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. 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. Williams was right, just not as precise as he could have been. He struck out every batter he faced with two exceptions: One failed when he tried to bunt the ball, and the other hit a grounder to the first basemen. I would have loved to have bee able to have a conversation with him. He is Rich Hoppe -- Bayonne native and pitcher for the King and His Court, the iconic four-man barnstorming softball team. The four players of the King and His Court easily beat the nine-player prison team 7-0. He was expelled from high school for troublemaking. Its just that the conditions of the game simply dont allow even the greatest hitters to be successful often enough for anybody to notice. "YEAH, THAT'S why I'm gonna steal," retorts Booth, to the delight of the crowd. He was a hard-boiled egg. (R.J. Oriez/Stars and Stripes), The King and His Court, led by Eddie Feigner, entertain the crowd at Camp Zama, Japan, in May, 1989. This is a story on sports legend Eddie Feigner" a.k.a. When joining the Marines during World War II, he had to find details of his birth. He is buried in the Huntsville Memory Gardens. The friends got together and decided it was time to take their game on the road. 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. The King and His Court got its start the way so many wonderful sagas begin -- in a bar. Feb. 13, 2007. Progressive Field, Cleveland: 82 Individuals inducted into the Shrine of the Eternals must have altered how the world views the game of baseball. Home; About Us; Tanita Scale; Workshops; Testimonials; Recipes; the king and his court fastpitch softball 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). If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. Yes, he faced the Cubs. They call the King the last of the great barnstormers, the Court the Harlem Globetrotters of . Feigner knew he was the only one of his kind in the history of the world. Mary, thanks. But its usually not just Team USAs opponents who struggle to score. Eddie had a catcher, a !B and a SS. In the 1940s, when countless small towns had softball leagues, the King and His Court was one among many barnstormers. 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. 2. It took me years to talk about it," Hoppe said. Hey, I'm a big Tim Lincecum fan but this card (2010 Topps 206, No. It has been estimated the team played over 10,000 softball games in over 100 countries. During the following four years, the King and His Court played over 200 games but traveled no further than Idaho. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. His fastball was clocked at 104 miles an hour. 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. "I went to the other side," Hoppe said, referring to his mental state. included in the interview is Leslie Barber, Charlie Dobbins, Dave Booth, Bob Hale, Ron Davenport and Michael Branchaud. 194 Softball Trivia Podcast | King and His Court Original Pitcher Miller Park, Milwaukee 77 You'll need it. 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. Any organization they thought would sponsor a softball game got a letter from them. And there were not enough bare-chested women, though there were a few of those, too. He discovered that his birth mother lived nearby and that as a teenager he had mowed her lawn. (R.J. Oriez/Stars and Stripes). Slate is published by The Slate Group, a Graham Holdings Company. Feigner was satisfied to entertain the thousands of kids in the stands that came to watch him. Nobody could even touch the ball. The King and His Court got its start the way so many wonderful sagas begin -- in a bar. After making a name for himself in the 1970s as a premier men's fast-pitch softball pitcher, Hoppe re-joined the King in the 1980s and has been in the signature red, white and blue uniform ever since. He struck out all six. Target Field, Minneapolis: 91 Hearing a woman or child say they loved watching him pitch meant more to Feigner than any big-league contract. His underhand fastball was once timed at 104 mphsome accounts had it clocked at 114 mph. 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 . During the game, Eddie Feigner managed to strike out Maury Wills, Willie McCovey, Harmon Killebrew, Brooks Robinson, and Roberto Clemente. In the aftermath of his brother's death, Hoppe faced down his addictions and got his life back on track. I was about 10 years old, and they asked me to be bat boy. Mary Norton from Ontario, Canada on April 25, 2018: What a beautiful story of a man who worked hard to perfect his game. So, thank you for showing others what a great athlet he was. He kept meticulous records of his achievements: 9,743 victories, 141, 517 strikeouts, 930 no-hitters and 238 perfect games. Starbucks won't go to towns the Court does. Klicken Sie auf Einstellungen verwalten um weitere Informationen zu erhalten und Ihre Einstellungen zu verwalten. HE HAS a book planned and a movie scripted, but there's no ending to either, yet; thus, they're both on the shelf. 5. Poster promoting Eddie Feigner's "King and His Court.". "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. If you swing at the ball, youll strike out every time.. 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. This week I show you about 10 minutes of the event. We're going to go up to the birthplace and bring it on home.". Feigner had been pitching in the Green Pea League of Walla Walla Valley. Eddie Feigner winds up during a game at Camp Zama, Japan, in May, 1989. Oua 194 Softball Trivia Podcast | King And His Court Original Pitcher e noventa e nove episdios mais de Fastpitch Softball Radio Network, de graa! Free 3 day shipping. He struck out all six in succession. He just made me better," Hoppe said. They keep the batters guessing with rise balls, drop balls, curves, and in-shoots. Not enough people died, I guess. The Ballpark in Arlington, Texas: 77 In an interview, he said he liked having fun too much to be an MLB player. 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. It's always been my Yankee Stadium. By Douglas Martin. Bueller? Basketball has the Harlem Globetrotters. All contents 2023 The Slate Group LLC. 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. Insulted, Feigner bet the guy he could beat his team with just four players -- himself, a catcher, a first baseman and an infielder. They endured enough 30-hour rides between cities that Feigner referred to a 10-hour ride as "just down the road apiece. 2023 The Arena Media Brands, LLC and respective content providers on this website. "I had lost any courage to do anything. "We need some runs against this team. Marco Polo would have been jealous. The Quad Cities had gathered an All-Star team of fast pitch softball players and beat The King and The Marlins will be hard-pressed to equal their two World Series championship at their new ballpark that opens next season. Eddie Feigner in 1983. Your email address will not be published. Sadly, I'm talking about the King and His Court, the barnstorming softball team started by the late Eddie Feigner some 65 years ago. 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. 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. The Yankees rewarded the biggest star in the their history with a 30 percent paycut. This didn't stop them. 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. This place hasn't exactly been as enticing as Margatitaville but it isn't that terrible either, especially as multi-purpose stadiums go. He pitched for Kilburg's Grocery store. 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. Feigner had an exaggerated windup and he would do things like pitch blindfolded, or pitch an inning from behind second base. Power your marketing strategy with perfectly branded videos to drive better ROI. Have you seen the (Zama) catcher throw?". "I wanted to recognize in his birthplace that something so special happened. Men's fast-pitch softball has the King and His Court. Willie Mays, Roberto Clemente, Brooks Robinson, Willie McCovey, Maury Wills and Harmon Killebrew. Their popularity kept growing. The last 100 games of the King and his Court. 2023 Vimeo.com, Inc. All rights reserved. He was able to throw pitches that only he had mastered. Eddie Feigner was a crowd pleasing softball pitcher and showman who toured the world for 55 years as the King and His Court. He was the clown prince of softball. Then those two teams will really have something to play for. 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. SoftballJunk.com is a great resource to find the perfect fastpitch softball bat just for you! Feigner was Sidd Finch with a crewcut, Clint Eastwood with a fastball. He often told people it was a good feeling to know he was unique. Patrick Villanova/The Jersey Journal 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 . Sports Illustrated once called Eddie Feigner one of the most underrated athletes of our time. This often happened on the nearest street. 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. Anyone? 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. Distance, time, and uncertainty. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. It all began in 1946. The greatest team that ever stepped onto a diamond is playing its last game this weekend. (Theyre currently on a 79-game winning streak.) He is known for putting together a four-man softball team during the 1940s. 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