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Lewis Rober

Considered by many to be the inventor of outdoor softball, Lewis Rober was a firefighter in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In 1895, looking for a team sport that would invovle his entire firestation as a group, Rober distributed a small wood bat made by a local turner and a grapefruit-size leather ball that he had made himself, marked out a small baseball diamond in the lot next to Fire Engine Company No. 11's station, and told the firemen to play ball. Their game was the world's first softball game played outdoors.

Chief rival for the title of softball inventor is George Hancock, a Chicago reporter. His game took place indoors in 1887 and used a wrestling mat for an infield, a broomstick for a bat, and a boxing glove for a ball. The game was improved over time and eventually became known as indoor baseball. It bore little resemblance to today's outdoor softball.

Lewis Rober was inducted into the National Softball Hall of Fame in 1996.