By MARK TUPPER H&R Executive Sports Editor
DECATUR – The underhand game of softball can be played by men or women, by senior citizens or youngsters and presented as fast pitch or slow pitch.
It can be played by weekend warriors and by some of the finest athletes in the world.
In any form, softball has had a long-standing home in Decatur and at times that home has been the center of the softball universe.
Decatur’s long softball history includes a foundation of slow pitch, which is played in recreation leagues, weekend tournaments and just-for-fun family picnics.
Neighborhood parks have often accommodated slow pitch, as have recreational facilities built specifically for that purpose.
Most recently, Borg-Warner Field and Rotary Park have been hubs of league and tournament play with Forsyth recently joining the mix.
Fast pitch has been a big part of the history, too. For years, the highly competitive sport was dominated in Illinois by Aurora and its high-level men’s team. Click here to continue reading at the Herald Review.
Editor’s note: The great fastpitch legacy of Aurora, Illinois will be recognized next summer, when the ISC inducts the The Daniel D. Dolan Family of Aurora, Illionis into its Hall of Fame, presenting it with the Bob Welby Memorial-Recognition Of Service Category. Click here for the complete story on all of the inductees to the 2016 ISC Hall of Fame.