Baseball became a medal sport at the 1992 Games in Barcelona, softball in 1996 in Atlanta. Eliminating softball means cutting eight 15-player teams -- in all, 120 women out of the Games.
Anita DeFrantz of Los Angeles, the senior IOC member in the United States, called it "a horrific day" for the role of women in the Olympics.
Baseball's position had been believed to be more tenuous because major league players do not play in the Games.
The IOC's policy is to seek the best athletes at the Olympics -- the very thing that in part prompted the inclusion of professionals in the Games and led to the arrival of, for instance, the 1992 U.S. men's basketball Dream Team featuring Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and others.
In addition, the doping issues that have swirled around baseball for the last two years were seen to erode baseball's support within the IOC, which under Rogge has taken a hard-line approach to doping violations.
Reached by telephone, Rich Levin, spokesman for Major League Baseball, declined to comment on the IOC vote.
Don Porter, the Florida-based president of the International Softball Federation, said here after today's vote, "It's payback for Mexico City. They wanted us out then. It took them three years -- and now they've got us out."
After the Mexico City session, the IOC tried a different tactic. It undertook a comprehensive review of all 28 sports, with each of the 28 now subject to an in-or-out vote after every edition of the Games, with any changes to take effect seven years later -- meaning, for instance, 2012 for today's vote. The 2016 program will be considered in 2009.
Baseball and softball are allowed to re-apply for 2016.
Officials with each of the 28 sports had lobbied to keep the lineup intact, Swiss IOC member and rowing federation President Denis Oswald saying before today's vote, "Let's not change a winning team."
The IOC voted by secret ballot. The results were not made public -- in contrast to most other IOC business, including the vote Wednesday in which London defeated Paris, 54-50, in the final round of voting to win the 2012 Games.
IOC member Dick Pound of Canada told the IOC assembly he found the secrecy inexplicable.
He said, "It's off-message in the year 2005."
