NGSSA About US

Where NGSSA began...

NGSSA was founded in the Northshore Area near Seattle in 1971 by a group of volunteers with the vision to provide the opportunity for girls of all ages in our community to play and enjoy softball. NGSSA is still staffed by volunteers who enjoy working to continue this tradition. Over the years many thousands of girls have participated in NGSSA activities. Many later became coaches and board members, and have children and even grandchildren playing in our league.

Where it all began...

Softball was invented around the beginning of the 20th century by American professional baseball players who wanted to keep in practice during the off-season late fall and winter months; the substitute game was played the end of the second decade of the century, Canadian amateur players began to play the new game outdoors, on playgrounds or other suitable fields; the game then rapidly became popular in Canada and obtained a foothold in the United States.The first softball game was played indoors between a group of former Harvard and Yale students at a boat club near Lake Michigan in the United States in 1887. According to one historian, softball next appeared as a game called Kitten Ball in 1895. Kitten Ball was played outdoors by firemen in their spare time. The game became popular, and by 1900 there was a league made up of teams with names like the Kittens, Rats and Whales. By 1922, the name Kitten Ball was dropped, and the game was being called Mush Ball or Diamond Ball. The name softball came along in 1926. indoors. Toward    

Then came the 1930's. Extensive interest in softball began in the United States about 1930. The Amateur Softball Association was formed in 1933. The first national amateur softball tournament took place in Chicago, Illinois, in 1933 in connection with the world's fair then being held in that city. After about 20 years, when fast pitching began to dominate the game, slow-pitch softball was developed in order to give batters a better chance at hitting the ball. The popularity of slowpitch softball spread abroad, especially in Mexico, Cuba, Japan, and Australia. Also in 1933 the Amateur Softball Association (ASA) was founded to standardize the rules and govern the sport; it is still the governing body for softball in the United States.

And it goes on and on ...

Under the ASA, annual sectional tournaments for both fastpitch and slowpitch softball are held for men and women. The winners of these tournaments and the championship team of
the previous year meet in national championship
tournaments. The first world softball championship was played in 1966. Softball has become increasingly popular among women, particularly at the youth and collegiate levels. More than 600 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) member institutions sponsor women's softball teams, and national championship tournaments for women are held for three collegiate divisions. In 1991 women's fastpitch softball was selected to debut as an event at the Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia.