Brief history of
the windmill pitch
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| Bertha Ragan Tickey |
Fastpitch softball was played in major cities throughout the early 20th century. However, the first windmill pitch was not thrown until 1922.
It was Mike Lutomski, a Detroit school principal, who first tossed the underhand windmill pitch. It was not ruled a legal pitch until 4 years later.
Softball Hall of Famer Bertha Ragan Tickey is considered the first great women's windmill softball pitcher. The Dinuba, California native dominated, ultimatelty being recruited to play for Connecticut's legendary Raybestos Brakettes. Tickey pitched for nearly 40 years and won 757 games and pitched 168 no-hitters.
It was Mike Lutomski, a Detroit school principal, who first tossed the underhand windmill pitch. It was not ruled a legal pitch until 4 years later.
Softball Hall of Famer Bertha Ragan Tickey is considered the first great women's windmill softball pitcher. The Dinuba, California native dominated, ultimatelty being recruited to play for Connecticut's legendary Raybestos Brakettes. Tickey pitched for nearly 40 years and won 757 games and pitched 168 no-hitters.
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| Eddie Feigner |
Eddie Feigner led a barnstorming softball team called "The King and His Court" for 55 years. Feigner mastered windmill pitching and recorded 9,743 victories and 930 no-hitters between 1946 and 2001. His top pitch was once timed at 104 miles per hour. Feigner pitched in all 50 states and 98 countries. During a 1967 exhibition game at Dodger Stadium, Feigner struck out six major league stars in succession--Willie Mays, Roberto Clemente, Brooks Robinson, Willie McCovey, Maury Wills and Harmon Killebrew.
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| Harford Xtreme Showcase pitching squad. Click on photo to enlarge. |
Bertha was not the first female to throw the windmill fast pitch. I was. My name is Margaret Porter formally Margarer Mason and I started that pitch in 1969 when I was 8 years old. I played in the Roseville, CA Bobby Sox league. Unfortunately my parents moved to Montana in 1974 and I wasn't playing anymore until I came back in 1977.
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