U.S. Census Bureau Daily Feature for November 30

WASHINGTON, Nov. 30, 2010 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is the daily "Profile America" feature from the U.S. Census Bureau:

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20090226/CENSUSLOGO)

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 30: BEGINNINGS OF SOFTBALL

Profile America — Tuesday, November 30th.  One of the nation's most popular sports started on this date in 1887 because of bad weather.  A group of Yale and Harvard alumni were gathered inside the Farragut boathouse in Chicago, waiting for the results of the football game between the two schools.  Someone threw an old boxing glove, which someone else hit with a stick.  This gave watching newspaper reporter George Hancock an idea for what he called "indoor baseball," which we know now as softball.  The sport gained in popularity, but it wasn't until 1933 that it was organized on a national basis.  Softball was first played in the Olympics in 1996. Today, softball is played annually by close to 10 million people in the U.S.  You can find these and more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau, online at www.census.gov.

Sources:  Amateur Softball Association of America

               440 International Calendar of Events, Those Were the Days

               Statistical Abstract of the United States 2010, t. 1212

Profile America is produced by the Public Information Office of the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on a monthly CD or on the Internet at http://www.census.gov (look for "Multimedia Gallery" by the "Newsroom" button).  

SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau