On This Day
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First indoor softball game is played at the Farragut Boat Club in Chicago

Softball is a variation of baseball, the difference being that it is played with a larger ball, on a smaller field, and with only underhand pitches permitted; where the ball is released while the...

Softball is a variation of baseball, the difference being that it is played with a larger ball, on a smaller field, and with only underhand pitches permitted; where the ball is released while the hand is primarily below the ball. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, Olympic level and the professional level. The game was created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hancock.

There are two rule sets for softball generally: slow-pitch softball and fastpitch. Slow-pitch softball is commonly played recreationally, while women's fastpitch softball was a Summer Olympic sport and can be played professionally.

Historical Significance

Softball is a variation of baseball, the difference being that it is played with a larger ball, on a smaller field, and with only underhand pitches permitted; where the ball is released while the hand is primarily below the ball.

Events Before

  1. Karl Benz patents the "Benz Patent-Motorwagen" in Karlsruhe, Germany, the world's first automobile with an internal comb

    Karl Benz patents the "Benz Patent-Motorwagen" in Karlsruhe, Germany, the world's first automobile with an internal combustion engine [1]

  2. Inventor Thomas Edison (38) marries 2nd wife Mina Miller (20) in Akron, Ohio

    Inventor Thomas Edison (38) marries 2nd wife Mina Miller (20) in Akron, Ohio

  3. William Gladstone introduces the first Irish Home Rule Bill in the British House of Commons

    The Home Rule movement (Irish: Rialtas Dúchais) was a movement that campaigned for self-government (or "home rule") for Ireland within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

  4. Painter Paul Cézanne (47) weds Marie-Hortense Fiquet (36)

    Painter Paul Cézanne (47) weds Marie-Hortense Fiquet (36)

  5. Nationwide demonstrations and strikes demanding an 8-hour workday begin in the US

    Socialism in the United States has encompassed various types of tendencies, including utopian socialists, anarchists, democratic socialists, social democrats, Marxist–Leninists, and Trotskyists.

Events After

  1. The National Geographic Society is founded in Washington, D.C., to promote "the increase and diffusion of geographic kno

    The National Geographic Society is founded in Washington, D.C., to promote "the increase and diffusion of geographic knowledge" [1]

  2. “Father of American Golf” John Reid first demonstrates golf on a Yonkers cow pasture to friends

    “Father of American Golf” John Reid first demonstrates golf on a Yonkers cow pasture to friends

  3. The Convention of Constantinople is signed, guaranteeing free maritime passage through the Suez Canal during war and pea

    The Convention of Constantinople is signed, guaranteeing free maritime passage through the Suez Canal during war and peace

  4. Industrialist Henry Ford (24) weds Clara Jane Bryant (22) in Greenfield Township, Michigan

    Industrialist Henry Ford (24) weds Clara Jane Bryant (22) in Greenfield Township, Michigan

  5. Crouching start first used in track and field by Charles Sherrill of Yale

    Crouching start first used in track and field by Charles Sherrill of Yale

More from the 1880s

The National Geographic Society is founded in Washington, D.C., to promote "the increase and diffusion of geographic kno

The National Geographic Society is founded in Washington, D.C., to promote "the increase and diffusion of geographic knowledge" [1]

The first electric lighting system employing overhead wires, built by Thomas Edison, begins service at Roselle, New Jers

The first electric lighting system employing overhead wires, built by Thomas Edison, begins service at Roselle, New Jersey

American painter Thomas Eakins (40) weds American painter and photographer Susan Macdowell (32) in a Quaker ceremony in

American painter Thomas Eakins (40) weds American painter and photographer Susan Macdowell (32) in a Quaker ceremony in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, until his death in 1916

Abolitionist Frederick Douglass marries his second wife suffragist Helen Pitts

Abolitionist Frederick Douglass marries his second wife suffragist Helen Pitts

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened on November 30, 1887?
Softball is a variation of baseball, the difference being that it is played with a larger ball, on a smaller field, and with only underhand pitches permitted; where the ball is released while the hand is primarily below the ball. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, Olympic level and the professional level. The game was created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hancock.
Why is First indoor softball game is played at the Farragut Boat Club in Chicago significant?
Softball is a variation of baseball, the difference being that it is played with a larger ball, on a smaller field, and with only underhand pitches permitted; where the ball is released while the hand is primarily below the ball.

Explore More

November 30 in HistoryYear 1887