HE AND his four-player team have donned their blue and red star-spangled uniforms 225 times a year for more than 18 million fans, traveling almost 4 million miles to 86 countries, 55 in which they've played actual games and the other 31 in which they've demonstrated fastpitch skill, specifically Feigner's mystical mound mastery. 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. The manager walked past Feigner at the tavern and made a nasty comment about Feigner's pitching ability. The King and His Court remain the Harlem Globetrotters of fastpitch. When joining the Marines during World War II, he had to find details of his birth. He would even pitch blindfolded. 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 . Coors Field, Denver: 87 The King and His Court" and his visit to. 255) may be the equivalent of the high school annual photo. ", 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. All Rights Reserved. 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. gary leland. And oh yeah, the Court of 4 won the game! This Amateur Softball Association (ASA) had forbidden its members to play against Eddie Feigner and his team. Thats roughly what Finch, Fernandez, and Osterman did these two weeks except they didnt allow as many hits. Bueller? 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. 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. Challenges to play local softball teams came from around the state of Washington. 2023 The Arena Media Brands, LLC and respective content providers on this website. Your email address will not be published. A world traveler is he. His life would then come crashing down in 1988, when his brother Robert died of AIDS. A celebrity charity softball game was held in February of 1967. 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. Don't add another wild card and a hokey one-game playoff -- just eliminate the wild card. What amazed most fans that day was how he was able to strike out all of them in a row. 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. Fr nhere Informationen zur Nutzung Ihrer Daten lesen Sie bitte unsere Datenschutzerklrung und Cookie-Richtlinie. The Yankees rewarded the biggest star in the their history with a 30 percent paycut. They played in Frederick at least once. Williams was right, just not as precise as he could have been. CAMP ZAMA, Japan — The guest shook the strong, firm right hand, gazed into the ruddy face, stared for a moment at the graying, thinning trademark flattop crew cut. Jan 24, 2012 - Produced by http://Fastpitch.TV - A few weeks ago the King And His Court came to the Dallas area. He was expelled from high school for troublemaking. "We can't compete with modern entertainment," Hoppe said. from 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. Prooyen, a six-time national champion whom Feigner calls the "best pitcher at his age (25) today," later pitches an inning or two. 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. This didn't stop them. 6. 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. ", 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. Hell, if you live anywhere, get to Walla Walla. You get to touch people and leave them with a message.". 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. Nice guys, huh? On The Tonight Show, a blindfolded Feigner knocked a cigar from Johnny Carsons mouth. He was more than a player; he was a showman. 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. 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. This place hasn't exactly been as enticing as Margatitaville but it isn't that terrible either, especially as multi-purpose stadiums go. Dies geschieht in Ihren Datenschutzeinstellungen. Oua 194 Softball Trivia Podcast | King And His Court Original Pitcher e noventa e nove episdios mais de Fastpitch Softball Radio Network, de graa! 21. ". I never saw him and his court, but I can imagine it was quite an experience. He kept meticulous records of his achievements: 9,743 victories, 141, 517 strikeouts, 930 no-hitters and 238 perfect games. He took her last name and the name Eddie from a friend. Unfortunately, I'm not talking about the New York Yankees. As the team ate and slept in their station wagon, they discovered something in El Paso, TX. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (each updated 1/26/2023). "I had lost any courage to do anything. Feigner played in front of millions of people and traveled millions of miles around the world. Camden Yards, Baltimore: 92 But its usually not just Team USAs opponents who struggle to score. 2. 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. Anyone can read what you share. In 2000, the same magazine ranked the King and His Court as the United States eighth-greatest team of the 20th century. 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. 1951 The King and His Court Softball Program. The six? "It's entertainment -- it's comedy," Hoppe says. This is a story on sports legend Eddie Feigner" a.k.a. "YEAH, THAT'S why I'm gonna steal," retorts Booth, to the delight of the crowd. 13. Host virtual events and webinars to increase engagement and generate leads. I can only imagine he was something to have watched. He couldn't be a showman and entertainer as well as an athlete if he played professional sports. The Ballpark in Arlington, Texas: 77 There are a couple of reasons. The team started by traveling around the United States, Canada, and Mexico to play local softball teams. Today, there are no great pitchers left out there. In this years Olympics, there were 19 games that didntinclude weak sisters Greece and Italy. It's absolutely like your life is flashing in front of you," Hoppe said. Eddie Feigner passed away on February 9, 2007, from complications associated with dementia. included in the interview is Leslie Barber, Charlie Dobbins, Dave Booth, Bob Hale, Ron Davenport and Michael Branchaud. As the games rules were liberalized, the names for the pitches eventually changed. Softball never had the following or respect of Major League Baseball. Eddie Feigner formed the King and His Court more than 14,000 games and 4 million miles ago in his hometown of Walla Walla, Wash. Please visit our sponsor Online Fastpitch Softball Superstore 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. Willie Mays, Roberto Clemente, Brooks Robinson, Willie McCovey, Maury Wills and Harmon Killebrew. In the aftermath of his brother's death, Hoppe faced down his addictions and got his life back on track. 14. He was the clown prince of softball. 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. 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. 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. 5. In softball, there are no famous hitters, only famous pitchers. You get a fragment from an old box score and the challenge of determining what game it is from and why it is significant. That gave him season marks of .301, 34 home runs, 101 RBIs, a 1.023 OPS and a 1-0 record. Skip to main content. 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. This Space For Rent Stadium, Florida. Marshall, thanks for sharing! 23K 2.9K comments Its like being a world-champion nose-blower.. "I was a broken man.". All rights reserved. "You don't care. 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. "It became my anchor," Hoppe said. Hoppe and his crew only use a pitcher, a catcher, a first baseman and a shortstop, while the opposition uses nine players. I just thought that was normal. Insulted, Feigner bet the guy he could beat his team with just four players -- himself, a catcher, a first baseman and an infielder. Ted Williams was fond of saying that the toughest thing in sports is hitting a round ball with a round bat. He is a member of theBaseball Reliquary. Yes, he faced the Cubs. Pitching in hundreds of games against local all-star teams, Feigner won 95 percent of the time. Distance, time, and uncertainty. Target Field, Minneapolis: 91 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). 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. Nationals Park, Washington: 76 On this day in 1967, he happened to appear at an exhibition at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Granted, American softball players are the best in the world. SPORTS LEGEND Eddie Feigner was the King And His Court a Professional Softball. Good luck, Jeff. Men's fast-pitch softball has the King and His Court. And there were not enough bare-chested women, though there were a few of those, too. 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. Basketball has the Harlem Globetrotters. Have you seen the (Zama) catcher throw?". 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. It would be really fun to watch videos of some of that stuff. Eddie Feigner was able to get games when he showed local softball promoters his abilities. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. As one batter put it, I was waiting for a pitch, heard a noise, watched the catcher throw the ball back. He was part of more than 56 foreign tours. In 2000, in their six games against China, Japan, and Australiaarguably the Americans toughest competitionthe U.S. team scored only six runs. Feigner was able to play an exhibition game in front of more than 15,500 fans at the Silverdome located in Pontiac, Michigan. At his peak, Mr. Feigner threw a softball harder than any major league pitcher has ever thrown a baseball. 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