| Biography A
champion from the start. He
decided to start a new life by taking a new name--Feigner
from his mother and Eddie from a friend. And he discovered
he had a talent: He could pitch a softball faster than
anyone. In 1946, he organized a four-man team, taking
on all comers in the Pacific Northwest and in 1950 he
named the team "The King and His Court" and
began touring the country, playing against nine-man
teams.
Feigner, whose pitches have been clocked at 104 miles an hour, entertained crowds by pitching at times from behind his back and through his legs. In more than fifty years of barnstorming, his team traveled more than 3 million miles and played before more than 20 million spectators. In 2000, he threw out the first pitch before the women's softball competition at the Sydney Olympics. A day later, he suffered a stroke that ended his playing career. Eddie continued for 6 years, wheelchair bound and performing as the leader, founder and emcee of the King and His Court. In 2006 Eddie's health began to fail and he was not able to finish his 61st thank you and farewell tour due to health issues. Eddie was a true champion and gave all he had right up to the end. Feigner pitched in more than 10,000 games, amassing 930 no-hitters, 238 perfect games, 1,916 shutouts, and 141,517 strikeouts. |
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| Statistics* - Lifetime Achievements | ||
| Eddie
Feigner - "King of Softball" Eddie Feigner traveled more than 100 countries and entertained over 20,000,000 fans as the King and His Court. Best known as the King of Softball, Eddie has showcased his pitching skills by striking out Major League Baseball stars Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Brooks Robinson, Maury Wills, Harmon Killebrew and Roberto Clemente in succession. During
his playing career, Eddie Feigner: Eddie Feigner is listed by David Schoenfield, ESPN sports editor, as one of baseball’s greatest pitchers of all time along with Walter Johnson, Bob Feller, Christy Mathewson and Sandy Koufax. *Statistics referenced are for the period of 1946 through 1998. |
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