The history behind the DSF
Softball in Denmark
Softball has been played in Denmark for over 40 years. Here you will find the history of the Federation and softball in Denmark in general.
1911 | American navy personnel play an exhibition match in baseball in Fælledparken in Copenhagen. |
1951 | John Hansen publishes instruction manual in Danish about baseball (and a bit of softball) |
1970 (ca.) | North Americans living in Copenhagen – based in Pilegården tavern – play softball in Fælledparken. The team is known as Pilegården Knights. Japanese immigrants in Copenhagen also play softball and baseball in Fælledparken – their team will be called Asahi, but later changed to Fighters. |
1975 (ca.) | Sports Instructors Vagn Thonesen from Skovshoved School and Svend Eriksen from Munkegårds School start baseball at their respective schools. This leads to the formation of the club Munkene, Gentofte which is Denmark's oldest club, but which unfortunately today is not an active club. |
1977 | At Rungsted High School, baseball is started by Jens Terkelsen, among others, leading to the formation of the club in Hørsholm, which lives well to this day. |
1978 | The Danish Baseball Softball Federation (DBSF) holds a founding general meeting at Munkegårds School with the participation of: Munkene of Gentofte, Hørsholm BSK, Pilegården Knights, Fighters, ABC and Lynge Bats. Svend Eriksen becomes the DBSF's first chair. |
1980 | The first Danish Championship in men's and women's ball is played. Hørsholm won in the men's row, while Munkene won in the women's series. |
1981 | The Munkene women's team participates for the first time at the European Cup. The tournament is played in Finale Ligure, Italy and the team finishes 6th out of 7 teams. |
1982 | The first Nordic Championship for the ladies is played in Sweden with the participation of Denmark, Sweden and Finland. The tournament was played annually throughout the 80’s and then again in the late 90’s.
The Munkene baseball team participates for the first time in the European Cup B pool in Leksand, Sweden and becomes 5th out of 6 teams. |
1983 | Last baseball Danish Championship of this period. Softball is flourishing in both the men's and women's series with several new clubs. |
1984 | The women's national team participates for the first time at the European Championships, which are played in Antwerp, Belgium. The team finishes sixth and last. |
1987 | DBSF is admitted to the Danish Sports Federation (DIF) – and renamed DBaSoF, to avoid naming conflicts with other federations. |
1988 | Chair Sven Eriksen tragically dies at untimely age. He will be replaced by acting Chair Jens Terkelsen. |
1989 | Svend Eriksen's widow, Guller Eriksen, takes over as chair of DBaSoF. |
1990 | Hørsholm's men's team participates in the first Men's European Cup in Prague, Czech Republic. The team wins bronze. |
1992 | Hørsholm's ladies finish 5th at the European Cup in Prague, which to date is the best ranking for a Danish club team. |
1993 | The Danish men's national team wins silver medals at the first men's European Championship game in Prague. |
1994 | The women's junior national team participates for the first time at the European Under-19 Championships in Leksand, Sweden. The team ends last out of the 6 teams. |
1995 | The Men's European Championship takes place in Hørsholm with the participation of 9 teams. The Danes win silver. |
1996 | Lars Dencker succeeds Guller Eriksen as chair. |
1997 | The women's national team finishes fourth at the European Championships in Prague. The ranking is the best the team has achieved to date and thus qualified the team for the World Cup. |
1998 | Lars Dencker resigns as chair early and is succeeded in the post by Lis Castro. |
1999 | DBaSoF is merged with the Danish American Football Federation (DAFF) into a joint federation of DIF: The Danish American Sports Federation (DAIF). The association is carried out in accordance with the instructions of the DIF. |
2000 | The men's national team participates at the World Championships in East London, South Africa. The team finishes in a shared 13th-14th place out of 16 teams with 2 wins in 7 games. |
2001 | Lis Castro is does not run for re-election and Bo Orla-Jensen is elected as the new chair. |
2002 | Allerød Penguins win, as first Danish team Cup Winners Cup for men, which was played in Prague. |
2003 | Ballerup Vandal's men's team wins the European Cup as the first Danish team. The tournament was played in Sal Baganza, Italy. |
2004 | The Danish men's junior national team wins the European Under-19 Championship in the French town of Le Thillay – a suburb of Paris. |
2005 | Denmark is represented for the first time at the under-19 Men's World Cup. The team ends up winless in 9th place. The World Cup was held in Summerside, Canada. |
2007 | Stenløse Bulls win the Men's European Cup in Prague. |
2008 | DAIF is dissolved and DBaSoF is split up into the Danish Softball Federation (DSoF) and the Danish Baseball Federation (DBaF). Only DSoF retains membership of DIF. |
2009 | The men's national team participates again at the World Cup in Saskatoon, Canada. They win 3 games and end up 11th. |
2010 | Henriette Gilhøj takes over as chair of DSoF after Bo Orla-Jensen, who was chair for 10 years. |
2011 | The Men's European Cup is held for the first time in Denmark, specifically in Hørsholm. The home team, Hørsholm Hurricanes wins the tournament in front of 8 other teams. |
2012 | The women's U19 national team participates after an extended break at the European Championships and finishes 14th out of 15 teams with a single victory. |
2013 | Hørsholm Hurricanes take silver at the Super Cup in northern Italy. |
2014 | The men's U19 national team finishes 9th out of 9 teams at the World Championships in Whitehorse, Canada. |
2015 | The men's national team participates at the World Championships in Saskatoon, Canada, and finishes 13th out of 16 participating teams. |
2016 | The men's U19 national team ends up 9th out of 10 teams at the World Championship in Midland, USA. |
2017 | The men's national team participates at the World Championships in Whitehorse, Canada, where the team gets 12th place out of 16 participants. |
2018 | The Federation celebrates its 40th anniversary at a fine reception at Idrættens Hus . |
2019 | The highlight of the year was the men's 9th place at the World Cup in Prague, Czech Republic – our best result ever. Later in the year, Hørsholm Barracuda's won bronze at the European Cup in Dupnitsa, Bulgaria, and in Nettuno, Italy, Hørshol Hurricanes won the Men's Super Cup – the second year in a row for Denmark. |
2020 | A year marked by the corona pandemic, which limited our foreign activities to the U18 World Cup in Palmerston North, New Zealand, which just managed to be held in February. Our young gentlemen finished 12th. |