# 2962 - 1995 32c Recreational Sports: Softball

U.S. #2962
1995 32¢ Softball
Recreational Sports

• Recreational Sports stamps honor popular sports enjoyed by everyday Americans
• Stamps coincided with centennial anniversaries for three of the five sports featured

Stamp Category:  Commemorative
Set:  Recreational Sports
Value:  32¢, rate for first-class mail
First Day of Issue:  May 20, 1995
First Day City:  Jupiter, Florida
Quantity Issued:  30,000,000
Printed by:  Banknote Corporation of America
Printing Method:  Lithographed
Format:  Panes of 20 in sheets of 120
Perforations:  11.2

Why the stamp was issued:  To pay tribute to the recreational sports enjoyed by everyday Americans. 

About the stamp design:  The USPS wanted the Recreational Sports stamps to stand out from previous sports issues.  They brought in illustrator Don Weller, who created vivid, poster-style images of the athletes.  He produced a number of quick sketches before settling on the five used on the stamps.  He and the art director also consulted several sources to ensure the athletes were all positioned correctly for each sport. 

The softball stamp saw few changes from Weller’s original sketch.  It shows a female athlete swinging the bat.

First Day City:  The Recreational Sports stamps were issued at the Stamporee Stamp Expo at the Jupiter Beach Resort in Jupiter, Florida. 

Unusual facts about the Recreational Sports stamps:  A small number of freak panes were discovered in which the bottom left corners folded inward during the trimming stage.  As a result, the selvage was larger in those corners and they included the alignment and other marks that are normally discarded during the trimming stage.  These stamps have also been found imperforate as well as versions with the yellow omitted and the yellow, blue, and magenta omitted. 

About the Recreational Sports Set:  Several stamps had previously honored the Olympics and professional sports, but the USPS created these as a tribute to the most popular recreational sports in America.  

Additionally, three of the sports were celebrating centennial anniversaries in 1995.  The US Golf Association (USGA) had held its first championship at the Newport Golf Club in Rhode Island in 1895.  The American Bowling Congress was founded on September 9, 1895.  And volleyball was invented in 1895 by YMCA employee William G. Morgan.

History the stamp represents:  Every day, millions of Americans gather at diamonds, courts, lanes, and links to participate in their favorite recreational sport. The five Recreational Sports se-tenants honor these amateur athletes and the games they participate in.

Softball is played by more than 30 million people worldwide. Although batting and field strategy are the same as in baseball, the rules differ in several ways. Most noticeably, the ball is larger and the playing field is smaller. Also, pitching is done underhand, players must stay on the bases until the ball has left the pitcher’s hand, and games are only seven innings, not nine.

Softball was first developed by George Hancock in 1887 as an indoor game. In 1895, Lewis Rober of the Minneapolis Fire Department adapted the game for outdoor use. It was from his version that the present game developed.

In 1933 the Amateur Softball Association of America (ASA) was founded to promote and govern softball in the United States. Until this time, softball, which was also known as kitten ball, mush ball, diamond ball, and playground ball, was played using more than 10 sets of rules. Under the ASA, a special committee standardized these rules, establishing those that are still used today throughout the world. In 1952 the International Softball Federation was founded. Currently it has about 60 member nations whose teams compete in regional, national, and international competition.