Fastpitch: The Untold History of Softball and the Women Who

Fastpitch: The Untold History of Softball and the Women Who Made the Game

â€œA League of Their Own for the softball setâ€ (Lily Koppel, bestselling author of The Astronaut Wives Club), Fastpitch is hidden history at its most intriguingâ€”the tale of the forgotten beginnings of one of the most popular and widely played sports today.

Softball is played by tens of millions in various age groups all around the world, but the origins of this beloved sport (and the charismatic athletes who helped it achieve prominence in the mid-twentieth century) have been shrouded in mysteryâ€¦until now.

Fastpitch brings to vivid life the eclectic mix of characters that make up softballâ€™s vibrant 129-year history. From its humble beginnings in 1887, when it was invented in a Chicago boat club and played with a broomstick, to the rise in the 1940s and 1950s of professional-caliber, company-sponsored teams that toured the country in style, softballâ€™s history is as varied as it is fascinating. Though itâ€™s thought of today as a female sport, fastpitch softballâ€™s early history is full of male stars, such as the vaudeville-esque Eddie Feigner, whose signature move was striking out batters while blindfolded.

But because softball was one of the only team sports that also allowed women to play competitively, it took on added importance for female athletes. Women like Bertha Ragan Tickey, who set strikeout records and taught Lana Turner to pitch, and her teammate Joan Joyce, who struck out baseball star Ted Williams, made a nameâ€”and a lifeâ€”for themselves in an era when female athletes had almost no prospects. Softball allowed them to flourish, and they in turn inspired a whole new generation of athletes.

Featuring eight pages of captivating, vintage photos and compelling, well-researched historical commentary, this â€œfun and entertaining readâ€ (Billie Jean King) chronicles softballâ€™s unique history as well as its uncertain future (as evidenced by its controversial elimination from the 2012 Olympics, and the mounting efforts to have it reinstated). A celebration of this distinctively American game and the role it plays in our culture today, Westly has written â€œa must-read for anyone who loves the sportâ€ (Jonathan Fader, author of Life as Sport).

Country	USA
Author	Erica Westly
Binding	Kindle Edition
Edition	Reprint
EISBN	9781501118616
Format	Kindle eBook
Label	Touchstone
Manufacturer	Touchstone
NumberOfPages	305
PublicationDate	2016-06-14
Publisher	Touchstone
ReleaseDate	2016-06-14
Studio	Touchstone

Fastpitch: The Untold History of Softball and the Women Who Made the Game

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