AW
abouthis supportof theU.S.ArmedForces,
which included any number of goodwill
trips to military bases around the globe.
InMay of last year, Feigner made his final
such trip— toGuantánamoBay—despite
a litany of health issues that confined him
toawheelchair.
At times, it gets difficult to separate leg-
end from fact, especially when it comes
to his athletic exploits. Golf great Chi Chi
Rodriguez casuallymentions that theKing
could wallop a golf ball 300 yards down
the center of the fairway and bowl a 225
—blindfolded,naturally. “Hewasoneof the
top 10 athletes in the history of theUnited
States,”Rodriguez says.
AnneMarie Feigner, “the Queen,” is the
King’s widow and the only woman who
held down a regular roster spot on the
Court. She recallsoneparticularlyprescient
scouting report: During a game inCuba in
the 1950s, Feigner found himself staring
down a young, rangy left fielder namedFi-
del Castro. “Eddie always said that
[
Castro
]
could’ve been a pro, but that he had other
plans,” she says.
Others talk about his showbiz exploits.
While blindfolded, he famously threw a
pitch on
The Tonight Show
that knocked
a cigar out of Johnny Carson’s mouth. In
his autobiography, he claims to have eaten
breakfast with big-band luminary Tommy
Dorsey hours before Dorsey’s death and
to have screened films in the basement of
the other king — yes, that would be Elvis
Presley.
Jack Knight, a film and TV actor whose
credits include
Cheers
and
Cold Case
,
learnedofFeigner’s featsandcontactedhim
about doing a TV show. “I thought, What
a fun idea— theKing andHis Court drive
into town, solve a crime, then take off and
areneverheard fromagain,”Knight laughs.
Feigner didn’t bite, but a friendship blos-
somed, and Knight soon joined the Court
as a regular.
Inevitably, though, the conversations
aboutFeignercomeback tohisarmand the
sacrifices he made in its service, especially
physically. Though he spent a large chunk
of the year out on the road and pitched at
least one game every day, Feigner never
workedwith a trainer and rarely didmuch
in the way of stretching, Anne Marie re-
members. She says, “Eddie treated himself
like afine thoroughbredhorse.He’dalways
say: ‘What’s the first thing you do to that
horse after the race? You throw a blanket
on him. Youwarm him down.’” In keeping
with that unconventional approach to self-
maintenance, Feigner wore his warm-up
jacket inall climes andmade sure tokeepa
collar aroundhisneckwhenever possible.
Knight remembers things a little differ-
ently, though, especially when the topic of
pain management comes up. “One night,
he got hit by a ball and cracked a couple
of ribs. He had the doctors tape him tight
and took some painpills. Iwas therewhen
they took the tapeoff, anda lotof skincame
with it. He didn’t believe in letting people
down.”
Mike Meilicke, 85, the oldest surviving
member of theKing andHis Court’s origi-
nal court, thinksheknowswhy: “Feigner—
he wasn’t too bashful. He’d look you right
in the eye and say, ‘I can strike you out.’ He
had to back it up, even if he had to go 59
games in56days,without any timeoff.”
Even after a stroke in 1998 and contin-
ued physical deterioration, the King had
one last pitch left in him. In 2000, he was
tapped to throw out the ceremonial first
pitchof thewomen’s softball competitionat
the Sydney Olympics. “I didn’t know if he
could do it,” says Anne Marie, who served
ashis catcher for occasions. “ButEddie just
walks right out there and does that crazy,
whirligig windup of his. The pitch broke
eight inches and cut down and dropped at
theend.Onehundredmilesperhour at age
75,” shemarvels.
Thatpitchwashis last.Aday later,hehad
amassive stroke. Like all the great ones, he
went out firing.
Larry Dobrow
is a freelance writer based in New York City.
He is a regular contributor to CBSSportsLine.com, Maxim.com,
andMediaPost.com.
“Thepitchbroke
eight inchesand
cutdownand
droppedattheend.
onehundredmiles
perhouratage75.”
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