1941: Softball

Baseball's rapidly maturing second-cousin, softball, continues to grow by leaps and bounds until it has now surpassed baseball in the number of players. Approximately 2,750,000 young men and women play the game, comprising about 115,000 teams. Because the diamond is one-third smaller, the game is faster. In addition, the ball is larger and the bat is smaller. The sport is governed by the Amateur Softball Association of America, with headquarters in Chicago, Ill.

The 1941 championships, held in Detroit, Mich., provided plenty of excitement as well as new champions. The Bendix Brakes from South Bend, Ind., emerged victorious in the men's division, succeeding the Rochester, N. Y., team, the 1940 winners. The girls' Midgets team from Tulsa, Okla., won the crown from the Phoenix Ramblers of Arizona. Teams of women are becoming more numerous, and they play the game with as much speed and skill as the men. Besides the games played during the day, many games and feature events are held at night under flood lights, attended by thousands of people in the big ball parks. See also BASEBALL.