Softball is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand.Softball is played on a smaller diamond than in baseball; a softball field's average distances from home plate to the center, left and right field fences are 220 feet (67 meters) for females and 250 feet (75 meters) for males (the corresponding baseball field average di...
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Softball is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand.Softball is played on a smaller diamond than in baseball; a softball field's average distances from home plate to the center, left and right field fences are 220 feet (67 meters) for females and 250 feet (75 meters) for males (the corresponding baseball field average distances are 410 for center field and 325 feet for left & right field 125 and 99 meters).
The earliest known softball game was played in Chicago, Illinois on Thanksgiving Day, 1887. It took place at the Farragut Boat Club to hear the outcome of the Yale and Harvard football game. When the score was announced and bets were settled, a Yale alumnus threw a boxing glove at a Harvard supporter. The other person grabbed a stick and swung at it. George Hancock called out "Play ball!" and the game began, with the boxing glove tightened into a ball, a...
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