Softball Magazine first went into production in the year 1996. In eight short years, players, manufacturers, coaches and associations in the sport of softball have dubbed the award winning publication the “Sports Illustrated of Softball.”

The subscription based, eighty + page glossy text publication delivers four times a year an information packed periodical that covers the pros, the grassroots players and the industry, along with department columns by softball players and health specialists on a national and international basis.Softball Magazine’s promotional arm instituted “Bat Wars”, the premier softball showcase event for demoing softball product.  The event was conceptualized by Publisher Gene Smith and began in 1997.  Since the inception of  “Softball Magazine’s Bat Wars”, the event has been widely copied throughout the United States and Canada, but Softball Magazine’s Bat Wars (which takes on a different “theme” each year) is the only event of it’s type that hosts the actual national representatives of the manufacturers and is the most highly respected for the organization and professionalism with which it is carried out.  For more information on Bat Wars, click on a Bat Wars logo or type in http://www.batwars.com.

Softball Magazine also is the promoter and producer of Softball Magazine’s Championship Tournament Series, which in 2001 went nationwide with stops in California, Michigan, Ohio, Kansas, Louisiana and will wind up with Orlando, Florida at the Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex.  Eastbay, the powerhouse athletic catalog and the United States Specialty Sports Association sponsor each of these stops.  The top four to five teams in the selected division at the “CTS” stops is sponsored by a manufacturer such as Miken Softball, Louisville Slugger, Worth Baseball/Softball, Easton Sports and Rawlings and are awarded prizes by these companies.

In 1997 Softball Magazine was awarded a District and Local Addy by the American Advertising Federation for the cover of the August 1997 Softball Magazine.  In the first year of publication, Softball Magazine had already secured a prestigious award in the publication industry. Softball Magazine has been recognized several times locally in the community of Brevard County, Florida, where the publication is produced, for local support of community based efforts in the sport of softball. Some of these agencies include Students Working Against Tobacco, The United Way, The Brevard County Sheriff’s Department and the Florida Elks. Softball Magazine has also been recognized by the WPSL in Plant City, Florida, for the support of the WPSL/Plant City High School Softball Tournament and the Florida ISA has recognized Softball Magazine six times for Continuous Support of the Sport of Softball. To top it off, in 2000, Softball Magazine and Publisher Gene Smith were honored with the coveted USSSA Softball Publication of the Year Award.

Softball Magazine is dedicated to the positive growth and promotion of the entire sport of softball across the United States and Canada.  Support the publication that supports your sport in our nationwide softball community.  Softball Magazine.