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. from The softball team was very popular with audiences because they performed funny tricks that made the fans laugh. Enthralled by what he saw, Hoppe hooked up with Feigner's crew for Midwest tours the following two summers. Feigner was Sidd Finch with a crewcut, Clint Eastwood with a fastball. And anyway, fast-pitch pitchers dont just throw fastballs. Wrigley Field, Chicago: 90 We had some interesting lines this week. Im now 66 years old. Hell, if you live anywhere, get to Walla Walla. I was about 10 years old, and they asked me to be bat boy. "I miss the guy, I really do. I use to watch him play all the time not realizing what a great player and performer he was. 1983 The King and His Court ~ 4-Man Softball Team ~ Signed Autographed Program. This place hasn't exactly been as enticing as Margatitaville but it isn't that terrible either, especially as multi-purpose stadiums go. Hearing a woman or child say they loved watching him pitch meant more to Feigner than any big-league contract. Anyone can read what you share. They were awesome. He quickly became a successful businessman and got back into softball, but his alcohol and drug addictions intensified. In 1981, there was a strike in Major League Baseball. As one batter put it, I was waiting for a pitch, heard a noise, watched the catcher throw the ball back. He and his court, which included only a catcher, first-baseman and shortstop, played everywhere from Yankee Stadium to the Great Wall of China. 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. 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. No town was too small for them, no fans too unimportant. But most of them play professional baseball, and nearly all of them are men. A world traveler is he. During one game, Feigner had easily beaten a team from Oregon 33-0. 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). Also, they would occasionally be on Wide World of Sports. Ted Williams was fond of saying that the toughest thing in sports is hitting a round ball with a round bat. In 2002, ESPN.com listed Feigner as one of the 10 greatest pitchers in a list that included Walter Johnson and Sandy Koufax. Men's fast-pitch softball has the King and His Court. "After my brother died and that 100 days that followed, I literally had lost everything," Hoppe said. The four players of the King and His Court easily beat the nine-player prison team 7-0. They call the King the last of the great barnstormers, the Court the Harlem Globetrotters of . After decades of popularity, fast-pitch mens softball lost ground to slow pitch (a sissy game, Feigner said) and to womens fast pitch. "We need some runs against this team. It's absolutely like your life is flashing in front of you," Hoppe said. He died of respiratory complications, said Del Reddy, a friend. I never saw him and his court, but I can imagine it was quite an experience. They escaped flash floods and tornadoes. Yet, "It's like Bob Feller said: `I can still throw as hard as I ever did. He was Philly's scheduled starter Friday night but there was such a lengthy rain delay between when he warmed up and when the Phillies finally took the field that manager Charlie Manuel decided it was better to skip him for the night. He pitched for Kilburg's Grocery store. 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). ", You know the rules. I would have loved to have bee able to have a conversation with him. 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. HE HAS a book planned and a movie scripted, but there's no ending to either, yet; thus, they're both on the shelf. Eddie Feigner was a one-of-a-kind person who stood out among all those who played sports. 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. If you live anywhere in the Northwest, go to Walla Walla this Saturday to see the end of an era. What amazed most fans that day was how he was able to strike out all of them in a row. This Amateur Softball Association (ASA) had forbidden its members to play against Eddie Feigner and his team. Camden Yards, Baltimore: 92 I think I'll steal third. "I found a way out.". Into that steel trap memory delves Feigner, 65, a fastpitch softball trouper for some 44 years. Not bad for a fat man. He was part of more than 56 foreign tours. It was a great event, and here is . Feigner was born in Walla Walla, Wash., on March 26, 1925. "How did you remember that?" "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. He made Nolan Ryan look like a Little Leaguer. Eddie Feigner was still anxious to play. It will end where it should. "We can't compete with modern entertainment," Hoppe said. The King and His Court went to towns even McDonald's ignores. The King and His Court came to Davenport in the Summer of 1965. Its just that the conditions of the game simply dont allow even the greatest hitters to be successful often enough for anybody to notice. 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. "FASTPITCH IS a lost art — irretrievable in our generation. A couple of years ago, the Kansas City Royals considered signing a hotshot Canadian softball pitcher before realizing that his style was illegal. I just thought that was normal. I was lucky enough to be invited to come film the event. Willie Mays, Roberto Clemente, Brooks Robinson, Willie McCovey, Maury Wills and Harmon Killebrew. 1. or Best Offer. Gary leland is a new media producer of fastpitch softball. This is a story on sports legend Eddie Feigner" a.k.a. ", "If you did one tour with the Court, you've been tested. Bueller? According to legend, Feigner was bragging up his skills one night when an opposing player challenged. Good afternoon, I wanted to thank you for such a nice article on the man I knew as grandpa Eddie. But the week's most interesting line was by Philadelphia's Roy Oswalt, who officially started games on consecutive days and didn't allow a run in either. Who was the original pitcher for the legendary men's softball team, The King and His. Either that, or an outtake from "Twilight 4: Team Timmy No-Hits Team Edward.'' 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. She survives him, as do his son Eddie Jr.; his daughters Shirley, Carol and Debbie; nine grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren. Feigner, who at the end made a tiny fraction of the fabulous salaries of baseball players, never slowed down. 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. 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! He couldn't be a showman and entertainer as well as an athlete if he played professional sports. 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. He struck out all six. In international competition, the pitchers plate (or rubber, as baseball fans know it) is only 43 feet from home plate. The manager's team was a prison team made of convicts. His gimmick of fielding four players against nine began with his response to losers taunts. Pitchers with speed and a varied repertoirelike current U.S. Olympians Finch, Lisa Fernandez, and Cat Ostermanmake life almost impossible for even the best hitters. "It's entertainment -- it's comedy," Hoppe says. This year, Team USA won again and was even more dominant. "Haven't seen you in 15 years, Eddie. 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. In nine games, the Americans allowed one run and 18 hits. Basketball has the Harlem Globetrotters. Yup, he struck out the side, blindfolded from 2nd base. Eddie Feigner knew he would never receive the glamour or recognition of well-known star athletes. He was able to throw pitches that only he had mastered. You get to touch people and leave them with a message.". "I don't know who'll play Eddie Feigner," he said. Free returns. He was like a drill sergeant who drills you every day and you never do anything right.". Eddie Feigner winds up during a game at Camp Zama, Japan, in May, 1989. Larry Rankin from Oklahoma on April 26, 2018: I'd heard of this guy before, but you certainly gave me a great deal more insight into it. Please enable JavaScript to experience Vimeo in all of its glory. He pitched behind his back, from second base, between his legs, when kneeling and, of course, while blindfolded. Distance, time, and uncertainty. The King and His Court" and his visit to. 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