The news of a four-man team beating nine players spread all over the state. Free 3 day shipping. Feigner was born in Walla Walla, Wash., on March 26, 1925. As the games rules were liberalized, the names for the pitches eventually changed. Camden Yards, Baltimore: 92 Sadly, I'm talking about the King and His Court, the barnstorming softball team started by the late Eddie Feigner some 65 years ago. Yet, "It's like Bob Feller said: `I can still throw as hard as I ever did. Of who might take it over, such as his son, Eddie Jr., by first marriage — he has been married three times — Feigner says, "In sports, they say they'll never replace so-and-so. His fastball was clocked at 104 miles an hour. considered signing a hotshot Canadian softball pitcher. The last 100 games of the King and his Court. 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. 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 . Enthralled by what he saw, Hoppe hooked up with Feigner's crew for Midwest tours the following two summers. A celebrity charity softball game was held in February of 1967. Hey, I'm a big Tim Lincecum fan but this card (2010 Topps 206, No. 14. In the aftermath of his brother's death, Hoppe faced down his addictions and got his life back on track. $44.90. Will King and His Court die when he retires? Though it would be nice if Florida ownership could have found the money to keep the out of town scoreboard. But softball can still teach us something about baseball history. It's always been my Yankee Stadium. Softball Pitching Funny video about King and his Court Hillhouse Dec 30, 2021 Welcome to Discuss Fastpitch Your FREE Account is waiting to the Best Softball Community on the Web. We're going to go up to the birthplace and bring it on home.". Founded in 1946 by Hoppe's mentor, "The King" Eddie Feigner, the. It played in Saudi Arabia, the jungles of Thailand and near the DMZ between North and South Korea. They played in Frederick at least once. Perhaps thats because the hitters are stronger, which opens the game up offensively in a couple of ways: The men hit more home runs, and they can also do more bunting because the infielders have to back up a little. Eddie Feigner was still anxious to play. It just doesn't go as fast,' " Feigner says. HE HAS carried over the years more than 30 players at one time or another in his troupe, including three former major leaguers. "Now every pitcher has to be a big, strong pitcher. They had also been known for donating considerable amounts of ticket profits to charity.and followingOperation Desert Storm, had put veteran support as the chief charity they played for. Williams was right, just not as precise as he could have been. Adding teams to the postseason doesn't increase the tension of pennant races, it diminishes it. Build a site and generate income from purchases, subscriptions, and courses. Hyperextending his knee in a gopher hole in 1972 didn't help; it prevents him to this day from getting top speed on his fastball. 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. It all began in 1946. Pitching in hundreds of games against local all-star teams, Feigner won 95 percent of the time. I remember seeing them in commericals as a kid, pretty sure it was Bud or Lite Beer commericals. Anyone? Feigner had an exaggerated windup and he would do things like pitch blindfolded, or pitch an inning from behind second base. I can only imagine he was something to have watched. But most of them play professional baseball, and nearly all of them are men. Nice guys, huh? "The King changed my life, and he was the toughest guy I've ever been around. Good luck, Jeff. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Become an Annual VIP member today and get access to VIP content, ad-free forums & more. They had 4 players and would play teams of 9 guys. It has been estimated the team played over 10,000 softball games in over 100 countries. Add The Fastpitch Softball TV Show to your social network of choice at fastpitch.tv. ", The Olympics feature baseball as a demonstration sport, but won't add fastpitch since "the East Bloc doesn't play it; they're trying hard just to play baseball," Feigner said. The King and His Court got its start the way so many wonderful sagas begin -- in a bar. Unfortunately, I'm not talking about the New York Yankees. Today, there are no great pitchers left out there. A baseball batter has no concept how to hit a fastball that rises like mine, or sliders and curves that break 18 inches.. Hoppe said he relied on a mixture of Vietnamese marijuana and black tar heroin to cope with the emotional and psychological damage that the incident and the war had on him. You can see highlights of the King and His Court from about 50 years ago here and a news report from about 15 years ago here. HubPages is a registered trademark of The Arena Platform, Inc. Other product and company names shown may be trademarks of their respective owners. You get to touch people and leave them with a message.". Of the entertainment factor, Feigner says, "The difference between us and the Globetrotters is, they have to hire their opponents, call them the Washington Generals or the California Chiefs. Not enough people died, I guess. The Official Site of - The King & His Court: Original 4-Man Softball Team check it out, contact Jason for info on booking 508-735-2878 ext 113 He would even pitch blindfolded. 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. You may also leave questions, or comments on our call in line 209-softbal. And maybe he deserved it. I would have loved to have bee able to have a conversation with him. The six? Feigner played in front of millions of people and traveled millions of miles around the world. Its just that the conditions of the game simply dont allow even the greatest hitters to be successful often enough for anybody to notice. Sign up to receive a daily email of today's top military news stories from Stars and Stripes and top news outlets For Feigner, it would have been a career in pro baseball, with the New York Yankees, had it not been for Uncle Sam calling in World War II. Into that steel trap memory delves Feigner, 65, a fastpitch softball trouper for some 44 years. "This is big. The decline of fastpitch, Feigner says, began shortly after he left the service. He left the military in 1944. I never forgot that day, and how Eddie pitched. Merrick, N.Y., 1974. Call Us: (860) 961-3482 . 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. The King and His Court" and his visit to. The Court has been around since the Chicago Cubs still were the reigning National League champs, and it has played in nearly 4,000 cities and in more than 150 countries. "And nobody in their right mind would put slowpitch in the Olympics.". You know, there was a time when communities built stadiums to efficiently serve multiple teams and sports, and the fans were perfectly content as long as the team, you know, won. This year, Team USA won again and was even more dominant. I never saw him and his court, but I can imagine it was quite an experience. He first said he could beat teams with only himself and a catcher, then realized that would leave the two vulnerable to being walked and stranded on base. (Theyre currently on a 79-game winning streak.) My favorite was Land Shark Stadium, which it was called for one year after a deal with Jimmy Buffet. And oh yeah, the Court of 4 won the game! In international competition, the pitchers plate (or rubber, as baseball fans know it) is only 43 feet from home plate. Inductees have included Roberto Clemente, Jackie Robinson, Vin Scully, Satchel Paige, and others. 20. 7. Gary leland is a new media producer of fastpitch softball. They endured enough 30-hour rides between cities that Feigner referred to a 10-hour ride as "just down the road apiece. But if youd like to know what the game was like around 1900, Olympic softball is probably a better analogue than the current iteration of Major League Baseball. Rich had taken care of the ailing Robert for the last nine months of his life, and he was left tormented by "intense suicidal thoughts" when he passed away. He was able to hit the ball as well as he could pitch it. He often told people it was a good feeling to know he was unique. Florida starter Ricky Nolasco had an atrocious game Wednesday when he allowed 11 runs in three innings (3 IP, 11 H, 11 R, 11 ER, 1 BB, 2 K). In this years Olympics, there were 19 games that didntinclude weak sisters Greece and Italy. Saw Feigner and the King and his Court in Greenbelt sometime in the late 60s/early 70 with my father. Busch Stadium, St. Louis: 78 In the 1940s, when countless small towns had softball leagues, the King and His Court was one among many barnstormers. Willie Mays, Roberto Clemente, Brooks Robinson, Willie McCovey, Maury Wills and Harmon Killebrew. Safeco Field, Seattle: 87 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. After last Thursday's game in Linden, Hoppe, who has been clean and sober for two decades, briefly shared his story with the crowd. Daten ber Ihr Gert und Ihre Internetverbindung, wie Ihre IP-Adresse, Browsing- und Suchaktivitten bei der Nutzung von Yahoo Websites und -Apps. "I just wanted to return the van keys to Walla Walla where it all came out of," said Rich Hoppe, who has been pitching with the Court for decades. I saw the King and his Court in Jasper, Alabama in the early 1960s. Also, they would occasionally be on Wide World of Sports. Which brings up an interesting question: When was the last time the starting pitcher appeared in box scores on consecutive days with no runs allowed in either game? His underhand fastball was once timed at 104 mphsome accounts had it clocked at 114 mph. In an interview, he said he liked having fun too much to be an MLB player. Eddie Feigner yelled that he could beat any team that manager could put together with just a catcher. Eddie Feigner, "What Little I Know About Pitching and Hitting", 7. Eddie Feigner was born on March 25, 1925, in Walla Walla, Washington. He threw an in-raise as well as an in-drop pitches others couldn't figure out how to throw. Poster promoting Eddie Feigner's "King and His Court.". They escaped flash floods and tornadoes. According to legend, Feigner was bragging up his skills one night when an opposing player challenged his abilities. He was a hard-boiled egg. After decades of popularity, fast-pitch mens softball lost ground to slow pitch (a sissy game, Feigner said) and to womens fast pitch. Challenges to play local softball teams came from around the state of Washington. Someone like Feigner who can throw a softball 100mph with accuracy is going to strike out a lot of batters. As Feigner recently observed, In fast-pitch softball, you have to swing four or five inches above the ball or four or five inches below the ball. Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum: 74 It took me years to talk about it," Hoppe said. L Es Stories The Lovesick Blues Boy Was Really The Hillbilly Shakespeare Tribute To The Life and Talents of Hank Williams, L Es Stories Just Say Bogie, That Says It All..I Gave Up Drinking Once.It Was The Worst Afternoon of My Life Tribute To Humphrey Bogart, L Es Stories Well Excuuuuse Me! Barnstorming softball faded into the Americana of wooden roller coasters and hula hoops. Hoppe remembers playing in 100-degree heat in Tacoma, Wash., one day and in sub-zero cold the next day in Barrow, Alaska. Basketball has the Harlem Globetrotters. Hearing a woman or child say they loved watching him pitch meant more to Feigner than any big-league contract. Feigner and his team, known as the King and His Court, traveled around the world with a flamboyance that recalled the barnstorming teams assembled by Babe Ruth and that perhaps most resembled basketballs Harlem Globetrotters. 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. "Almost all the good pitchers the last 20 years came from Canada or New Zealand; that kept ASA alive the last 10 or 15 years. Miller Park, Milwaukee 77 The King and His court is an extremely entertaining show to go watch! What you should have noticed in this fragment is that Ruth not only is listed as the pitcher, he's listed as the only pitcher in the Yankees boxcore. In nine games, the Americans allowed one run and 18 hits. At his peak, Mr. Feigner threw a softball harder than any major league pitcher has ever thrown a baseball. This is a story on sports legend Eddie Feigner" a.k.a. Skip to main content. 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