Kickball

Kickball is a game derived from baseball that resembles early forms of the game in many ways - except that no bats are used and the ball is much larger (and softer) than a standard baseball. In this game, typically played in schoolyards, a ball is kicked by the player who is the equivalent of the batter towards a field whose layout is similar to a baseball field, and then advances around the bases in order to score runs. As in early forms of the game, a runner can be put out if hit by the thrown (or kicked) ball when not standing on a base. The kicker can sometimes start with the ball at a stationary position, or can be rolled towards him by a pitcher.

While kickball is normally a kids' game, whose principal quality is that it can be played with very limited equipment, there are competitive versions of the game around, as well as a "World Kickball Association" that ensures standardization of rules and equipment and organizes tournaments.

The game appeared around the first decade of the 20th century and was first codified in 1917. There were earlier and contemporary versions of the game competitng with it, one of the more popular (and stranger) ones being "Lang Ball", named after its inventor, C.G. Lang, in which the kicker was not stationary, but hung from a bar similar to one used in gymnastics, and tried to kick at a ball aimed towards him while hanging by his or her arms. This was first intended to be an indoor game, and a stationary bar would have been a standard piece of equipment in the gymnasiums where the game was played. This game was popular at one time, but had faded away by the 1920s.

Further Reading

• Chad Moody: "Lang Ball: Forgotten Nineteenth Century Baseball Derivative and Peculiar Kickball Ancestor", Baseball Research Journal, SABR, Volume 50, Number 2 (Fall 2021), pp. 105-110.