Tag: Deaths

Eddie Feigner, aka “The King” passed away Friday.

Funny, someone at work was just telling me about this guy a couple weeks ago. Apparently, he saw Feigner and his team in action way back when. It was quite a show to hear him tell it.

From the AP article:

“With a fastball once clocked at 104 mph, The King threw 930 no-hitters, 238 perfect games and struck out 141,517 batters while playing more than 10,000 games. He was inducted into the National Senior Softball Hall of Fame in 2000.

 

Feigner not only pitched from the standard mound, 46 feet from home plate, but also from second base, behind his back, on his knees, between his legs, from center field and blindfolded. In a nationally televised exhibition against major leaguers at Dodger Stadium in 1964, he struck out Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Maury Wills, Harmon Killebrew, Roberto Clemente and Brooks Robinson in order. “

One of my favorite people in baseball has died. Former MLB umpire Eric Gregg known for his big personality, big strike zone, and big size died of a massive stroke at age 55. Gregg was among 22 umpires who lost their jobs in 1999 when their labor plan of a mass resignation backfired.

I remember going to see the Cubs with a loud mouth friend of mine nicknamed the Madman. It was a hot day and the secondbase umpire needed to retire to the dugout. Madman yells out to Gregg who was umping 3rd, “Eric, what’d you do with the 2nd base umpire, eat him?” Eric Gregg doubled over laughing.

A couple of years ago we met the clubhouse man in Pittsburgh. He started telling us what Eric Gregg would eat, a tremendous amount of food. This guy said Gregg’s appetite for the ladies matched his zest for life.

He lived life large and I know he’ll be missed.