Indoor Baseball

"Indoor base ball has taken a firm hold on patrons of the game here . . ." - from Sporting Life, January 31, 1891, about indoor baseball in Chicago

"Indoor baseball, both from a spectacular point of view and from the benefit and pleasure it gives participants, is in every way worthy to take a high place among the Winter sports." - from a New York Times article , November 26, 1900, about the growing popularity of the sport of indoor baseball

The game of Indoor Baseball was popular in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries. This was at a time when basketball had yet to be invented, and ice hockey was strictly an outdoor activity, confined to places where a natural ice rink could be maintained. Thus, indoor baseball was one of the few available alternatives.

It was said to have been invented in Chicago in 1887, and spread to other cities where winters were cold. A national association was formed for the sport, and it became popular in many cities of the U.S. When the sport moved outside, it was renamed softball.

A number of major leaguers played indoor baseball, including Al Baschang, She Donahue and Tim Jordan.

A number of guides were published by Al Spalding's company.

The 1919 Encyclopedia Americana has an entry for Indoor Baseball, saying that it is played in a hall at least 40 by 50 feet in size. Two outfielders may be "dispensed", leaving seven people on a team. The ball could be as big as 17 1/4 inches around, while the bat could not be bigger than 1 3/4 inches around.

In 1939, the National Professional Indoor Baseball League was started. Tris Speaker was involved with the NPIBL as league president. Team managers included Gabby Street, Bill Wambsganss, Bubbles Hargrave, Moose McCormick, and Harry Davis and there were teams in ten of the eleven major league cities of the time. However, professional indoor baseball did not last as the league folded within a month. Sources: The Story of Indoor Baseball and Time Magazine article from November 27, 1939.

In the 2000s, a new indoor baseball phenomenon called Arena Softball gained in popularity, but never became mainstream. See Arena Softball

Baseball played in fields with domes is also sometimes called "indoor baseball".

"A person . . . should attend some of the indoor games of base ball now going on in this city. . . A game is played somewhere about the city every night, and big crowds are invariably the rule." - a report on indoor baseball in Cleveland, from Sporting Life, January 14, 1893