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Actually, there are some reports which state that FP took on the name "hardball" which is now more often used to describe baseball
The specific question was what did ASA call the game prior to adding SP. The answer (Softball) is taken directly from the front cover of the 1952 rulebook. A later book shows that the name of the game is still Softball, but the book now has a second complete set of rules in the back called Slow Pitch Softball.
And I will travel with one of the gentlemen who help put this book together in February to the National UIC Clinic.
Enjoy your trip, and ask him to bring along his copy of the 1980 ASA rule book. This is the book, copyright by ASA that consolidates the previous separate books into a single Softball rulebook with FP and SP notations where applicable. But you dont have to wait till February. I have the book and can provide any answers you want, including e-mailing sections in a pdf file.
Shortly I will be scanning the original (1934) book into a pdf file to protect it. Then it can be shared with anyone via email. It is a fun read. What will amaze you is how little the game has changed. (But, no LBR back then!)
You mean where you were it seemed everyone played FP. In my area, the only adult FP I recall in the '60s was a church league (catholic).
Of course, in my area. Michigan has always been a hotbed of FP and that is where I learned and played the game. As you noted, even today Michigan has a high percentage of ASA FP teams (33% vs maybe 10% in the rest of the country). When you throw in the thousands of rec league, high school and college teams, there is a lot of FP being played around here. And a lot of FP umpires are needed in this state to cover all the games.
WMB
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