Colleen Becker, age 13, of Portland, Ore., for her question:

WHEN WAS SOFTBALL FIRST PLAYED?

Softball is a form of the game of baseball played with a special ball,  called a softball. The game was invented about the beginning of the   20th century by American professional baseball players who wanted   to keep in practice during the late fall and winter months, when it  is impossible to play baseball in most parts of the United States. The substitute game was played indoors. Toward the end of the second decade of the century, Canadian amateur players began to play the new game of softball outdoors, on playgrounds or other suitable fields. The game rapidly became popular in Canad and obtained a foothold in the United States.

Extensive interest in softball began in the U.S. about 1930. The first national amateur softball tournament took place in Chicago in 1933,  in conjunction with the world's fair then being held in that  city.

When fast pitching began to dominate the game after about 20 years, slow pitch softball was developed in order to give batters a better chance. The popularity of the game spread abroad, especially in Mexico,  Cuba,  Japan and Australia.

In 1933, also, the Amateur Softball Association was founded to standardize the rules and govern the sport in other particulars. The association is still the governing body for the game of softball in the U.S. Softball today is the nation's leading participation sport. Internationally many millions of people take an active part in the game.  The softball is larger and softer than the regulation baseball.  It is made of kapok wrapped with yarn and enclosed within a leather  cover with smoothly sewn seams. The ball is between 11 and seven eighths inches and 12 and one eighth inches in circumference and weighs between six and six and three quarters ounces.

Softball today has two major divisions: fast pitch and slow pitch. The bat used in softball may not be more than 34 inches long.  The distances used in infield measurements are less than those used in baseball. In softball, the distances between bases is 60 feet. The distance between the pitcher's box and home plate is 46 feet in  games played by men and 40 feet in games played by women.

Pitching, in softball, is underhand oniy,'being very swift in  the fast pitch game. In slow pitch softball, the ball is thrown more gently and must be arched.  Until 1946, a softball team consisted of 10 players, the nine  that make up a baseball team plus an extra outfielder called a shortfielder. The 10 player side is still used in slow pitch softball, but nine players is the rule for the fast pitch game today.  In slow pitch softball, neither bunting nor base stealing is allowed.