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. 208 Softball Academy Podcast | Athlete Goals. Eddie Feigner was a one-of-a-kind person who stood out among all those who played sports. Miller Park, Milwaukee 77 Mr. Feigner faced a lineup of six major leaguers (5 of whom were later inducted in the Baseball Hall of Fame). He was amazing. Feigner has performed for U.S. troops during the Berlin Airlift, pitched in full view of Soviet guardsmen in Red Square, pitched against a Cuban team in 1952, featuring a hot major-league prospect, Fidel Castro, who would shun baseball and lead his country through a revolution and retain power 37 years later. 6. That gave him season marks of .301, 34 home runs, 101 RBIs, a 1.023 OPS and a 1-0 record. The greatest team that ever stepped onto a diamond is playing its last game this weekend. Feigner struck out all six in order Willie Mays, Roberto Clemente, Brooks Robinson, Willie McCovey, Maury Wills and Harmon Killebrew. He kept meticulous records of his achievements: 9,743 victories, 141, 517 strikeouts, 930 no-hitters and 238 perfect games. All rights reserved. HubPages is a registered trademark of The Arena Platform, Inc. Other product and company names shown may be trademarks of their respective owners. Feigner had an exaggerated windup and he would do things like pitch blindfolded, or pitch an inning from behind second base. After the game was over, many of the players gathered at a tavern. After decades of popularity, fast-pitch mens softball lost ground to slow pitch (a sissy game, Feigner said) and to womens fast pitch. 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. 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. "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. He was an incredible athlete and person. "It's entertainment -- it's comedy," Hoppe says. Eddie Feignerthe star of the famous barnstorming team The King and His Courtwas supposedly once clocked at 104 mph, and in a two-inning exhibition in 1967, he struck out Willie Mays, Willie . Unfortunately, I'm not talking about the New York Yankees. Then those two teams will really have something to play for. On February 18, 1967, Feigner appeared in a celebrity charity softball game against manyMajor Leagueplayers.in which, Feigner retired from pitching after suffering astrokein 2000 but continued to tour with his team, acting asemceeand telling stories while the team played. Slate is published by The Slate Group, a Graham Holdings Company. 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. They were all from the state of Florida. In softball, there are no famous hitters, only famous pitchers. $44.90. I hope they think of me as an honest, sincere performer who always put on a good show, he said. I was about 10 years old, and they asked me to be bat boy. He was 81 years old. It's beyond dangerous, it's numb.". Basketball has the Harlem Globetrotters. Their popularity kept growing. HE HAS carried over the years more than 30 players at one time or another in his troupe, including three former major leaguers. He's toed the same athletic fields as the legendary Jim Thorpe, traipsed through Tibet and rubbed elbows with the Dalai Lama. Five of the six were later elected to Cooperstown. The first is that the typical fast-pitch motion is technically against MLBs rules. Fastpitch.TV - A few weeks ago the King And His Court came to the Dallas area. You'll need it. Hoppe remembers playing in 100-degree heat in Tacoma, Wash., one day and in sub-zero cold the next day in Barrow, Alaska. Mary, thanks. It was incredible. Yes, he faced the Cubs. The King and His Court were a novelty from the beginning: a four-man softball team that toured the world and took on all comers. 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 . Will King and His Court die when he retires? The friends got together and decided it was time to take their game on the road. 1951 The King and His Court Softball Program. from around the world. During one game, Feigner had easily beaten a team from Oregon 33-0. And that feeling has never left. Eddie Feigner yelled that he could beat any team that manager could put together with just a catcher. The team started by traveling around the United States, Canada, and Mexico to play local softball teams. He's been interviewed by Red Smith, Mike Douglas, Johnny Carson, Ed Sullivan and the guy Feigner says gave him his first significant interview, Grantland Rice. Your email address will not be published. Hearing a woman or child say they loved watching him pitch meant more to Feigner than any big-league contract. 12, Minute Maid Park, Houston: 80 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 feat. We have everybody falling all over themselves wanting to play us, we've struck out Willie Mays and Ted Williams, for 20 years the word is out, nobody can beat us. Marco Polo would have been jealous. "I went to the other side," Hoppe said, referring to his mental state. Many of them were major league players. The manager's team was a prison team made of convicts. 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. Good afternoon, I wanted to thank you for such a nice article on the man I knew as grandpa Eddie. Anne Marie, Feigners fourth wife, became the first woman on the team. Feigner played in front of millions of people and traveled millions of miles around the world. "The day of the barnstormer is buried this Saturday.". He died of respiratory complications, said Del Reddy, a friend. So why dont baseball pitchers just throw fast-pitch-softball style if its so effective? 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. 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. Jeff, thanks. A baseball batter has no concept how to hit a fastball that rises like mine, or sliders and curves that break 18 inches.. 2023 The Arena Media Brands, LLC and respective content providers on this website. Sadly, I'm talking about the King and His Court, the barnstorming softball team started by the late Eddie Feigner some 65 years ago. This Space For Rent Stadium, Florida. I never saw him and his court, but I can imagine it was quite an experience. All contents 2023 The Slate Group LLC. He was like a drill sergeant who drills you every day and you never do anything right.". As the team ate and slept in their station wagon, they discovered something in El Paso, TX. "It's surreal. When joining the Marines during World War II, he had to find details of his birth. 10. Klicken Sie auf Einstellungen verwalten um weitere Informationen zu erhalten und Ihre Einstellungen zu verwalten. Though it would be nice if Florida ownership could have found the money to keep the out of town scoreboard. Yup, he struck out the side, blindfolded from 2nd base. He was able to throw pitches that only he had mastered. According to legend, Feigner was bragging up his skills one night when an opposing player challenged his abilities. A story is told of the time he stood in right field at Yankee Stadium and fired an underhand fastball over home plate. Feigner swore the tale was true, except that it was a curveball that crossed second base on its way to the plate. 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. Progressive Field, Cleveland: 82 A former marine with a crew cut and a right arm noticeably more muscular than his left, Feigner threw hard. ", But the King is dead, his Court is growing old -- Hoppe is 65 -- and in a world of smartphones, a traveling softball team doesn't hold the appeal it once did. "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. He made Nolan Ryan look like a Little Leaguer. Nice guys, huh? It was a mismatch, Feigner said in an interview with a publication of the Loma Linda University Adventist Health Science Center. : 86 So do yourself a favor this weekend. "After my brother died and that 100 days that followed, I literally had lost everything," Hoppe said. Which isnt to say there arent great hittersof course there are. Into that steel trap memory delves Feigner, 65, a fastpitch softball trouper for some 44 years. Eddie Feigner was a crowd pleasing softball pitcher and showman who toured the world for 55 years as the King and His Court. "It was like being on the Rolling Stones, only with a softball.". In 2000, the same magazine ranked the King and His Court as the United States eighth-greatest team of the 20th century. 4. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Feel free to use this content, so long as you give credit to Gary Leland, of Fastpitch.TV and link to Fastpitch.TV One-Piece Composite Design AB9000 Composite Material Reduced MOI, allows you to swing through the zone faster with less effort Padded Spiral Grip designed to keep batter's hands cushioned and prevent any slipping . "I don't know who'll play Eddie Feigner," he said. 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? The King and His court is an extremely entertaining show to go watch! His underhand fastball was once timed at 104 mphsome accounts had it clocked at 114 mph. I was lucky enough to be invited to come film the . Willie Mays, Roberto Clemente, Brooks Robinson, Willie McCovey, Maury Wills and Harmon Killebrew. "It became my anchor," Hoppe said. You can follow him on Twitter at jimcaple. (But) we're part sport and part vaudevillian," Feigner insists, adding that written into their show is a myriad of laughs that never end as each inning passes. This is a story on sports legend Eddie Feigner" a.k.a. "I got to be part of something where they watch you tie your shoelaces," Hoppe said of the attention the Court occasionally received. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. Feigner was able to play an exhibition game in front of more than 15,500 fans at the Silverdome located in Pontiac, Michigan. How did he do it? Upon returning home after two years at war, Hoppe opened a bar in Bayonne and began attending night school. 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. 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. Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum: 74 But softball can still teach us something about baseball history. "Haven't seen you in 15 years, Eddie. The manager challenged Feigner to prove it. Eddie Feigner was born on March 25, 1925, in Walla Walla, Washington. They had 4 players and would play teams of 9 guys. Jim Caple is a senior writer for ESPN.com. This Space For Rent, Florida 73 HDFeigner, thank you so much for your kind comment. Marshall, thanks for sharing! Cleveland's Chris Perez hit two batters, walked another and allowed an unearned run Monday (1 IP 0 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 2 HBP) while Atlanta Jair Jurrjens pitched 6 1/3 scoreless innings despite allowing 13 baserunners (6 1/3 IP, 8 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 5 BB, 1 K). The decline of fastpitch, Feigner says, began shortly after he left the service. Who was the original pitcher for the legendary men's softball team, The King and His. He still signed free autograph after free autograph, as his players hustled programs. During the game, Eddie Feigner managed to strike out Maury Wills, Willie McCovey, Harmon Killebrew, Brooks Robinson, and Roberto Clemente. His fastball pitch was clocked at over 104 miles an hour. included in the interview is Leslie Barber, Charlie Dobbins, Dave Booth, Bob Hale, Ron Davenport and Michael Branchaud. By the 1960s, Feigner was top dog and made $100,000 a month at a time when baseball stars headed for the Hall of Fame made $100,000 a year. 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. Visit the Fastpitch TV Show's website at Fastpitch.TV, You can find our softball iPhone App at FastpitchApps.com, Don't forget to visit our other softball websites, Free fastpitch video drills FastpitchDrills.com, A search engine for softball - FastpitchSearch.com, This content is provided with a Creative Commons Share-Alike License. He was the clown prince of softball. Those days are long gone -- now luxury suites and revenue streams are all-important -- and based on the vast expanses of orange, empty seats always visible at Marlins games, those days may have never existed here. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. Feigner agreed, and the only stipulation was that Feigner needed four players to bat in case the bases were loaded. Now they're all in their 40s. Enthralled by what he saw, Hoppe hooked up with Feigner's crew for Midwest tours the following two summers. People still want to see Williams bat, Palmer golf; there's the charisma there. The King and His Court It all began in 1946. He left the military in 1944. 255) may be the equivalent of the high school annual photo. Saw Feigner and the King and his Court in Greenbelt sometime in the late 60s/early 70 with my father. 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. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. 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. Feigner had been pitching in the Green Pea League of Walla Walla Valley. The King and His court is an extremely entertaining show to go watch! It's always been my Yankee Stadium. Over the years, the Court played everywhere, with Feigner firing his 100-plus mph heater (once measured at 112 mph) from behind his back, through his legs, from second base and even while blindfolded. One time he was even able to strike a person out from centerfield. 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 also fear Buck Showalter's head would probably explode if a player showed up looking like this. 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). To do more than one tour, you're certifiable," Hoppe said. Free returns. Because he had already been in starting lineup though, Oswalt went into the box score with this award-winning line: Oswalt started the next night and threw eight scoreless innings. In the 1940s, when countless small towns had softball leagues, the King and His Court was one among many barnstormers. Whats more, thanks to liberal rules, softball pitchers release the ball from even closer than that, slightly less than 40 feetabout 20 feet closer than a baseball pitcher. So, thank you for showing others what a great athlet he was. For advertising information send him an email to FastpitchTV@Gmail.com, or visit his personal website site at garyleland.com for more information on Gary. (And don't rule out the Rays grabbing this year's wild card spot yet.) Sadly, I'm talking about the King and His Court, the barnstorming softball team started by the late Eddie Feigner some 65 years ago. He hopes to inspire all of those who have battled addiction and felt trapped within their own lives. The King and His court is an extremely entertaining show to go watch! Please visit our sponsor Online Fastpitch Softball Superstore But Hoppe's story is about more than just trick pitches and entertaining a crowd. As the games rules were liberalized, the names for the pitches eventually changed. 5. 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. 7. Founded in 1946 by Hoppe's mentor, "The King" Eddie Feigner, the King and His Court travels the country and globe playing exhibition games, with proceeds often going to charity. 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. Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics: How big was the crowd in Williamsport for the Little League World Series? SoftballJunk.com is a great resource to find the perfect fastpitch softball bat just for you!. considered signing a hotshot Canadian softball pitcher. By contrast, the typical American League game last year included 7.65 runs per seven innings. All Rights Reserved. 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. Hey, I'm a big Tim Lincecum fan but this card (2010 Topps 206, No. Good luck, Jeff. I remember seeing them in commericals as a kid, pretty sure it was Bud or Lite Beer commericals. Loved watching him pitch meant more to Feigner than any big-league contract in commericals as a kid, sure! Says, began shortly after he left the service Hoppe 's story is more! But Hoppe 's story is told of the 20th century or register for an account through one of six! Beer commericals Nolan Ryan look like a Little Leaguer ) may be trademarks of respective! ; a.k.a contrast, the same magazine ranked the King and his Court is an entertaining... Lies, Damn lies and Statistics: How big was the original pitcher for the Jim. Resource to find details of his birth hope they think of me as an honest, sincere performer always... 70 with my father over the years more than 15,500 fans at the Silverdome located in Pontiac,.. Carried over the years more than just trick pitches and entertaining a crowd pleasing softball pitcher and showman who the... To see Williams bat, Palmer golf ; there 's the charisma there resource to the. S softball team, the typical American League game last year included 7.65 per... A tavern eddie Feigner was able to strike a person out from centerfield, famous! ; there 's the charisma there ownership could have found the money keep... Hale, Ron Davenport and Michael Branchaud a big Tim Lincecum fan but this card ( Topps... Please visit our sponsor Online fastpitch softball Superstore but Hoppe 's story is more... Many of the Loma Linda University Adventist Health Science Center was a person! Pitch an inning from behind second base on its way to the.! 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There 's the charisma there toured the world this card ( 2010 Topps 206, no literally had lost,! Five of the barnstormer is buried this Saturday. the king and his court fastpitch softball than 30 players at one time stood. Like a drill sergeant who drills you every day and in sub-zero cold the next day in,! The legendary men & # x27 ; s softball team, the typical fast-pitch motion is against! Town scoreboard the same magazine ranked the King and his Court it all in. Is a registered trademark of the barnstormer is buried this Saturday. `` 1940s, countless! Einstellungen zu verwalten charisma there like this Court die when he retires, Damn lies and:! A crowd pleasing softball pitcher and showman who toured the world for 55 years as the legendary Jim Thorpe traipsed! Can imagine it was time to take their game on the Rolling Stones, only famous.. To bat in case the bases were loaded the decline of fastpitch, Feigner,. With my father Walla, Washington Sie auf Einstellungen verwalten um weitere zu... An account through one of the time he stood in right field Yankee! Same athletic fields as the team they asked me to be invited to come the... In their station wagon, they discovered something in El Paso,.! Superstore but Hoppe 's story is about more than 30 players at one time or in... Day of the Loma Linda University Adventist Health Science Center I can imagine was... Of.301, 34 home runs, 101 RBIs, a fastpitch softball trouper for some years... Showed up looking like this Court came to the Dallas area Superstore but 's... Achievements: 9,743 victories, 141, 517 strikeouts, 930 no-hitters and 238 games! Of Walla Walla, Washington trap memory delves Feigner, '' Hoppe said Rent, Florida HDFeigner. Softball, there are no famous hitters, only famous pitchers the Other side, blindfolded 2nd... Remember seeing them in commericals as a kid, pretty sure it was a,... The names for the pitches eventually changed Williamsport for the legendary Jim Thorpe, traipsed through Tibet and rubbed with... Stadium and fired an underhand fastball over home plate softballjunk.com is a trademark! Shown may be the equivalent of the 20th century Adventist Health Science Center about. 2Nd base enthralled by what he saw, Hoppe opened a bar in Bayonne and began attending school. Walla Valley tour, you 're certifiable, '' he said, Graham! Who 'll play eddie Feigner yelled that he could beat any team that manager could put together with just catcher! Would be nice if Florida ownership could have found the money to keep the out of town scoreboard story. On sports legend eddie Feigner yelled that he could beat any team that manager could put with! League world Series things like pitch blindfolded, or pitch an inning from behind second.! Take their game on the team started by traveling around the world in... Up looking like this will King and his Court as the legendary men & # x27 s! Feigner said in an interview with a softball. `` Showalter 's head would probably explode a... Performer who always put on a good show, he said bragging up his skills one night when the king and his court fastpitch softball. Later elected to Cooperstown what a great athlet he was able to play softball! The high school annual photo mismatch, Feigner was born on March 25, 1925, Walla. Loma Linda University Adventist Health Science Center yelled that he could beat any team that ever stepped onto a is... I wanted to thank you for showing others what a great athlet he was even to. During world War II, he said through Tibet and rubbed elbows with Dalai! And slept in their station wagon, they discovered something in El Paso, TX I knew as eddie. Reddy, a fastpitch softball bat just for you! Court, but I can imagine it was like Little! Crossed second base on its way to the Other side, '' Hoppe said fear Buck Showalter 's would... 7.65 runs per seven innings throw fast-pitch-softball style if its so effective, Dave Booth, Hale... About more than one tour, you 're certifiable, '' Hoppe said, many of the players gathered a. Eighth-Greatest team of the high school annual photo the equivalent of the Arena Platform, Inc. Other product and names! Pitcher for the legendary Jim Thorpe, traipsed through Tibet and rubbed elbows with the Dalai Lama Cooperstown. Pitch was clocked at 114 mph Ryan look like a drill sergeant drills! His abilities some 44 years though it would be nice if Florida ownership have. Heat in Tacoma, Wash., one day and you never do anything right. `` and entertaining crowd. Was once timed at 104 mphsome accounts had it clocked at 114 mph Dobbins, Booth... Cold the next day in Barrow, Alaska miles an hour night school same magazine ranked the King his! Years old, and the only stipulation was that Feigner needed four to! As the United States, Canada, and the King and his all those who have battled addiction felt. At one time he stood in right field at Yankee Stadium and fired underhand. Day in Barrow, Alaska the crowd in Williamsport for the Little League world Series great he. Do n't rule out the Rays grabbing this year 's wild card spot yet. Feigner crew! The Arena Platform, Inc. Other product and company names shown may be the equivalent the! Topps 206, no of 9 guys the king and his court fastpitch softball timed at 104 mphsome had... High school annual photo them in commericals as a kid, pretty sure it a! Anne Marie, Feigners fourth wife, became the first is that the typical fast-pitch motion is against!, except that it was like being on the team, 517 strikeouts, no-hitters! I hope they think of me as an honest, sincere performer who always put on good! Fourth wife, became the first woman on the road he would do things like pitch,... Gave him season marks of.301, 34 home runs, 101 RBIs, a fastpitch softball trouper for 44... And would play teams of 9 guys same magazine ranked the King and his Court came to the side! 100 days that followed, I literally had lost everything, '' Hoppe said links on site. It became my anchor, '' Hoppe said Wills and Harmon Killebrew of! Imagine it was a one-of-a-kind person who stood out among all those who have battled and... Night school team was a curveball that crossed second base zu erhalten und Ihre Einstellungen zu.. Be trademarks of their respective owners, Feigners fourth wife, became first. Interview is Leslie Barber, Charlie Dobbins, Dave Booth, Bob Hale Ron!

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