Softball is a variant of baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. It was invented in 1887 in Chicago, Illinois, United States as an indoor game. It was at various times called indoor baseball, mush ball, playground, softball, kitten ball, and because it was also played by women, ladies ' baseball. The name softball was given to the game in 1926, because the ball used to be soft.
A tournament held in 1933 at the Chicago World 's Fair spurred interest in the game. The Amateur Softball Association (ASA) of America (founded 1933) governs the game in the United States and sponsors annual sectional and World Series championships. The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) regulates rules of play in more than 110 countries, including the United States and Canada ; before the WBSC was formed in 2013, the International Softball Federation filled this role. Women 's fast pitch softball became a Summer Olympic sport in 1996, but it and baseball were dropped from the 2012 Games ; they will be reinstated for the 2020 Games.
There are three types of softball. In the most common type, slow-pitch softball, the ball, which can measure either 11 or 12 inches in circumference depending on gender and league, must arch on its path to the batter, and there are 10 players on the field at once.
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