Indoor Base Ball - a Precursor to Softball
Indoor Base Ball was a precursor to modern-day softball. The sport was developed in the late 19th century in the United States. It was played indoors in various venues such as gymnasiums and armories during the winter months when outdoor baseball was not feasible. The game evolved into softball, and is not played anymore.
Cover of Spalding's Indoor Base Ball Guide from 1904 In an introduction of Spalding's Indoor Base Ball Guide, the sport was described as "having its origin in the aimless tossing of a boxing glove in a gymnasium". It was much more than that, and became a popular sport in the early 20th century.
The sport featured similar but modified rules compared to traditional baseball, enabling it to be played indoors in a smaller playing area with a softer ball.
Indoor baseball became a popular sport during the Wintertime baseball offseason, competing with Basket Ball at the time, and laid the groundwork for the creation of softball, which emerged as a distinct sport with its own set of rules and playing style.
Similar Sports
- Softball — a sport like baseball though the ball is pitched underhand, played mostly by women.
- Fast Pitch Softball — the competitive form of softball, where the pitcher's arm rotates 360 degrees around the shoulder until the ball is released from the hand.
- Slow Pitch Softball — a version of softball where the ball is pitched from 50 feet with half a windmill underhand arm action.
- Baseball — a bat and ball game in which the aim is to hit the ball and score runs by running around four bases.
- Town Ball — a bat-and-ball sport with similarities to rounders which was played in North America during 18th and 19th century. The sport was a precursor to the development of modern day baseball.
Related Pages
- Discussion about Extinct and Ancient Sports
- List of Extinct Sports
- Complete list of sports
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