock emerged as the recognized authority in the 19th century. Transition) Last the softball leagues that were formed III. The softball league ( Ryan Haas)(SC) 1. Kitten Ball and Formalization(VA) i. Minneapolis Fire Department lieutenant Lewis Rober adopted the game of softball just before 1895 as a way to keep his firefighters fit in their down time. He designated that the pitcher deliver the ball from 35 feet. The bat used in the game was 2 inches in diameter and a 12-inch ball became the standard that would eventually spread worldwide. The game briefly became known as kitten ball after one of Rober’s teams, but later was officially named softball in 1926. . Slow-Pitch and Women (Woodland, Melanie) (VA)(SC) i. In 1933, a sports reporter named Leo Fischer and a sporting goods salesman named Michael Pauley had a 55-team tournament in Chicago that introduced the slow-pitch form of the game and also had a women’s tournament. The tournament was a success and the following year saw the creation of the Amateur Softball Association, which produced the first official rulebooks for the game. IV. Conclusion As you can see softball didn’t come from baseball. i. It came from three different sports ii.
It was invented with only one boxing glove and a broom stick handle ? Bibliography •”Amateur Softball Association of America (ASA). ” Amateur Softball Association of America (ASA). N. p. , n. d. Web. 04 Nov. 2012. . •”George Hancock. ” Hancock, George. N. p. , n. d. Web. 04 Nov. 2012. . •”Invention Help – Invention of Softball. ” Invention of Softball. N. p. , n. d. Web. 04 Nov. 2012. . •Haas, Ryan. “The History of Softball Rules. ” LIVESTRONG. COM. N. p. , n. d. Web. 04 Nov. 2012. . •Woodland, Melanie. “Original Rules of Softball. ” LIVESTRONG. COM. N. p. , n. d. Web. 04 Nov. 2012. .
