Walter Johnson and Fastpitch

[cshilt]

Yeah, I think the speed at which Eddie Feigner was purported to have gets faster every year. I just don't think it is humanly possible. Nolan Ryan's fastball was "officially" clocked by the Guinness Book of World Records at 100.9 miles per hour in a game played on August 20, 1974, versus the Detroit Tigers. Also, radar guns were introduced around 1935.

http://www.baseball-almanac.com/articles/fastest-pitcher-in-baseball.shtml

 

[WndMillR]

Read the Wikipedia article but this is the first I ever heard of Joan throwing that speed.

I DID hear of Eddie Feigner throwing that speed in the late 40's. That reading was accomplished with a large motorcycle going past him and Eddie pitching at the motorcycle. Their was a 2nd man with a camera (TV camera) on the back of the scooter. They made many passes and finally pictured it staying even with the bike, 116mph if I remember correctly. No radar then and that was hi-tech for the 40's.

Rich Hoppe was clocked, I believe, at 108 throwing along side Carlton Fiske (I believe). That was with a radar gun on a tv.

I wonder if Wikipedia confused Eddie's numbers with Joan's? Dont know but both were awesome.

Got to see Eddie once when I was a kid, never had the pleasure of seeing Joan.

The great thing about sports and the heroes it creates is that the story gets better every time you hear it.
63 years of barnstorming America created allot of those stories....

The King and Hoppe both threw the ball very hard, but their best stuff was their movement pitches. Other great pitchers that toured with the Court were Glenn Moore, now head coach at Baylor and Mike Branchaud, who is on staff with Softball Canada.

I caught them all except Glenn....81-82 mph would be tops....
As info, the reaction time to hit a pitch thrown at 82 mph pitch from 46 feet is
like seeing a baseball pitched from 60' 6" at 109-110 mph.

Remember, the story gets better every time its told...

Click below to check out the King

YouTube - King and his Court 2009 - Old School Tour


CD

 

[Hillhouse]

All due respect Charlie... the top guys in the Open division are throwing 80. The fastest guy at last year's ISC was 86. Glenn Moore, by his own words to me when I met him and we talked about pitch was that he was a Class B pitcher. While he was possibly being modest about his own career but also seemed to have a true sense of what he was in the world of pitchers. I really don't think there are a lot of guys, even with today's liberal pitching rules, throwing in the 80's. It's impossible to think they were throwing harder in yesteryear with the old fashioned rules compared to today's which allows everything except throwing overhand.

Bill

 

[WndMillR]

All due respect Charlie... the top guys in the Open division are throwing 80. The fastest guy at last year's ISC was 86. Glenn Moore, by his own words to me when I met him and we talked about pitch was that he was a Class B pitcher. While he was possibly being modest about his own career but also seemed to have a true sense of what he was in the world of pitchers. I really don't think there are a lot of guys, even with today's liberal pitching rules, throwing in the 80's. It's impossible to think they were throwing harder in yesteryear with the old fashioned rules compared to today's which allows everything except throwing overhand.

Bill

Bill... probably correct, never really had a gun on them..... I was 12 years old when Eddie was in his prime...
Branchaud threw the hardest from my experience...Hoppe is all movement..........I only saw Glenn throw once, back in 1991.... What they were actually throwing, never really knew.. If you listened to the fans, they swore it was 100.

Back when my hair wasn't so gray, I caught allot of baseball.
pitchers throwing 85-90 mph, you didn't go to sleep back there....same thing, catching these fellows...

anyway, its all good, you know the story....
as we get older, we still throw hard, it just doesn't get there as quick....

Happy New Year buddy.... hopefully we can get you to NC and Raleigh soon.