How did he do it? According to legend, Feigner was bragging up his skills one night when an opposing player challenged. This didn't stop them. Home; About Us; Tanita Scale; Workshops; Testimonials; Recipes; the king and his court fastpitch softball Individuals inducted into the Shrine of the Eternals must have altered how the world views the game of baseball. "I had lost any courage to do anything. Enthralled by what he saw, Hoppe hooked up with Feigner's crew for Midwest tours the following two summers. Feigner agreed, and the only stipulation was that Feigner needed four players to bat in case the bases were loaded. 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). That gave him season marks of .301, 34 home runs, 101 RBIs, a 1.023 OPS and a 1-0 record. Adding teams to the postseason doesn't increase the tension of pennant races, it diminishes it. Which is why the King always had four players. Hoppe remembers playing in 100-degree heat in Tacoma, Wash., one day and in sub-zero cold the next day in Barrow, Alaska. A world traveler is he. Challenges to play local softball teams came from around the state of Washington. (Theyre currently on a 79-game winning streak.) "After my brother died and that 100 days that followed, I literally had lost everything," Hoppe said. With all that said, Feigner was amazing. 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. $44.90. 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 . He even pitched blindfolded from second base for one inning. Tropicana Field, Tampa Bay: 68. I saw the King and his Court in Pittsfield, MA in the early 1960's. Later that night, Hoppe saw two children blown up right in front of him during a Viet Cong raid. ". At the time, he was living in the Cogburn Health and Rehabilitation facility in Huntsville, Alabama. The Marlins will be hard-pressed to equal their two World Series championship at their new ballpark that opens next season. 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). Eddie Feigner pitched a perfect game. Feigner was Sidd Finch with a crewcut, Clint Eastwood with a fastball. Feigner played in front of millions of people and traveled millions of miles around the world. Hoppe has fought his own wars away from the diamond, on the battlefields of Vietnam and in the darkest trenches of his personal life. 194 Softball Trivia Podcast | King and His Court Original Pitcher The Ballpark in Arlington, Texas: 77 He took her last name and the name Eddie from a friend. In this years Olympics, there were 19 games that didntinclude weak sisters Greece and Italy. The decline of fastpitch, Feigner says, began shortly after he left the service. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. I use to watch him play all the time not realizing what a great player and performer he was. 7. He was expelled from high school for troublemaking. 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. This episodes trivia question is a simple one, so now its time to play! Marshall, thanks for sharing! Granted, American softball players are the best in the world. 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. Will King and His Court die when he retires? He still signed free autograph after free autograph, as his players hustled programs. Miller Park, Milwaukee 77 "I went to the other side," Hoppe said, referring to his mental state. Skip to main content. Sem a necessidade de instalar ou se inscrever 209 Softball Academy Podcast | Hitting Philosophy. A couple of years ago, the Kansas City Royals considered signing a hotshot Canadian softball pitcher before realizing that his style was illegal. After the game was over, many of the players gathered at a tavern. In the 1940s, when countless small towns had softball leagues, the King and His Court was one among many barnstormers. 20. He is known for putting together a four-man softball team during the 1940s. 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. He pitched for Kilburg's Grocery store. Anyone? Hey, I'm a big Tim Lincecum fan but this card (2010 Topps 206, No. My dad took me to that game at what is now Modern Woodman Park on river front. "I found a way out.". We need heroes now especially in the Sports world. I never forgot that day, and how Eddie pitched. HE HAS carried over the years more than 30 players at one time or another in his troupe, including three former major leaguers. Larry, thanks. 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 came to Davenport in the Summer of 1965. Busch Stadium, St. Louis: 78 (Its worth noting, though, that pitchers dont dominate the game to the same extent in mens fast-pitch softball. To do more than one tour, you're certifiable," Hoppe said. After last Thursday's game in Linden, Hoppe, who has been clean and sober for two decades, briefly shared his story with the crowd. He's toed the same athletic fields as the legendary Jim Thorpe, traipsed through Tibet and rubbed elbows with the Dalai Lama. 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. It all began in 1946. 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. Men's fast-pitch softball has the King and His Court. Sign up to receive a daily email of today's top military news stories from Stars and Stripes and top news outlets Why? "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. You are very lucky to have had such a special grandfather. ", "If you did one tour with the Court, you've been tested. Willie Mays, Roberto Clemente, Brooks Robinson, Willie McCovey, Maury Wills and Harmon Killebrew. This place hasn't exactly been as enticing as Margatitaville but it isn't that terrible either, especially as multi-purpose stadiums go. ), Fernandez, perhaps the greatest softball pitcher ever, faced major league all-star David Justice after the 1996 Olympics and struck him out on three pitches. I think I'll steal third. 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. Sadly, I'm talking about the King and His Court, the barnstorming softball team started by the late Eddie Feigner some 65 years ago. Inspire employees with compelling live and on-demand video experiences. Any organization they thought would sponsor a softball game got a letter from them. I remember seeing them in commericals as a kid, pretty sure it was Bud or Lite Beer commericals. 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. He threw an in-raise as well as an in-drop pitches others couldn't figure out how to throw. I just thought that was normal. 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. This is a story on sports legend Eddie Feigner" a.k.a. There are, of course, many hundreds of human beings who can hit a low-90s fastball. "It became my anchor," Hoppe said. Eddie Feigner was asked to participate. This week I show you about 10 minutes of the event. It just doesn't go as fast,' " Feigner says. 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. His fastest pitch was clocked at 104 miles an hour. They played racetracks, stockyards, rodeo grounds, cemeteries, pastures, an oil rig off Norways coast and the Houston Astrodome. But softball can still teach us something about baseball history. So why dont baseball pitchers just throw fast-pitch-softball style if its so effective? 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 haven't seen the King and His Court, well, it's your own damn fault. If you swing at the ball, youll strike out every time.. "I miss the guy, I really do. 6. We had some interesting lines this week. Yankee Stadium, New York: 79 The King and His court is an extremely entertaining show to go watch! Become an Annual VIP member today and get access to VIP content, ad-free forums & more. It must be fun facing a blindfolded pitcher from 45 feet who can fire the ball faster than 100 mph. In nine games, the Americans allowed one run and 18 hits. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. 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. They wore patriotic-looking uniforms and blended vaudeville bits into their ballgames. "FASTPITCH IS a lost art — irretrievable in our generation. 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. This often happened on the nearest street. 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? 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. Score isn't kept, and in fact, you're likely to see Hoppe or one of his teammates run from first base across the infield to third, bypassing second base altogether, to the laughter and enjoyment of the crowd. The King and His Court remain the Harlem Globetrotters of fastpitch. 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. 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