ISF - International Softball Federation (defunct)
Softball was developed by George Hancock of the Farragut Boat Club in
Chicago in 1887. It was initially a kind of indoor version of baseball.
In 1895, the game was first played outdoors in Minneapolis.
In the early days, there were various names for the game (kitten
ball, diamond ball, etc.). The name softball was introduced in
1926 by Walter Hakanson. In the 1920s and 1930s learned the sport
increasing popularity, especially in the U.S., which
resulted in the foundation of the Amateur Softball Association of America
(ASA) in 1933.
Indeed, was the foundation of the International
Softball Federation (ISF) in 1952, but the
association did no activity until 1962. This year, three members of the
Australian Women's Softball Council met with Don E. Porter, the
executive director of the ASA and discussed the possibility of an
international tournament. Finally, representatives from Australia,
Canada, Japan, and the United States agreed to carry out a world
championship. During this tournament, the ISF adopted a constitution
and elected a president for the first time. After 1965, the women had
played their first world championship, the men followed a year later.
2013 the ISF had 124 member federations.
To improve their chance of returning into the Olympic program, ISF and IBAF (International Baseball Federation) began talks about a unification process in 2011. This process ended 2014 with the inaugural congress of the new association World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC).
Presidents
| 1952 - 14.02.1965 | ----- |
| 14.02.1965 - 22.06.1987 | W.W. „Bill” Kethan USA |
| 22.06.1987 - 26.10.2013 | Don E. Porter USA |
| 26.10.2013 - 14.05.2014 | Dale McMann CAN |
Secretaries General
| 1952 - 14.02.1965 | ----- |
| 14.02.1965 - 22.06.1987 | Don E. Porter USA |
| 22.06.1987 - 24.10.2009 | Andrew S. Loechner jr. USA |
| 24.10.2009 - 14.05.2014 | Low Beng Choo MAS |
Last modified: 17.12.2019