Required fields are marked *, Fast Pitch Softball 1988 Special Tribute To Eddie Feigner The King And His Court, There are heroes and then there are HEROES.and fast pitch softball pitcher Eddie. : 86 But most of them play professional baseball, and nearly all of them are men. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. He and his Court were able to defeat a team with nine players. Feigner had an exaggerated windup and he would do things like pitch blindfolded, or pitch an inning from behind second base. "I'm still the best pitcher in the world today, baseball or softball; I just don't have the blinding speed any more. Our Facebook page is Facebook.com/FastpitchTV, Our Twitter page is Twitter.com/FastpitchTV, Feel free to email questions for future shows to FastpitchTV@gmail.com. In international competition, the pitchers plate (or rubber, as baseball fans know it) is only 43 feet from home plate. "I had lost any courage to do anything. It has taken him all over the world, playing in the smallest of American towns, at USO events for American soldiers, and even in prisons against inmates. Now they're all in their 40s. 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. "I went to the other side," Hoppe said, referring to his mental state. Barnstorming softball faded into the Americana of wooden roller coasters and hula hoops. Eddie Feigner is a member of Shrine of the Eternals, which is part of the Baseball Reliquary. Please enable JavaScript to experience Vimeo in all of its glory. ", You know the rules. In the 1905 World Series, New York Giants legend Christy Mathewson tossed three shutouts, allowing only 14 hits in 27 innings. Feigner was satisfied to entertain the thousands of kids in the stands that came to watch him. People still want to see Williams bat, Palmer golf; there's the charisma there. And oh yeah, the Court of 4 won the game! The King and His Court remain the Harlem Globetrotters of fastpitch. The players Feigner chose for his team were people he'd known since fourth grade. Comerica Park, Detroit: 87 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 . 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. Yet, "It's like Bob Feller said: `I can still throw as hard as I ever did. Thus, is Feigner, with a year or two left in his own career, the last of the great fastpitch showmen? Its like being a world-champion nose-blower.. Eddie Feigner: King and His Court - YouTube 0:00 / 29:30 Eddie Feigner: King and His Court allendale101 5.05K subscribers 546K views 4 years ago Video on the story of the famed. 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. He couldn't be a showman and entertainer as well as an athlete if he played professional sports. After the game was over, many of the players gathered at a tavern. This Amateur Softball Association (ASA) had forbidden its members to play against Eddie Feigner and his team. His fastball was clocked at 104 miles an hour. Into that steel trap memory delves Feigner, 65, a fastpitch softball trouper for some 44 years. This often happened on the nearest street. He is Rich Hoppe -- Bayonne native and pitcher for the King and His Court, the iconic four-man barnstorming softball team. 1983 The King and His Court ~ 4-Man Softball Team ~ Signed Autographed Program. He was amazing. He was able to throw pitches that only he had mastered. Please visit our sponsor Online Fastpitch Softball Superstore Feigner accepted that pitching exhibition softball was not a money-making endeavor. Progressive Field, Cleveland: 82 Power your marketing strategy with perfectly branded videos to drive better ROI. The King and His Court It all began in 1946. Daten ber Ihr Gert und Ihre Internetverbindung, wie Ihre IP-Adresse, Browsing- und Suchaktivitten bei der Nutzung von Yahoo Websites und -Apps. "And nobody in their right mind would put slowpitch in the Olympics.". Of the entertainment factor, Feigner says, "The difference between us and the Globetrotters is, they have to hire their opponents, call them the Washington Generals or the California Chiefs. The King and his Court. I never forgot that day, and how Eddie pitched. They were awesome. Eddie had a catcher, a !B and a SS. 255) may be the equivalent of the high school annual photo. 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. That gave him season marks of .301, 34 home runs, 101 RBIs, a 1.023 OPS and a 1-0 record. HE HAS carried over the years more than 30 players at one time or another in his troupe, including three former major leaguers. 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! Poster promoting Eddie Feigner's "King and His Court.". "I told ASA (Amateur Softball Association) it was a great game at 43 feet — you just killed a great game. (And don't rule out the Rays grabbing this year's wild card spot yet.) So do yourself a favor this weekend. 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. Too dumb to quit, he growled. His team, clad in red, white and blue uniforms modeled after those of the Globetrotters, played in ever-smaller parks. Many writers and others in the sports world have considered Eddie Feigner to be the best softball pitcher the sport has ever known. 4. Miller Park, Milwaukee 77 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. "The King changed my life, and he was the toughest guy I've ever been around. Nobody could even touch the ball. 1951 The King and His Court Softball Program. Its just that the conditions of the game simply dont allow even the greatest hitters to be successful often enough for anybody to notice. 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! from Today, there are no great pitchers left out there. The four players of the King and His Court easily beat the nine-player prison team 7-0. Senator issues ultimatum to Japans prime minister for return of imprisoned Navy officer, Air Force command climate investigation ends with Okinawa commanders removal, First hearing of Houses new Chinese threat committee converges on Taiwan, Army secretary says recruiting troubles are very serious and fixing them could stretch into 2024, You matter: Mother and son spread homemade inspiration at US air base in Japan, K-Town Now features the latest news from the Kaiserslautern Military Community. Bueller? A story is told of the time he stood in right field at Yankee Stadium and fired an underhand fastball over home plate. 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 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. (Theyre currently on a 79-game winning streak.) 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. 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. 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. Of course, the Stones never played my hometown or the hundreds of other towns that are even smaller. Enthralled by what he saw, Hoppe hooked up with Feigner's crew for Midwest tours the following two summers. I just thought that was normal. He was abandoned as an infant and was named Myrle King by his adoptive parents. The King and His court is an extremely entertaining show to go watch! If you haven't seen the King and His Court, well, it's your own damn fault. His gimmick of fielding four players against nine began with his response to losers taunts. Sadly, I'm talking about the King and His Court, the barnstorming softball team started by the late Eddie Feigner some 65 years ago. I remember seeing them in commericals as a kid, pretty sure it was Bud or Lite Beer commericals. Eddie Feigner was a crowd pleasing softball pitcher and showman who toured the world for 55 years as the King and His Court. Their popularity kept growing. You get to touch people and leave them with a message.". Hell, if you live anywhere, get to Walla Walla. We're going to go up to the birthplace and bring it on home.". "I don't know who'll play Eddie Feigner," he said. And the guy blinks and says, `Right.' They played racetracks, stockyards, rodeo grounds, cemeteries, pastures, an oil rig off Norways coast and the Houston Astrodome. 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"). But softball can still teach us something about baseball history. HDFeigner, thank you so much for your kind comment. 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). 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. Feigner was born in Walla Walla, Wash., on March 26, 1925. The friends got together and decided it was time to take their game on the road. In 1972, Sports Illustrated called Feigner, who pitched 238 perfect games, the most underrated athlete of his time. He struck out all six. Upon returning home after two years at war, Hoppe opened a bar in Bayonne and began attending night school. Jan 24, 2012 - Produced by http://Fastpitch.TV - A few weeks ago the King And His Court came to the Dallas area. You can follow him on Twitter at jimcaple. "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's battled the best batters the major leagues have to offer, striking out Willie Mays, Brooks Robinson, Harmon Killebrew, Willie McCovey, Maury Wills and Roberto Clemente, consecutively, in two separate innings with the bases loaded, in an exhibition between Hollywood celebrities and slugging stars at Dodger Stadium in 1977. Eddie Feigner was able to get games when he showed local softball promoters his abilities. Skip to main content. 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