Chicago Innovations That Changed the World-- Part 3: Softball

17. THE SOFTBALL GAME (1887) The sport was first played indoors in Chicago in 1887 at the Farragut Boat Club and got its name "softball" in 1926. Interest in the sport exploded after a tournament at Chicago's Century of Progress Fair in 1933. //// The first softball was a boxing glove tied up in its laces. A stick was the bat. //// It was started at Farragut Boat Club by bored Yale and Harvard alumni awaiting the results of the football game between their schools. Final score was 41-40, but no mention who won. //// Eventually, there came to be two different versions of the game. One is played with a 12-inch ball, requiring gloves. The other continues as the 16-inch style. //// Not Sure Why They Call It "Soft" Ball. You Get Hit In the Face and Believe Me, It's Not So Soft. --DaCoot