The King is gone

[Steve M]

I did not have the pleasure of geting to bat against him when I played, but I don't have any doubt that he threw over 100mph in his younger days. I umped a couple of his games, once when he was still an oustanding pitcher and the last time he would have been an excellent 'C' level pitcher - maybe even 'B' level.
I see a fair amount of men's upper level ball. I know there are several in the one league that are easily into the mid 80's, maybe higher.
One of the guys who's done some of my mentoring worked a couple of the Stofflet-Feigner games. Stofflet was another 100+ pitcher, so the "slow" guy in those games was around 105.

[SWFLguy]

Quite the showman for sure. I called the plate for an exhibition game of the King and His Court back around 1980. He was probably a fireballer in his younger days, but did not have all that much velocity when I saw him.
Placement ? -- for sure.
RIP Eddie !

[bkbjones]

I had the privilege of working 3 games ofr Eddie, one in about 1975, another in the late 80s, and another in the early 90s. Early 90s he obviously was just a shadow - albeit a large one - of his former self. He went into the bit with the blindfold, and I whispered to the catcher that I was gonna piss Eddie off.
Called the pitch - a strike right down the chute - a ball. Ohhhh, did he show his Marine side. But, the catcher, me, and the crowd all had a great laugh at Eddie's expense. And, that was part of what Eddie was all about - entertaining the fans. He brought joy to tens of millions over 60 years around the world. My world is better for having had the privilege of being on the same field (and getting an autographed softball for my collection).

[blue]

I played against Eddie and the Court in the late 70's. I could'nt tell you if he threw over 100 because i never saw the ball. I just took the ump at his word when he called strikes. We did win the game tho.

[argodad]

Originally Posted by SWFLguy

Quite the showman for sure. I called the plate for an exhibition game of the King and His Court back around 1980. He was probably a fireballer in his younger days, but did not have all that much velocity when I saw him.
Placement ? -- for sure.
RIP Eddie !

I remember a chat room Q&A with Eddie in the late 1990s. Someone asked him how hard he threw "now." His answer, "I still throw as hard as ever. The ball just doesn't go as fast."