Unusual Softball Facts!

Here are some unusual facts about Softball:

• Softball was originally intended to be an indoor sport which explains the shorter distance between bases compared to baseball.


• The reason softball is seven inning compared to baseball's nine is due to the actions of a Minneapolis fireman in 1895. He believed that nine innings was too long and shortened it to seven. This was adopted as the official length soon after though there are variations.


• Softball was known as various other names including 'diamond ball' and 'mush ball' before a Denver YMCA official suggested the name softball in 1926 when talking to the National Recreation Congress.


• Fast pitch softball was the dominant version of the sport inn the 1940s but its dominant version of the sport was short lived. The slow pitch version of the game was deemed to be the true form of the sport in 1953.


• Softball was not introduced to the United Kingdom until 1972.


• Softball has been an Olympic sport since 1996 but will not be part of the 2012 games due to a decision by the International Olympic Committee.


• In the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, Joanne Brown of Australia stunned the home crowd when her dramatic home run snatched victory for her country. The United States women's team have rebounded by winning the next three Olympic games however.

-Brianna Siemer