 A student at Van Meter High School , Feller was a starting pitcher for the school 's baseball team . During this time he continued to play on the Farmers Union team in the American Amateur Baseball Congress , and had 19 wins and four losses for Farmers Union one season . He also was the starting center for the high school basketball team . By the age of 16 , Feller possessed what critics judged a high quality fastball ; major league scouts traveled to Dayton , Ohio to watch him in the annual national baseball tournament . After the game , several big league clubs offered signing bonuses with their contract offers , but he had already been signed to a professional contract with the Cleveland Indians . 
