Eddie Feigner has done it all on the diamond

The greatest softball player of all time can't see very well and his legs aren't what they used to be, either. One has already had knee replacement surgery; the other has arthritis. Then there was the stroke he suffered that put him in a wheelchair while and had everyone figuring The King and His Court were done, no more touring the continent playing exhibition softball games, four against nine.Well, that was seven years ago and Eddie Feigner, the oldest boy of summer, is still at it, still out there entertaining for the 61st year in a row. He doesn't pitch competitively any more because his vision is so bad he wouldn't be able to see the ball if it was hit back at him. But The King can still fling a grapefruit-sized ball at speeds greater than his age, and the man is closing in on 81 these days.Later this month, Saturday Aug. 19 to be exact, The King and his roving band of softball ambassadors will play an All-Star team at 7 p.m. at the Colfax Living War Memorial Park. The free show is being held in conjunction with the Colfax Recreation Association's 41st annual men's fast pitch tournament."I am the world's finest softball pitcher by at least 100 per cent," Feigner has said of himself and if you care to argue, take a look at his accomplishments.Sandy Koufax threw four no-hitters. Feigner has thrown more than 925 no-hitters, some of them while wearing a blindfold.Nolan Ryan recorded 5,714 strikeouts in his career. Feigner has racked up more than 132,000, some while throwing the ball from between his legs.Roger Clemens recently hit the 300 mark in career wins. Feigner has won more than 8,200 games, including 1,916 by shutout. All of those wins came with Feigner's Court, consisting of a catcher, a first baseman, a shortstop and the world's finest softball pitcher, four against nine.Then there was the time Feigner was invited to the 1967 Major League Baseball All-Star Game and asked to pitch against six of the game's toughest hitters, Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Brooks Robinson, Maury Wills, Harmon Killebrew and Roberto Clemente. Some people figured Feigner would be exposed for what he was, a novelty act.With his close-cropped hairdo and Popeye forearms, The King went to work and whiffed them all."He was like Evel Knievel, the same type of showman," said Calgary's Jim (Whitey) Haley, a former pitcher and a member of the Canadian Softball Hall of Fame. "When he came here and played against our team, we weren't used to that type of pitching. He cleaned our clocks. He'd get a couple of runs ahead and then he'd give one back just to keep it interesting."The King and His Court have been all across the U.S. and Canada playing in small towns against local teams since the 1950s. Those who had the opportunity to see one of Feigner's 150-kilometer-an-hour fastballs up close (and we use the word "see" loosely) have never forgotten it. The men who stood in against the greatest softball player of all time have enough stories to fill two newspaper columns."I played against him three, four times," said Ted Hoy, who was 19 and playing junior ball in Brockville, Ont., when he first crossed basepaths with the American in 1962. "Three of us combined to throw a no-hitter against him. It was great. Of course, the game ended 0-0. We didn't get a hit, either."Always the goodwill ambassador, Feigner liked what he saw of Hoy's pitching ability and made a point of talking to him after the game."He called me over and pointed out a few things to change in my technique," Hoy said. "He told me what to do and I did it. He was the best I'd ever seen and he was about 40 years old then."Former National Hockey League defenseman Doug Barkley played against Feigner three summers in a row.Twice, Barkley's team won, a feat few have managed against The King and His Court. Barkley's memory, however, remains locked on a single at-bat, with former NHL player Sid Finney swinging away and Feigner unloading pitches so nasty they needed a police escort to the plate. "He struck out Sid from centre field," Barkley said. "His arm was unbelievable. He had a pick-off play and he'd throw the ball behind his back and he'd catch guys off base." Haley said Feigner would "wind up and throw the ball into his own glove and the catcher would jump up and make like he'd caught it. He had all kinds of tricks. You were made to look like fools in front of your own fans."Still, the fans loved it. They continue to love it even though The King in his golden years limits himself to autograph signing, providing commentary and a bit of joke telling. "I once struck out a man on one pitch," he said. "He swung and missed three times at the same changeup." If the greatest softball player of all time says it's so, then it is - by at least 100 per cent..This year's 41st annual Colfax Recreation Association Men's Softball Classic tournament is being held in conjunction with the Colfax Area Chamber of Commerce's Founder's Day Celebration planned for the same weekend.The theme for the Founder's Day events is a "Celebration of Sports in Colfax." Several old sports photos of the Colfax area - including many from past Labor Day Tournaments - will be on display that weekend at the old Colfax Southern Pacific Depot.The tournament will run Aug. 18-20 at the Living War Memorial Park.