 Feller was born and raised with his sister , <unk> , in Van Meter , Iowa . His father , William , ran the 360 @-@ acre ( 150 ha ) family farm , and his mother , Lena ( <unk> ) , was a teacher and registered nurse . Feller played catch daily with his father . He had learned to throw a curveball by the time he was eight years old , and could throw a ball 270 feet ( 82 m ) when he was nine . To assist his son , Feller senior started growing wheat on his farm , a less labor @-@ intensive crop than corn , to allow his son more time to play baseball . Originally the Fellers were Roman Catholics but converted to Methodism after Feller 's father was reprimanded by their parish priest for letting him play on Sundays . Feller later suggested that his arm strength and ball speed during his major league career came from his childhood work milking cows , picking corn , and baling hay . He recalled his childhood fondly : " What kid wouldn 't enjoy the life I led in Iowa ? Baseball and farming , and I had the best of both worlds . " The family 's farm is on the National Register of Historic Places . 
