“Why was Cinderella thrown off the baseball team?”/“Because she ran away from the ball.”

A popular sports riddle involving the folk tale character of Cinderella is:
 
Q: Why was Cinderella thrown off the baseball team?
A: Because she ran away from the ball.
 
The joke has been cited in print since at least 1971 and has had several sports variations. A soccer version has been cited since at least 2006:
 
Q: Why couldn’t Cinderella be a good soccer player?
A: She lost her shoe, she ran away from the ball, and her coach was a pumpkin.
   
     
Wikipedia: Cinderella
Cinderella, or The Little Glass Slipper, (Italian: Cenerentola, French: Cendrillon, ou La petite Pantoufle de Verre, German: Aschenputtel) is a folk tale embodying a myth-element of unjust oppression/triumphant reward. Thousands of variants are known throughout the world. The title character is a young woman living in unfortunate circumstances, that are suddenly changed to remarkable fortune. The oldest documented version comes from China, and the oldest European version from Italy. The most popular version was first published by Charles Perrault in Histoires ou contes du temps passé in 1697, and later by the Brothers Grimm in their folk tale collection Grimms’ Fairy Tales.
   
27 March 1971, Wichita (KS) Eagle and Beacon, “Children’s Scrapbook,” pg. 18A, col. 2:
Eva Camarillo, 1006 S. St. Francis, asks, “Why was Cinderella kicked off the baseball team?” “Because she ran away from the ball,” says Eva.
 
Google Books
August 1971, Boys’ Life “Thank and Grin,” pg. 66, col. 4:
Why was Cinderella thrown off the baseball team?
Because she ran away from the ball— Alan Dodd, Goodman, Mo.
   
Google Books
September 1972, Boys’ Life, “Think and Grin,” pg. 82, col. 2:
Casey: Why was Cinderella thrown off the baseball team?
Leo: She ran away from the ball. — Kevin White, Taylorsville, Ky.
 
16 September 1972 Xenia (OH) Daily Gazette, “Mini Jokes,” The Mini Page, pg. 2, col. 1:
Q. Why was Cinderella thrown off the baseball team?
A, Because she ran away from the ball.
Cassie Palmer-Jamestown
 
28 January 1979, Newsday (Long Island, NY), “Smiles,” Kidsday, Pg. O11, col. 3:
Why was Cinderella thrown off the baseball team?
Because she ran away from the ball.
—Dave Zebroski, Riverhead
 
Google Books
The World’s Best Sports Riddles and Jokes
By Joseph Rosenbloom
New York, NY: Sterling Publishing Company, Inc.
1988
Pg. 48:
Why didn’t Cinderella get on the football team?
She had a pumpkin for a coach.
 
Why did Cinderella lose the game for her team?
She ran away from the ball.
 
Google Books
The Ultimate Disney Joke Book
By Chip Lovitt
New York, NY: Disney Press
1995
Pg. 50:
Why isn’t Cinderella a very good basketball player?
She has a pumpkin for a coach.
Pg. 66:
Why won’t Cinderella ever be a great soccer player?
She runs away from the ball.
   
Google Books
The Book of Irish Children’s Jokes
By Mary Feehan
Dublin: Mercier Press
1996
Pg. 20:
Why was Cinderella thrown off the camogie team?
She ran away from the ball.
 
29 November 2002, Los Angeles (CA) Times, “The Kids’ Reading Room; Jokes & Riddles,” pg. E45, col. 3:
Why is Cinderella so bad at sports? Because she has a pumpkin for a coach and runs away from the ball.
Sam, 8
Glenoaks Elementary, Glendale
 
Google Groups: Houstonian Pakistani Circle
Let’s have some fun<> The Newest Jokes <> PG-13
Rocka Poshi
11/24/06
(...)
Why couldn’t Cinderella be a good soccer player?
She lost her shoe, she ran away from the ball, and her coach was a pumpkin.
(Requires basic knowledge of the Cinderella story and that both ball and coach have double meanings.)
Submitted by: Jillian H.
     
Twitter
Prashant
‏@pmgandhi
Why couldn’t Cinderella be a good soccer player?
She lost her shoe, she ran away from the ball, and her coach was a pumpkin
11:54 AM - 18 Apr 2008
 
Twitter
Saronti
‏@saronti
Joke 4 Kids by Kids - Why did Cinderella get dropped from the football team?
She ran away from the ball.
4:02 PM - 17 Mar 2009
 
Twitter
Lynne Duda Shore
‏@Lizyf2
Joke of the day at my elementary school today: why was Cinderella taken off the baseball team? She ran away from the ball!
5:42 PM - 31 Mar 2009
 
Twitter
Gregg Brettschneider
‏@supertweeting
Why was Cinderella thrown off the basketball team? She ran away from the ball.
10:10 AM - 15 Apr 2009
 
Google Books
The Super, Epic, Mega Joke Book for Kids
By Whee Winn
Grand Rapids, MI: Zonderkidz
2016
Pg. ?:
Why did Cinderella get kicked off the softball team?
Because she ran away from the ball.