Softball, especially fast-pitch softball, is considered mostly a women's game in the 21st century. But it didn't begin that way - it began as an offshoot of baseball for men that could be played indoors in the winter. It was first played in 1887 with a boxing glove rolled up into a ball (which was soft) and fielders didn't wear gloves.
The game proved it could stand on its own, and moved outdoors a couple of years later and was called “indoor-outdoor.” The Farragut Club wrote the first rules for this game sometime around 1889, and the game spread.
The name softball dates from 1926, and by the 1930s, similar sports with different rules and names were being played across the country, and into Canada. Rules and the name “softball” were standardized in 1933 as the Amateur Softball Association was formed.
