He suffered two nervous breakdowns, got married and divorced twice and tried several times to slash his wrists. The Marines finally threw him in the X Ward. Mryle King called it the rubber room., The X Ward was a place for wackos, and I belonged, the future softball whiz told Sports Illustrated. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate, or jump to a slide with the slide dots. "The day of the barnstormer is buried this Saturday.". We figured that would never happen again, so we took it out of the show. Because why wouldnt they? Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics: How big was the crowd in Williamsport for the Little League World Series? 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PNC Park, Pittsburgh: 98 Ultimately, Feigner and the Court played in front of more than 11 million people. He previously worked for publications in Washington, New York, North Carolina and Florida. Had Feigner played a higher-profile sport, he would have been a sporting legend known far and wide. AT&T Park, San Francisco: 94 It's unfair to compare his Ks with the 5,714 of baseball's record holder, Nolan Ryan, because the sports are so different; suffice it to say that the King, even more often than the Express, was usually unhittable. I had told them before the game, this is my last game. Visitors are required to pass through metal detectors Items brought into the courthouse go through xray machines. Nevertheless, he persevered through the years, driving from one small town to the next, leaving a trail of pleased fans and baffled hitters behind. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/18089855/eddie-feigner. The following is for information purposes only. But Feigner, intrigued by the concept hed proposed, selected three players a catcher, first baseman and shortstop that hed known since fourth grade and scheduled a game against a nine-man contingent of convicts on a field inside the Walla Walla state pen. Born in the Eastside community, Dugger attended Elizabethton High School before joining the Navy. 6. He made Nolan Ryan look like a Little Leaguer. Radio station WQUT promoted Crazy Thursday, a day set aside to ease the burden of the everyday working person. There is a problem with your email/password. Soon came challenges from practically every town and city in the state and, before long, The King (Feigner) and His Court were on their way. Miller Park, Milwaukee 77 Save to an Ancestry Tree, a virtual cemetery, your clipboard for pasting or Print. There was no way to get the bat off my shoulder before the ball got there. Try again later. My favorite was Land Shark Stadium, which it was called for one year after a deal with Jimmy Buffet. That gave him season marks of .301, 34 home runs, 101 RBIs, a 1.023 OPS and a 1-0 record. Anyone? Feigner created lasting impressions with his pitching stunts. He WAS a true phenomenonhed tell you himself. As many have said, he was simply the best there ever was. I was bent on destroying myself. cemeteries found in Huntsville, Madison County, Alabama, USA will be saved to your photo volunteer list. Thats when it really hit me, a career of 35 years was coming to an end. The King And His Court went to the YMCA and the Boys And Girls clubs to hold clinics." Douglas Lyons' 2004 biography on Feigner was titled, "From an Orphan to a King." Feigner was . Walla Walla Academy, run by Seventh Day Adventists, kicked Mryle King out of school after he peppered the building with rocks for reasons unknown. The fastest documented pitch thrown by a major league pitcher is 103 miles per hour.Pitching in hundreds of games each year against local all-star teams, he won 95 percent of the time. He discovered that his birth mother was living nearby and took her last name. The Ballpark in Arlington, Texas: 77 "I was an orphan," he told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram in 1997. Try again later. He knew no one could get the bat around on Jarflys pitching. Its written by Eric Nusbaum and illustrated by Adam Villacin, and focuses on overlooked or forgotten stories from sports history. Dressed in trademark red, white and blue uniforms, and taking the field as a 4-man team: Pitcher, catcher, first baseman and shortstop, "The King & His Court" was America's favorite family softball entertainment . One batter who faced Mr. Feigner described the experience to the Orlando Sentinel newspaper: "I was waiting for a pitch, heard a noise, watched the catcher throw the ball back. The teams Feigner and his Court played routinely failed to cooperate with stunts and comedic interruptions. (This is a documentary the Sports Stories team would love to watch or even help make.). Jarfly could throw a fastball, a riser, a super drop pitch, a curveball and the best change up you would ever see. Eddie Feigner was born on March 25, 1925, in Walla Walla, Washington. based on information from your browser. In 1980, Jarfly was voted the craziest of the craziest. Feigner and the Court arranged for a June 14, 1973 rematch with Pay n Pak at White Center Stadium. He was 56 at the time. An excellent hitter, Feigner also claimed to have slugged 83 home runs in a 250-game exhibition season, and no one ever disputed his statistics. SPORTS LEGEND Eddie Feigner was the King And His Court a Professional Softball. He was a hard-boiled egg. Im a pipsqueak because Im caught up in a nothing game, Feigner told the magazine in 1972. Eddie Feigner was born March 25, 1925 in Walla Walla, soon became separated from his unwed mother, and was adopted by a woman named Mary King, who had already raised four sons after her husband deserted her during the Great Depression. Id play you with two, but youd walk us both.. "It's like being a world-champion noseblower.". He was shocked that I could hit him. Since then, they've toured the globe, winning 10,000 games, visiting more than 100 countries and thousands of. 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"). It must be fun facing a blindfolded pitcher from 45 feet who can fire the ball faster than 100 mph. At the time of Feigners death Feb. 9, 2007 the fastest documented pitch thrown by a major leaguer was 104.8 mph (Joel Zumaya of the Detroit Tigers in a playoff game Oct. 10, 2006). To sum it all up and look at the big picture, Im still playing through them.. The Yankees rewarded the biggest star in the their history with a 30 percent paycut. He could strike out players while blindfolded (8,698 times) or while pitching behind his back or between his legs. I have perfect control. It will end where it should. The pitcher found her Dec. 16, 1945 after a long search that began at the Walla Walla Municipal Hall of Records. Eddie was the \"King\" of softball back in the day and his court was made up of just three other players on the field.I saw this team playing when I was 16 and they are old school fast pitch softball. The King and His Court\" and his visit to Dunedin, Florida in 2005. So King learned how to pitch on his own. After all, there is only Jarfly Dugger. Whatever you needed, an extra jack, a longer phone cord or if your phone just wasnt working correctly, you called Jarfly. Sun Devil Hall of Fame & Hall of Distinction, Sun Devils Qualify 3 Events for NCAA Indoor Championships, Jackie Johnson Enters Pac-12 Hall of Honor, Track and Field Ready for Final Indoor Meet, 5 Sun Devils Competing in USATF Indoor Championships, Track & Field Records Fall in Fayetteville. Check out DavidsWayback Machine Archive. David can be reached at (206) 441-1900, or at seattlesportshistory@gmail.com. Put up or shut up, the manager replied. In his career, he threw an astounding 46 no-hitters and an untold number of one-hitters. They wore patriotic-looking uniforms and blended vaudeville bits into their ballgames. Please ensure you have given Find a Grave permission to access your location in your browser settings. 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. 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. Jarfly also became a movie star, playing beside Mel Gibson in the movie, The River, where Jarfly did the pitching for Gibson. When I did, it completely changed my life.. Please reset your password. Hed pitch from second base on his knees and strike you out, and hed pitch from center field blindfolded.. I Can See The Steam Spouting From the Steinbrenners' Ears From Here: You want a meaningful race between the Yankees and Red Sox? Please complete the captcha to let us know you are a real person. People in my own sport know who I am. While that was Jarflys softball career, he also shined at his job at United Telephone. You can customize the cemeteries you volunteer for by selecting or deselecting below. Remove advertising from a memorial by sponsoring it for just $5. When a local team did win, it was big news. He made millions, and was generous to a fault.. Will Edmonds, King of the 400m ?? The fastest documented pitch ever thrown by a major league pitcher is 103 mph. To view a photo in more detail or edit captions for photos you added, click the photo to open the photo viewer. 2. But thats not necessarily a bad thing. 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. The very week he met his mother, he changed his name to Eddie Feigner Eddie in honor of an orphan named Eddie Colts, who had been one of Eddies best friends until he died in a knife fight and Naomi Feigner. ). But Feigner eventually rustled up some games, essentially after auditioning the Courts act and showing local promoters what it could do. Thats when Myrle King became a professional roustabout, mainly drifting between Seattle and Portland. He struck out Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Brooks Robinson, Harmon Killebrew and Roberto Clemente consecutively. 15. Then Megan Heaton was there all the time. It was his field, his game, and everyone knew that the pitcher controlled the game. Most of the filming was done along Goshen Valley Road and around the Goshen Valley Park area. It was incredible. Think of the King and his Court as sort of like the Harlem Globetrotters but for softball. To give his opponents a chance, he often pitched from second base or, on occasion, from center field. If you haven't seen the King and His Court, well, it's your own damn fault. His fastball was officially timed at 104 mph and unofficially at 114. Thank you for fulfilling this photo request. Jarfly played in the National Tournament where he won four games, losing only to Federal Lock and Key, who won the National Title. There is 1 volunteer for this cemetery. 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