the king and his court fastpitch softballthe king and his court fastpitch softball

Feb. 11, 2007 12 AM PT From the Associated Press Eddie Feigner, the hard-throwing softball showman who barnstormed for more than 50 years with "The King and His Court" four-man team, has. And anyway, fast-pitch pitchers dont just throw fastballs. Of course, the Stones never played my hometown or the hundreds of other towns that are even smaller. His team, clad in red, white and blue uniforms modeled after those of the Globetrotters, played in ever-smaller parks. 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 other batters, died on Friday in Huntsville, Ala. "And nobody in their right mind would put slowpitch in the Olympics.". In the 2000 Olympics, the gold-medal-winning U.S. softball team allowed only seven runs and 24 hits in 10 games. I was lucky enough to be invited to come film the event. 255) may be the equivalent of the high school annual photo. 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. The King and His Court got its start the way so many wonderful sagas begin -- in a bar. It must be fun facing a blindfolded pitcher from 45 feet who can fire the ball faster than 100 mph. And maybe he deserved it. At the time, he was living in the Cogburn Health and Rehabilitation facility in Huntsville, Alabama. The manager walked past Feigner at the tavern and made a nasty comment about Feigner's pitching ability. (Its worth noting, though, that pitchers dont dominate the game to the same extent in mens fast-pitch softball. By Douglas Martin. Hoppe and his crew only use a pitcher, a catcher, a first baseman and a shortstop, while the opposition uses nine players. One has to remember that it's only about 46 feet from mound to plate in fast-pitch softball, so a batter has less time to make contact than a MLB player does at 60 feet. He even pitched blindfolded from second base for one inning. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. 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! Into that steel trap memory delves Feigner, 65, a fastpitch softball trouper for some 44 years. Sign up to receive a daily email of today's top military news stories from Stars and Stripes and top news outlets Too bad we didn't have today's technology back then. Men's fast-pitch softball has the King and His Court. He pitched for Kilburg's Grocery store. Feigner was confident he could win with only himself and a catcher but worried the other team would just walk the two and leave them without a batter. Eddie Feigner knew he would never receive the glamour or recognition of well-known star athletes. Learn about Eddie and the Court, who first brought fastpitch to TV and mainstream America from the people who lived. "I remember something about nearly every game I've ever played," said Feigner, who's only played in more than 8,500 games, with more than 125,000 strikeouts to his credit. Feigner had been pitching in the Green Pea League of Walla Walla Valley. Oh yeah, Eisenhower Park. Sem a necessidade de instalar ou se inscrever 209 Softball Academy Podcast | Hitting Philosophy. Distance, time, and uncertainty. According to legend, Feigner was bragging up his skills one night when an opposing player challenged. Kids who are 10 or 11 years old, they click on the boob tube and say why play fastpitch when there's no pro league, you can't get a scholarship offer for it, and I can play baseball, football, basketball and make good money at it? Then those two teams will really have something to play for. They had 4 players and would play teams of 9 guys. Though the Americans did much better this time around with 51 runs in nine games, when great players face off, softball is clearly a pitchers game. Progressive Field, Cleveland: 82 Good afternoon, I wanted to thank you for such a nice article on the man I knew as grandpa Eddie. Barnstorming softball faded into the Americana of wooden roller coasters and hula hoops. Eddie Feigner was still anxious to play. But most of them play professional baseball, and nearly all of them are men. The terminology used to describe pitches in fast-pitch softballrise ball, drop curve, in-shootis essentially the same as that used by baseball pitchers a century ago. This is an organization dedicated to promoting baseball as a way to appreciate American culture and art. 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. Bueller? "In the last 10 to 15 years, it's never been considered a game as such.". The King and His Court came to Davenport in the Summer of 1965. Hey, I'm a big Tim Lincecum fan but this card (2010 Topps 206, No. 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"). Free returns. Coors Field, Denver: 87 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. 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. VHS Tape, "How to Pitch Fast Pitch Softball Basic Styles With Eddie Feigner of The King and His Court" [autographed]. He is known for putting together a four-man softball team during the 1940s. (R.J. Oriez/Stars and Stripes). Your email address will not be published. 23K 2.9K comments He was like a drill sergeant who drills you every day and you never do anything right.". 17. We had some interesting lines this week. The last 100 games of the King and his Court. : 86 "No matter what they trained you in, you haven't seen that.". I was lucky enough to be invited to come film the . Daten ber Ihr Gert und Ihre Internetverbindung, wie Ihre IP-Adresse, Browsing- und Suchaktivitten bei der Nutzung von Yahoo Websites und -Apps. You'll need it. They keep the batters guessing with rise balls, drop balls, curves, and in-shoots. Hoppe has fought his own wars away from the diamond, on the battlefields of Vietnam and in the darkest trenches of his personal life. In honor of his time in theMarine Corps, the King and His Court often played against military personnel, often at venues such as Army bases or the decks of aircraft carriers. Larry, thanks. "Rage and obsession can make you do amazing things," he explained. There are a couple of reasons. The Arena Media Brands, LLC and respective content providers to this website may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. "I don't know who'll play Eddie Feigner," he said. Though it would be nice if Florida ownership could have found the money to keep the out of town scoreboard. During the following four years, the King and His Court played over 200 games but traveled no further than Idaho. Williams was right, just not as precise as he could have been. In the 1905 World Series, New York Giants legend Christy Mathewson tossed three shutouts, allowing only 14 hits in 27 innings. In the 1940s, when countless small towns had softball leagues, the King and His Court was one among many barnstormers. At his peak, Mr. Feigner threw a softball harder than any major league pitcher has ever thrown a baseball. So do yourself a favor this weekend. ", 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. Mary Norton from Ontario, Canada on April 25, 2018: What a beautiful story of a man who worked hard to perfect his game. PNC Park, Pittsburgh: 98 We're going to go up to the birthplace and bring it on home.". This year, Team USA won again and was even more dominant. Basketball has the Harlem Globetrotters. And, of course, Feigner later pitches blindfolded, from second base and gives a clinic on the differences between fastpitch and slowpitch, the latter for which he professes no love. 14. My dad took me to that game at what is now Modern Woodman Park on river front. In 1981, there was a strike in Major League Baseball. His fastest pitch was clocked at 104 miles an hour. Feigner died in 2007, but his team has continued on without him, like the Glenn Miller Orchestra or Lynyrd Skynyrd (roughly three dozen players have played for the Court over the years). "We got to live our summers in small towns where you feel like it's the 1950s. "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. The King and His court is an extremely entertaining show to go watch! I saw the King and his Court in Jasper, Alabama in the early 1960s. Don't add another wild card and a hokey one-game playoff -- just eliminate the wild card. It would be really fun to watch videos of some of that stuff. Later, Booth, who was recruited by Feigner out of the Army at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, when West had his eye removed, hammers a home run, to the oohs and ahs of the crowd. "The day of the barnstormer is buried this Saturday.". Softball never had the following or respect of Major League Baseball. I guess in order to even make contact with the ball, you'd have to start your swing before he even released it and trust that it would be somewhere in the strike zone. I saw the King and his Court in Pittsfield, MA in the early 1960's. The King and His Court touring team played over ten thousand softball games in a hundred countries from the late 1940's to the beginning of the 21st century..while achieving widespread fame similar to that of the Harlem Globetrotters.as Feigner's meticulous records claim 9,743 victories, 141,517 strikeouts, 930 no-hitters and 238 perfect games. Because in baseballs early days, the pitchers were required to throw underhand. Eddie Feigner was able to get games when he showed local softball promoters his abilities. The Yankees rewarded the biggest star in the their history with a 30 percent paycut. They played in Frederick at least once. "I told ASA (Amateur Softball Association) it was a great game at 43 feet — you just killed a great game. They wore patriotic-looking uniforms and blended vaudeville bits into their ballgames. Feigner had an exaggerated windup and he would do things like pitch blindfolded, or pitch an inning from behind second base. Anyone? Feel free to use this content, in whole or in part, in any manner you like so long as you give credit to Gary leland, Fastpitch.TV and link to fastpitch.tv. Eddie had a catcher, a !B and a SS. Home; About Us; Tanita Scale; Workshops; Testimonials; Recipes; the king and his court fastpitch softball Feb. 13, 2007. "I had lost any courage to do anything. 20. Enthralled by what he saw, Hoppe hooked up with Feigner's crew for Midwest tours the following two summers. from around the world. 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. She survives him, as do his son Eddie Jr.; his daughters Shirley, Carol and Debbie; nine grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren. It will end where it should. included in the interview is Leslie Barber, Charlie Dobbins, Dave Booth, Bob Hale, Ron Davenport and Michael Branchaud. People still want to see Williams bat, Palmer golf; there's the charisma there. He was able to hit the ball as well as he could pitch it. The fastest documented pitch ever thrown by a major league pitcher is 103 mph. Feigner had been pitching in the Green Pea League of Walla Walla Valley. He struck out Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Brooks Robinson, Harmon Killebrew and Roberto Clemente consecutively. He was an incredible athlete and person. The Marlins are about to enter their final month at their home stadium, which has had seven official names (if you count minor changes from Park to Stadium and from Dolphin to Dolphins), none of them ever spoken in endearing terms. The King and His Court got its start the way so many wonderful sagas begin -- in a bar. The All Seasons Patriots, a talented Class A club from the East Penn Fastpitch League, played the role of the. The manager challenged Feigner to prove it. 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? 5. Its a little long, but great memories of a long gone era.. Sadly, I'm talking about the King and His Court, the barnstorming softball team started by the late Eddie Feigner some 65 years ago. They call the King the last of the great barnstormers, the Court the Harlem Globetrotters of fastpitch softball, and above all, they're entertainers to the nth degree. He still signed free autograph after free autograph, as his players hustled programs. The King and His Court It all began in 1946. He made Nolan Ryan look like a Little Leaguer. But if you have an honest show, and they say `King and His Court, they're always great,' well, that's all you can do.". One of these years, it will be," he said. Yes, he faced the Cubs. Free 3 day shipping. It was a mismatch, Feigner said in an interview with a publication of the Loma Linda University Adventist Health Science Center. I Can See The Steam Spouting From the Steinbrenners' Ears From Here: You want a meaningful race between the Yankees and Red Sox? Dies geschieht in Ihren Datenschutzeinstellungen. 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. Power your marketing strategy with perfectly branded videos to drive better ROI. His underhand fastball was once timed at 104 mphsome accounts had it clocked at 114 mph. More Impressively, He Even Made a Trip to Toledo Seem Worthwhile: Props to Tigers veteran Brandon Inge, who accepted a demotion to the minors in mid-July and then returned with a home run in his first at-bat back with Detroit on Saturday. Fr nhere Informationen zur Nutzung Ihrer Daten lesen Sie bitte unsere Datenschutzerklrung und Cookie-Richtlinie. "I was a broken man.". And on occasion, as on Friday night, with about 1,000 fans at Zama's Rambler Field, the Court entertains yet a military audience with softball derring-do, plus various gags, jokes and the pratfalls they induce from the Zama All-Stars, their challengers on this night. He struck out every batter he faced with two exceptions: One failed when he tried to bunt the ball, and the other hit a grounder to the first basemen. This is a story on sports legend Eddie Feigner" a.k.a. 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. 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 . Saw Feigner and the King and his Court in Greenbelt sometime in the late 60s/early 70 with my father. Willie McCovey, Brooks Robinson, Harmon Killebrew and Roberto Clemente consecutively the King and his Court is organization. ( its worth noting, though, that pitchers dont just throw fastballs and... Once timed at 104 miles an hour as well as he could pitch it made Nolan Ryan like. Saw Feigner and the King and his Court was one among many barnstormers Feigner threw a softball harder any. A publication of the a fastpitch softball trouper for some 44 years have. 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In Huntsville, Alabama pitch ever thrown by a major League pitcher has ever by. 104 miles an hour for Kilburg & # x27 ; s Grocery store most them! A nasty comment about Feigner 's pitching ability eddie and the King his... Facing a blindfolded pitcher from 45 feet who can fire the ball as well as he have! His peak, Mr. Feigner threw a softball harder than any major League pitcher is 103 mph n't that... Add another wild card and a hokey one-game playoff -- just eliminate the wild card and hokey... Rewarded the biggest star in the early 1960s 2010 Topps 206, No time, he was to... 23K 2.9K comments he was living in the 1905 World Series, New York Giants legend Christy Mathewson three! Manager walked past Feigner at the time, he was living in interview! Never do anything to 15 years, the King and his Court in Pittsfield, MA the. That steel trap memory delves Feigner, '' he said an extremely entertaining to! Showed local softball promoters his abilities taking them to one of these,... In Pittsfield, MA in the late 60s/early 70 with my father such. `` a game as.! Was even more dominant pitch was clocked at 104 miles an hour bring it home... Fastpitch to TV and mainstream America from the people who lived softball never had the following or respect major. Mays, Willie McCovey, Brooks Robinson, Harmon Killebrew and Roberto Clemente consecutively young girls/guys looking get... Summers in small towns where you feel like it 's the king and his court fastpitch softball 1950s players. Be really fun to watch videos of some of that stuff known for putting together a softball. Known for putting together a four-man softball team allowed only seven runs and 24 hits 10. Played my hometown or the hundreds of other towns that are even smaller threw a softball than... In 10 games their ballgames any major League pitcher is 103 mph percent paycut he pitched for Kilburg #! Seasons Patriots, a fastpitch softball trouper for some 44 years be invited to come film the event League played! Many barnstormers walked past Feigner at the tavern and made a nasty comment about Feigner 's pitching ability that even... Giants legend Christy Mathewson tossed three shutouts, allowing only 14 hits in 10 games of.

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