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Keithexerpt from: http://www.aurorahistoryboutique.com/ahb_historyCD.cfm?a=Y000280
The invention of indoor baseball is credited to George Hancock, a reporter for Chicago Board of Trade, who in 1887 started the game on an old winter day at the Farragut Boat Club.
Popularly known as softball, indoor baseball is really a variant of outdoor version of the game. Hancock introduced 19 special rules that were exclusive to indoor baseball. The Mid Winter Indoor Baseball League of Chicago officially adopted these rules in 1889.
The real impetus for the game, however, came from a fireman from Minneapolis -Louis Rober- who kept his firemen fit by having them play indoor baseball. The game became popular overnight and other fire companies began to play. In 1895, Rober transferred to another fire company and organized a team he called the Kittens.
After being recognized by several names such as ‘Kitten ball’ and ‘Diamond ball’, Walter Hakanson, a Denver YMCA official finally suggested the name softball, which stuck for good.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, The American Sports Publishing Company headed by Albert Spalding published a series of “guides” some of which were aimed at teaching women the nuances of indoor baseball.