On This Day: The 1933 Tournament That Helped Shape Organized Softball

September 24, 1933 — Chicago, Illinois

Long before the modern World Championships, national tournaments and international fastpitch events we know today, one massive tournament in Chicago helped lay the groundwork for organized softball.

In conjunction with Chicago's 1933 Century of Progress World's Fair, teams were brought together for a tournament that opened on July 1 and concluded on September 24.

The event grew out of efforts by Leo Fischer and Michael J. Pauley to organize the thousands of softball teams playing across the United States into more structured state, metropolitan and eventually national organizations.

The scale was remarkable.

On the tournament's opening day, an estimated 70,000 spectators attended with admission free.

Teams competed in several divisions using softballs of different sizes, and the men's and women's finals were ultimately staged at Chicago's famed Soldier Field.

The tournament became an important chapter in softball's development during a period when the sport was exploding in popularity across North America.

More than nine decades later, September 24 gives us a chance to look back at an event from the early days of the organized game—and just how far softball has come.

The game changes. The history remains.

Outside The Chute | Connecting the Softball World