Thurman played city-league ball against the King and His Court during the teams early days. I could throw a drop but didn't have the rise ball that he had.". By Tim "Shoe" Sullivan. Save to an Ancestry Tree, a virtual cemetery, your clipboard for pasting or Print. Sorry! This is a story on sports legend Eddie Feigner\" a.k.a. It's absolutely like your life is flashing in front of you," Hoppe said. ball In four parks, the longest o! He also rode on Russell Coutts' Oracle Team USA catamaran in 2012 and in an Indy car with legendary Mario Andretti in 2014 for other first-person stories. Eddie Feigner, a crowd-pleasing softball pitcher and showman who toured the world for 55 years as The King and His Court, died Feb. 9 from complications of dementia at Cogburn Health and Rehabilitation facility in Huntsville, Ala. He couldn't remember if Feigner used another standard part of his routine, pitching while blindfolded, as he did when he knocked a cigar from Johnny Carson's mouth on TV. Then it was over.. But before they can process this fact, Mark McGwire appears in a black helicopter carrying a baseball bat. Holly was his third baseman and was as quick as a cat. They endured enough 30-hour rides between cities that Feigner referred to a 10-hour ride as "just down the road apiece. 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. The King and His Court barnstormed for 55 years, Feigner ultimately achieving fame as the greatest softball pitcher who ever lived. Who else pitches from second base? For example, in 1969, a club in Bradford, Pennsylvania defeated the King and His Court 1-0 in front of a crowd of 1,200 people. But really, he comes from the part of our collective psyche that just wants to see some good old fashioned entertainment; a few dingers from Big Mac, a 50-year-old dude in a shiny uniform striking out chump locals with a 100 mph underhand heater pitched from second base. Simultaneously, his catcher stood up to obscure the umpires vision. By that time, he had a new name. He is also a former editor at VICE. Feigner not only threw more than 1,000 doubleheaders, he tossed more than 200 tripleheaders. He struck out all six -- Willie Mays, Roberto Clemente, Brooks Robinson, Willie McCovey, Maury Wills and Harmon Killebrew -- in succession. Progressive Field, Cleveland: 82 If your phone was torn up, you called Jarfly. Since then, they've toured the globe, winning 10,000 games, visiting more than 100 countries and thousands of. The teams Feigner and his Court played routinely failed to cooperate with stunts and comedic interruptions. For 15 years he wrote a popular sports humor column called "Top of the Sixth" (later re-titled "Open Season"). The broadcasters were Vin Scully and Jerry Lewis. For six decades, Eddie Feigner and his three softball teammates toured the nation, then the world, as The King and His Court. Jarfly once beat the World Famous King and his Court, one of the best fast pitch softball teams ever; that's how good he was. At his peak in the 1960s, he made $100,000 a month.In 2000, Mr. Feigner threw out the first pitch before the women's softball competition at the Olympic Games in Sydney. Sports Illustrated once called Feigner the last true American barnstormer and the most underrated athlete of his time, but Feigner didnt entirely accept the endorsement. I can say this because I have never met or seen anybody who was anywhere near half as good as me. I got at least one hit off him, and I think I flied out another time.". His son, Eddie Jr., played alongside him for 25 years. To add a flower, click the Leave a Flower button. He and his "court," which included only a catcher, first baseman, and shortstop, played everywhere from Yankee Stadium to the Great Wall of China, with countless military bases, rodeo arenas, and cow pastures in between. Back home he teamed up with guys like Willie Malone, Kent Williams, Sam Bradshaw, Scotty Bunton and Wes Holly. Yet Mr. Feigner had the misfortune to be supremely talented at a sport, men's fast-pitch fastball, that has all but disappeared. His name as a child was Myrle Vernon King and, when he began his career, he adopted his mother's maiden name and a friend's first name. To give his opponents a chance, he often pitched from second base or, on occasion, from center field. ,for Kilburgs Grocery of the Green Pea League. In 1950, he dubbed his traveling team The King and His Court, and they became the Harlem Globetrotters of softball, complete with gaudy red-white-and-blue uniforms. The King and His Court went to towns even McDonald's ignores. His first coach was Clyde Baldy Bullock, an ex-Marine who brought his Marine training to the ballfield. Please contact Find a Grave at [emailprotected] if you need help resetting your password. The only run came on an inside-the-park homer that would have been a single had there been any outfielders on Feigners team. When I would say Elizabethton, Tennessee, countless people would ask me if I knew Jarfly Dugger. Documents are in English and Spanish. While that was Jarflys softball career, he also shined at his job at United Telephone. After Feigners four-man team routed the convicts 7-0, regional newspapers picked up the story and spread it throughout the Pacific Northwest. Hes also been drawing a musician every day for the last year and a half. "The day of the barnstormer is buried this Saturday.". GREAT NEWS! Adam Villacin (pictures) is an illustrator based in Joshua Tree, California. Feigner passed away in 2007 but kept detailed records of his career that began in 1946. Tom FitzGerald has been the Stanford beat writer for The San Francisco Chronicle since 2009. (And don't rule out the Rays grabbing this year's wild card spot yet.) Please check your email and click on the link to activate your account. They were barnstorming across America like the Harlem Globetrotters. In a barnstorming career that began in 1946, he and his four-man team were all but unbeatable. Bueller? Feigner added two more players: enough that even with the bases loaded, his team would always have somebody available to bat. He even pitched from his knees. February 18, 2023 Id play you with two, but youd walk us both.. According to court records, Montrice Hughes withdrew his not-guilty plea and pleaded guilty to domestic . I was wacky and wanted to die. On Aug. 3, 2000, the famed Eddie Feigner and his 4 man softball team ("King and His Court") came to Jamestown N.Y. and Diethrick Park, Here are vignettes from his event and an interview. Please reset your password. He said Feigner could play with the plumber, the maid and grease monkey and still win. Feigner loved to tell stories about how many times umpires called his phantom pitches for strikes rather than admit they didnt see them. Jarfly went on to play in Shelby, North Carolina, where he won 76 games in five years, pitching against the best teams in five states. "I hope they think of me as an honest, sincere performer who always put on a good show," he said. . His fastball was officially timed at 104 mph and unofficially at 114. Adding teams to the postseason doesn't increase the tension of pennant races, it diminishes it. 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. Bunton was his catcher and called all of his pitches. The information on this website is taken from records made available by state and local law enforcement departments, courts, city and town halls, and other public and private sources. But the score couldnt have mattered less, Jack McLavey wrote in The Seattle Times. 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. Who else pitches from behind his back or between his legs? We had some interesting lines this week. If you have questions, please contact [emailprotected]. Hell, if you live anywhere, get to Walla Walla. Mr. Feigner was born in Walla Walla, Wash., on March 26, 1925, and was adopted at birth. Hed pitch from second base on his knees and strike you out, and hed pitch from center field blindfolded.. He knew no one could get the bat around on Jarflys pitching. Feigner suffered a stroke in 2000, the year he was inducted into the National Senior Softball Hall of Fame and one day after he threw out the first pitch before the womens softball competition at the Sydney Olympics. Visitors are required to pass through metal detectors Items brought into the courthouse go through xray machines. Below you will find a collection of offline providers for ArizonaState County ofMaricopa City ofTempe Death records, these are both governmental agencies and privately run organizations. By the time Mryle King reached junior high school, he had become the best pitcher for the local college team. My arm never ceases to amaze even me., Im proud to be a friend of Joe Namath and Andy Williams and Glen Campbell and the rest of that new breed, he also told The Times. The year: 1946. Learn about how to make the most of a memorial. I was also an uncouth, uneducated, arrogant, belligerent, no-good, miserable excuse for a human being. Please ensure you have given Find a Grave permission to access your location in your browser settings. Matt Schudel has been an obituary writer at The Washington Post since 2004. Legend has it that after somebody questioned his pitching ability, he said I would play you with only my catcher, but you would walk us both.. The game was big enough news that it earned a write-up in the local paper at the time, then a retrospective on its 50th anniversary. Box 18450 Phoenix, AZ 85005 (602) 2232222; Center for Missing & Exploited Children Quick search for missing children, sex offenders, Amber alerts, records and more public information. 7. Then they proceeded to dominate their opponents, with Feigner throwing a perfect game. 1987 was a special year for softball players and fans in Stevens Point. I throw other pitches nobody can. By 1964, they started receiving TV gigs, including an appearance on CBSSports Spectacular, and by the mid-1970s they all made comfortable livings even though they only worked half the year. Hoppe is a natural lefty who lost full use of the arm in Vietnam and taught himself how to pitch right-handed. You further authorize CourtCaseFinder.com to conduct a person search to identify preliminary results of the search subject you entered. At his peak in the 1960s, Mr. Feigner made $100,000 a month. Cherokee Park in Elizabethton was the home of fast pitch softball. "I've made more money at this than any other ballplayer at any other sport," he told The Washington Post in 1976. Oops, some error occurred while uploading your photo(s). 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. Many a hotshot local softball player considered it a major victory just to get a foul ball off Feigner's fastball, which was clocked at 104 mph. Over a two-night stand in St. Petersburg, FL, Feigner and his Court drew 4,000 fans to Al Lang Field, and one of the attendees was a promoter working on behalf of the annual Canadian National Exhibition, slated in 1950 for Toronto. 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king and his court softball record