He's toed the same athletic fields as the legendary Jim Thorpe, traipsed through Tibet and rubbed elbows with the Dalai Lama. This often happened on the nearest street. HDFeigner, thank you so much for your kind comment. "The day of the barnstormer is buried this Saturday.". I never forgot that day, and how Eddie pitched. After decades of popularity, fast-pitch mens softball lost ground to slow pitch (a sissy game, Feigner said) and to womens fast pitch. Not bad for a fat man. It's your last chance to see a legend, and as the King would say, it's just down the road apiece. In 2002, ESPN.com listed Feigner as one of the 10 greatest pitchers in a list that included Walter Johnson and Sandy Koufax. It just doesn't go as fast,' " Feigner says. Skip to main content. The Quad Cities had gathered an All-Star team of fast pitch softball players and beat The King and The rottenest thing to happen to softball was moving back the mound from 43 to 46 feet" in 1949, Feigner said, adding it was done because a few pitchers tended to dominate batters from the closer distance. He pitched for Kilburg's Grocery store. Rogers Centre, Toronto: 75 If you live anywhere in the Northwest, go to Walla Walla this Saturday to see the end of an era. In international competition, the pitchers plate (or rubber, as baseball fans know it) is only 43 feet from home plate. But Hoppe's story is about more than just trick pitches and entertaining a crowd. What amazed most fans that day was how he was able to strike out all of them in a row. In the days of xBox and 15-screen Cineplexes, it was something to see ballparks packed with five generations, with great-grandfathers and fathers holding little babies. I'm still the biggest thing in softball.". Patrick Villanova/The Jersey Journal He stands blindfolded, some 40 feet from home plate, gleefully hurling pitch after pitch at weary batters as fans in Linden's Memorial Park cheer on the peculiar . Sponsored. Prooyen, a six-time national champion whom Feigner calls the "best pitcher at his age (25) today," later pitches an inning or two. I was lucky enough to be invited to come film the . Sadly, I'm talking about the King and His Court, the barnstorming softball team started by the late Eddie Feigner some 65 years ago. In his final game as a pitcher, Ruth allowed five runs on 12 hits, walked three and struck out none in a complete game at the end of the 1933 season. In an era where guys refuse $100 million because it's disrespectful, this is about guys who carried their own bags, washed their own laundry -- and at a very steep price tag to their families. "YEAH, THAT'S why I'm gonna steal," retorts Booth, to the delight of the crowd. A celebrity charity softball game was held in February of 1967. The manager challenged Feigner to prove it. Gary leland is a new media producer of fastpitch softball. One of these years, it will be," he said. The Marlins will be hard-pressed to equal their two World Series championship at their new ballpark that opens next season. Jan 24, 2012 - Produced by http://Fastpitch.TV - A few weeks ago the King And His Court came to the Dallas area. If you have a few young girls/guys looking to get into baseball or softball then taking them to one of these games would be a great event for the whole family! It was a mismatch, Feigner said in an interview with a publication of the Loma Linda University Adventist Health Science Center. Wrigley Field, Chicago: 90 AT&T Park, San Francisco: 94 PNC Park, Pittsburgh: 98 He left the military in 1944. CBS Sports is a registered trademark of CBS Broadcasting Inc. Posted on Feb 18th, 2011, 9:14 AM, , User Since 218 months ago, User Post Count: 9400, Posted on Feb 18th, 2011, 9:25 AM, , User Since 171 months ago, User Post Count: 1611, Posted on Feb 18th, 2011, 9:36 AM, , User Since 193 months ago, User Post Count: 30934, Posted on Feb 18th, 2011, 10:06 AM, , User Since 150 months ago, User Post Count: 4812, Posted on Feb 19th, 2011, 8:27 AM, , User Since 150 months ago, User Post Count: 20258, Posted on Feb 19th, 2011, 9:42 AM, , User Since 255 months ago, User Post Count: 27279, Posted on Feb 20th, 2011, 8:21 AM, , User Since 150 months ago, User Post Count: 797, Posted on Feb 20th, 2011, 8:58 AM, , User Since 207 months ago, User Post Count: 51346, Locked Topic - No more replies can be posted. And oh yeah, the Court of 4 won the game! The guest nearly falls out of his seat. He died of respiratory complications, said Del Reddy, a friend. Target Field, Minneapolis: 91 The friends got together and decided it was time to take their game on the road. They escaped flash floods and tornadoes. With all that said, Feigner was amazing. In 1950, the team members, as well as Feigner, were unemployed. He and his Court were able to defeat a team with nine players. He pitched for Kilburg's Grocery store. Feigner developed athletic skills and abilities in ways nobody thought possible. He was like a drill sergeant who drills you every day and you never do anything right.". People still want to see Williams bat, Palmer golf; there's the charisma there. Feigner played in over 5,000 games and struck out over 15,000 people when he was blindfolded. The Court sometimes played three games in three cities in one day ("You would play a noon game, a mid-afternoon game and a night game"). Top softball pitchers like Jennie Finch can throw roughly 70 miles per hour, the equivalent of a low-90s fastball thrown from 60 feet away. considered signing a hotshot Canadian softball pitcher. Feigner knew he was the only one of his kind in the history of the world. On this day in 1967, he happened to appear at an exhibition at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Power your marketing strategy with perfectly branded videos to drive better ROI. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. 4. He and a changing supporting cast that included only a catcher, first baseman and shortstop eventually logged more than 4 million miles, covering 50 states and more than 100 countries to play in front of 200 million people. Bayonne native Rich Hoppe, a member of the fast-pitch softball team the King and His Court, on the diamond at Memorial Park in Linden last week. "It's magical and joyful in a way, but this has been on my radar since 1958 when I was a kid in the stands and saw the King for the first time. 19. Last summer, Feigner (pronounced FAY-ner) sometimes rose from his wheelchair to throw a pitch or two, despite dementia and a succession of strokes and heart attacks. That was the beauty of the team. My dad took me to that game at what is now Modern Woodman Park on river front. Merrick, N.Y., 1974. Eddie Feigner was a crowd pleasing softball pitcher and showman who toured the world for 55 years as the King and His Court. She survives him, as do his son Eddie Jr.; his daughters Shirley, Carol and Debbie; nine grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren. To Hoppe, it is not merely a softball team, but a means to rediscover himself and spread a message of hope. His team, clad in red, white and blue uniforms modeled after those of the Globetrotters, played in ever-smaller parks. Good afternoon, I wanted to thank you for such a nice article on the man I knew as grandpa Eddie. During one game, Feigner had easily beaten a team from Oregon 33-0. They played racetracks, stockyards, rodeo grounds, cemeteries, pastures, an oil rig off Norways coast and the Houston Astrodome. from Larry, thanks. The fastest documented pitch ever thrown by a major league pitcher is 103 mph. Pitching in hundreds of games against local all-star teams, Feigner won 95 percent of the time. Nobody could even touch the ball. 2005-2023 CBS INTERACTIVE ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Feb. 13, 2007. The softball team was very popular with audiences because they performed funny tricks that made the fans laugh. The toughest thing in sports is to hit a round ball with a round bat when the round ball is thrown underhand from 40 feet away. No town was too small for them, no fans too unimportant. ", With West, the Max Patkin of the team, a patch covering his left eye which he lost to cancer two years ago, motioning Booth to keep quiet, Feigner answers, "I dunno. It has taken him all over the world, playing in the smallest of American towns, at USO events for American soldiers, and even in prisons against inmates. Five of the six were later elected to Cooperstown. "We can't compete with modern entertainment," Hoppe said. I was lucky enough to be invited to come film the event. And the second is that pitchers can throw harder overhand, and real men like to throw the ball hard. He was abandoned as an infant and was named Myrle King by his adoptive parents. SUCH IT has been the last six weeks for the Court, which has toured Hawaii, Taiwan, and Korea and Japan at the behest of 8th U.S. Army sports and recreation services outlets at Camp Zama and nearby Yokosuka Naval Base. Eventually, they began to travel around the globe to play softball. He and his court, which included only a catcher, first-baseman and shortstop, played everywhere from Yankee Stadium to the Great Wall of China. Our Facebook page is Facebook.com/FastpitchTV, Our Twitter page is Twitter.com/FastpitchTV, Feel free to email questions for future shows to FastpitchTV@gmail.com. Sie knnen Ihre Einstellungen jederzeit ndern. "Haven't seen you in 15 years, Eddie. Anne Marie, Feigners fourth wife, became the first woman on the team. 6. This year, Team USA won again and was even more dominant. In 2000, in their six games against China, Japan, and Australiaarguably the Americans toughest competitionthe U.S. team scored only six runs. Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics: How big was the crowd in Williamsport for the Little League World Series? Busch Stadium, St. Louis: 78 He would even pitch blindfolded. The first game for the King and His Court took place behind the barbed wire and high walls of a prison. Feigner swore the tale was true, except that it was a curveball that crossed second base on its way to the plate. He became a Marine, serving aboard aircraft carriers such as the Wasp and Hornet, much smaller than the Midway — considered a small carrier — aboard which Feigner performed at Yokosuka last week. Feigner, catcher Gary West, first baseman Dave Booth and shortstop Gary Van Prooyen mug it up with true zest. 2023 The Arena Media Brands, LLC and respective content providers on this website. To do more than one tour, you're certifiable," Hoppe said. It's absolutely like your life is flashing in front of you," Hoppe said. information. "I found a way out.". Either that, or an outtake from "Twilight 4: Team Timmy No-Hits Team Edward.'' Feigner agreed, and the only stipulation was that Feigner needed four players to bat in case the bases were loaded. Camden Yards, Baltimore: 92 He kept meticulous records of his achievements: 9,743 victories, 141, 517 strikeouts, 930 no-hitters and 238 perfect games. Fr nhere Informationen zur Nutzung Ihrer Daten lesen Sie bitte unsere Datenschutzerklrung und Cookie-Richtlinie. Log in, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window), Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window). Feigner had been pitching in the Green Pea League of Walla Walla Valley. HE HAS carried over the years more than 30 players at one time or another in his troupe, including three former major leaguers. He just made me better," Hoppe said. Yankee Stadium, New York: 79 Miller Park, Milwaukee 77 255) may be the equivalent of the high school annual photo. ! 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Eddie Feigner knew he would never receive the glamour or recognition of well-known star athletes. They were called The King and His Court.. It would be really fun to watch videos of some of that stuff. 22. That gave him season marks of .301, 34 home runs, 101 RBIs, a 1.023 OPS and a 1-0 record. Sadly, I'm talking about the King and His Court, the barnstorming softball team started by the late Eddie Feigner some 65 years ago. But its usually not just Team USAs opponents who struggle to score. Eddie Feigner, who for 60 years barnstormed the globe with his four-man softball team, hurling 100-mile-an-hour pitches that struck out Willie Mays and 141,516 . According to legend, Feigner was bragging up his skills one night when an opposing player challenged. It took me years to talk about it," Hoppe said. 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