i grew up in northern Bergen County and have a recollection of seeing Eddie Feigner and The King and His Court play, with Teaneck, NJ native John Orsino as Feigner's catcher. Am I hallucinating? Feigner, of course, was unhittable, and Orsino hit a long HR that is probably still going ...
OT: The King and His Court
- Thread starter Mr_Twister
- Start date
Yes, i remember them well. But, I remember the "Queen and her Court" better. Don't know her name, but she struck me out from second base! The most embarrassing moment of my life....
I should add....they came and did some exhibitions in Roosevelt Stadium Union City(Hudson County), all the time. Many, many years ago...
I should add....they came and did some exhibitions in Roosevelt Stadium Union City(Hudson County), all the time. Many, many years ago...
Eddie Feigner passed away in 2007 at the age of 82. He pitched until 2000 when he suffered a stroke.
John Orsino who played with the San Francisco Giants, Baltimore Orioles and Washington Senators in the 1960s and passed away just last November 2 in Florida.
http://www.kingandhiscourt.com/
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I saw The King and His Court in West Orange back in the early 60's. Will never forget that night. Not as much for the game as for coming down with scarlet fever the same night. Felt so sick and started shivering so bad I couldn't walk the 1 block to my house. My dad had to bring the car to get me home.
Saw the King and His Court a few times as a kid in NB. Always played at Memorial Stadium across from the new NBHS against an all star team from the Industrial league from NB. Our guys weren't bad and actually got a few hits, but never came close to winning. Eddie's players could hit and run, including himself. They really put on a show every year.
I caught a souvenir BB during batting practice, hit by John Orsino at a Yankee - Balt game in the 1960' s. Probably have his Topps baseball card somewhere.
The good old days.
I caught a souvenir BB during batting practice, hit by John Orsino at a Yankee - Balt game in the 1960' s. Probably have his Topps baseball card somewhere.
The good old days.
I still have a 1966 Johnny Orsino Topps insert T-shirt Iron-On Transfer when he was a catcher for the Orioles.
This brings back great memories for me also. I was about ten years old when I saw them play in NB and I couldn't believe that 4 guys could beat the crap out of a bunch of all stars. One of the all stars was my cousin Dickey, who was built like a large oak tree and used to hit many monster home run shots and I idolized him and he didn't come close to hitting Eddie's pitches.
In an exhibition against major league players he struck out
Mays, Clemente, Maury Wills, McCovey, Killebrew and Brooks Robinson
Mays, Clemente, Maury Wills, McCovey, Killebrew and Brooks Robinson
Didn't Johnny Bateman the old Expo catcher play for the King also??
For some reason I remember that.
For some reason I remember that.
Wan't there also a women's semi-pro league back in the late 70's-early 80's??
I remember the Budweiser Belles were a NJ based team and the powerhouse was the Raybestos Brakettes who I think were based in Connecticut.
I remember the Budweiser Belles were a NJ based team and the powerhouse was the Raybestos Brakettes who I think were based in Connecticut.
Yes. Mac Brockington from our Industrial League use to pitch for Raybestos in tournaments when he wasn't working a regular job. He was really fast, but not quite the speed of Eddie. Can't remember if he pitched against them in the exhibitions in NB.
My original recollection is probably confused. It might have been Bateman, not Orsino, who I saw catching Feigner. Loved when Feigner pitched blindfolded and threw strikes.
Wait a minute, Mac pitched for a women's team?
I never saw the King and his Court but I remember my Dad telling me about seeing them play in Perth Amboy IIRC1950's and or 1960's
I figured. Just busting chops because the earlier post was about a women's league that included the Raybestos Brackettes.
Very good. Today would probably play to a sell out crowd versus the Holy Hooters. If nothing else, very colorful uniforms.
The KHC mentions John Bateman as playing 1977-1980 so it must have been him. Hit 190 HRs in a short time span.
Wow, what memories. My dad played against Feigner in NB and was lucky (his words) to hit 2 foul balls off him. Dad also played dozens of games against Brockington when Mac pitched for Louie's Bar in NB. And he went up against Raybestos in a home and home series in Warinanco Park in Elizabeth and Stratford CT.
Richie Hoppe later replaced Feigner in the King & His Court.
Richie Hoppe later replaced Feigner in the King & His Court.
Talking about a Roosevelt Stadium-- I remember Larry Doby hitting a home run at a minor league game, dead center in Union City's Roosevelt stadium--461 feet dead center hitting the apt on summit ave--and the king played at Union City yearly--by the way in the late 50ties large industrial companies also had teams playing basketball in leagues and they were televised--games were serious
Wow! I played there, and remember that center field part of the stadium. It would have been a monster HR! I hit it out of left field, but right down the line, and thought that was good, but 461 feet plus....just wow! Right field was close, a little like Yankee stadium with a bigger wall. Miss those days.
Forgot about Louie' s Bar. Just down from Tumaltey's Pub, the old site. I played city league baseball and basketball against many of the Bar guys, but never ventured in the place.
Your dad must have enjoyed the experience anyway and could probably hit too.
Great story, thanks.
In the past we've had some discussions about this legendary softball team. I was surfing Youtube and found this film.
Some great stories in there. It's estimated that he struck out 120,000 batters and in the 50's they calculated his pitches to be at 104 mph. In an charity game in the 60's at Dodger Stadium he struck out Harmon Killebrew, Roberto Clemente, Maury Wills, Willie McCovey, Brooks Robinson and Willie Mays in order.
I saw the King play in the early 70's at Brophy Field in Elizabeth. It was a real show.
Hope you enjoy this and it brings back some memories for you.
Some great stories in there. It's estimated that he struck out 120,000 batters and in the 50's they calculated his pitches to be at 104 mph. In an charity game in the 60's at Dodger Stadium he struck out Harmon Killebrew, Roberto Clemente, Maury Wills, Willie McCovey, Brooks Robinson and Willie Mays in order.
I saw the King play in the early 70's at Brophy Field in Elizabeth. It was a real show.
Hope you enjoy this and it brings back some memories for you.
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Great documentary. My Dad used to wax on about this guy 40 years ago, it was great to have some more of the pieces to go along with his stories. I plan to watch it again with him over the weekend.
My older brother's work at the Bayway refinery. They were fortunate to play the King every year back in the 80's with the company softball team. It was always a fun time.
My Father got to "Try" to hit off of him.
Half way through his windup, My father swung and managed to follow off the ball (I think that was the first time all day anyone had even made contact)
The KING smiled, went to second base and then struck him out from there.
Was crazy
Half way through his windup, My father swung and managed to follow off the ball (I think that was the first time all day anyone had even made contact)
The KING smiled, went to second base and then struck him out from there.
Was crazy
I saw them play in the early 60's. Had to be taken home part way thru when I started feeling sick. Turned out I had Scarlet Fever so it wasn't a great memory.
Saw them play quite a few times in the 50's/60's at Memorial Stadium in NB against an industrial AS team from the city. Always a fun night and it definitely was an exhibition by the King. They could really hit too. We had a guy named Jimmy Gay who drove the big grasscutter in the NB park system during the summer, a Nellie Fox type hitter, also lefty and he actually hit a couple fair balls against Eddie. I think Mac Brockington pitched in one of the games for our side. He played for Raybestos semi pro team and was probably the fastest pitcher around and the King's team was still able to get hits off of him. Always rooted for the home team, but we never came close to winning. Great childhood memories for sure.
My friends dad played against him.... didn't go well. :-)
BTW, baseball players have a very hard time hitting softballs mostly because of the angle (and the distance). When I was in college, we were practicing inside our field house and the softball team was also there. Bunch of guys got into the cage with their pitcher. She was about 100 pounds, left handed, and threw hard, with pitches going in unreal directions. I think one guy was able to make solid contact.
She could also drink a lot of guys under the table... then go out the next day and pitch back to back complete games in a doubleheader.
BTW, baseball players have a very hard time hitting softballs mostly because of the angle (and the distance). When I was in college, we were practicing inside our field house and the softball team was also there. Bunch of guys got into the cage with their pitcher. She was about 100 pounds, left handed, and threw hard, with pitches going in unreal directions. I think one guy was able to make solid contact.
She could also drink a lot of guys under the table... then go out the next day and pitch back to back complete games in a doubleheader.
I saw and played against Eddie Feigner for the Irvington American Legion Team in a charity softball game 1963 . It was played across from Olympic Park (some here may remember this Amusement park) ... We got beat 4-0 and I faced him 3 times ...yes 2 k’s and groundout to short. Got to catch him after the game and for a 13 year old that was a big deal. Guy could bring it.
