| Catfish Hunter | |
|---|---|
 Hunter with the New York Yankees,c. 1977 | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born:(1946-04-08)April 8, 1946 Hertford, North Carolina, U.S. | |
| Died: September 9, 1999(1999-09-09) (aged 53) Hertford, North Carolina, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| May 13, 1965, for the Kansas City Athletics | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 17, 1979, for the New York Yankees | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 224–166 |
| Earned run average | 3.26 |
| Strikeouts | 2,012 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Member of the National | |
 Baseball Hall of Fame | |
| Induction | 1987 |
| Vote | 76.3% (third ballot) |
James Augustus "Catfish"Hunter (April 8, 1946 – September 9, 1999) was an American professionalbaseball player inMajor League Baseball (MLB). From1965 to1979, he was apitcher for theKansas City / Oakland Athletics andNew York Yankees. Hunter is the only pitcher since1915 to win 200 games by age 31. He is often referred to as baseball's first big-moneyfree agent, and was a member of fiveWorld Series championship teams.[1]
Hunter was married to Helen Hunter and they had three children.[2] Hunter retired at age 33 following the1979 season, after developing persistent arm problems, and was inducted into theBaseball Hall of Fame in1987. He was diagnosed withamyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, in his early 50s, and died of the disease about a year after his diagnosis. Hunter has been the subject of numerous popular culture references, including theBob Dylan song "Catfish".
The youngest son of eight children, Hunter was born and raised inHertford in northeastNorth Carolina. He grew up on a farm and excelled in a variety of sports atPerquimans County High School. Hunter playedlinebacker andoffensive tackle infootball as well asshortstop, cleanup batter, andpitcher inbaseball. His older brothers taught him to pitch,[3] and his pitching skill began to attract scouts from major-league teams to Hertford. He led the Perquimans baseball team to the 1963NCHSAA 2A state title his junior season.[4][5]
During his senior year in November 1963, Hunter's right foot was wounded by a brother in a hunting accident; he lost one of his toes and shotgun pellets lodged in his foot.[6] The accident left Hunter somewhat hobbled and jeopardized his prospects in the eyes of many professional scouts, but theKansas City Athletics signed Hunter to a contract.[7] Hunter was sent to theMayo Clinic that year so that surgeons could work on his foot. He recovered inLa Porte, Indiana, at the farm of Athletics ownerCharles O. Finley.[8]
Hunter signed with the A's on June 8, 1964, for a reported $75,000, but did not play professionally during the 1964 regular season due to foot surgery and the subsequent recovery from his hunting accident the previous fall. He made his professional baseball debut in theFlorida Instructional League in the fall of 1964.
It is commonly cited that Finley gave Hunter the nickname "Catfish" in1965 because he thought his 19-year-old pitcher needed a flashy nickname.[3][6] A story circulated that his family gave him the nickname as a child when he went missing and was later found with a string ofcatfish; there is no truth to that explanation.[9] However, news articles published mere days after his signing in 1964 reference the nickname (as well as that ofJohn "Blue Moon" Odom, who signed at the same time).[10]
Aside from the fall stint in the instructional league, Hunter never played in theminor leagues.[11] He made his major league debut in May, 1965 and earned his first win on July 27 inFenway Park over theBoston Red Sox. In1966 and1967, he was named to theAmerican LeagueAll-Star team.
Prior to the1968 season, Finley moved the A's fromKansas City toOakland.
On Wednesday, May 8, against theMinnesota Twins, Hunter pitched the ninthperfect game in baseball history. It was the first regular season perfect game in 46 years in the American League sinceCharlie Robertson's perfect game in1922, (excludingDon Larsen's perfect game in the1956 World Series).[9] The game also marked the firstno-hitter by an Athletics pitcher sinceBill McCahan in1947 with what were then thePhiladelphia Athletics.[6] The game was scoreless until the bottom of the seventhinning; offensively, Hunter got three hits and drove in three of Oakland's four runs with a squeezebunt in the seventh and a bases-loaded single in the eighth.[9] Hunter disagreed with only two of catcherJim Pagliaroni's pitch-calling decisions during the game, and as a token of his appreciation for his catcher's contributions, rewarded Pagliaroni with a gold watch that he had inscribed on back.[12][13]
Hunter continued to win games, and in1974 received bothThe Sporting News's "Pitcher of the Year" award and the American LeagueCy Young Award after going 25–12 with a league-leading 2.49earned run average. The A's also won their third consecutiveWorld Series. Hunter's statistics while he was with the Athletics were impressive: four consecutive years with at least 20 wins, and threeWorld Series championships without a loss.[7] He had won 161 games for the A's, 131 in seven seasons in Oakland and 30 in his first three seasons in Kansas City.
On February 11, 1974, Hunter agreed with the A's on a two-year, $200,000 contract with a clause stipulating that $50,000 payments be made to alife insuranceannuity of his choosing in each of the two seasons. After Finley refused to make payment on the annuity after discovering he had to pay $25,000 in taxes which was due immediately, thebreach of contract dispute was brought before an arbitration hearing on November 26, 1974.[14] Twenty days later on December 16, arbitrator Peter Seitz decided in favor of Hunter, officially making him afree agent.[3][15][16] Hunter recalled being scared after he was declared a free agent. "We don't belong to anybody", he told his wife.[3]
Two weeks after he won his arbitration, Hunter became the highest-paid player in baseball and highest-paid pitcher in history when he signed a five-year contract with theNew York Yankees worth $3.35 million.[3][17][18][19][20] He had been courted by 23 of the 24 teams, including the A's but not theSan Francisco Giants,[21] and refused higher offers from theSan Diego Padres and theKansas City Royals.[22] New York was closer to his home in North Carolina and the team played on natural grass.
Finley attempted to have the arbitration ruling overturned,[23] but was unsuccessful after several appeals.[24][25][26] Further details of Finley's history with Hunter gave the A's owner added negative publicity.[27] Hunter became known as baseball's "first big-money free agent".[3]
Hunter got off to a rough start going 0–3 in his first three starts, but settled down and was named to his seventhAll-Star team. He led the league in wins (23) for the second year in a row, and also led the league ininnings pitched (328) and complete games (30) to finish second toJim Palmer of theBaltimore Orioles in the American League Cy Young balloting. Hunter was the last major league pitcher to throw 30 complete games in a season.[28] He also became only the fourth (and last) American League pitcher to win 20 games in a season for five consecutive seasons (1971–1975). The others wereWalter Johnson (10),Lefty Grove (7), andBob Feller (5).
In1976, Hunter won 17 games, led the Yankees in complete games and innings pitched, and was again named to theAll-Star team. The Yankees won three straight pennants with Hunter from 1976 to1978. In 1976, Hunter became the fourth major league pitcher to win 200 games before the age of 31 and the only one sinceWalter Johnson in 1915, preceded byCy Young andChristy Mathewson.[29] Hunter was also a competent hitter, with a career batting average of .226; in1971 he hit .350 with 36 hits in 38 games. After thedesignated hitter was adopted by the American League in1973, Hunter had only two plate appearances in his final seven seasons, with one base hit in 1973.
Hunter won his Opening Day start in1977, limiting theMilwaukee Brewers to three hits over seven shutout innings in a 3–0 victory on April 7.[30] He left the game with a bruised foot and was eventually placed on the 21-daydisabled list with the injury, not pitching again until May 5.[31][32]
Arm injuries plagued Hunter beginning in1978. In spring training, he was diagnosed withdiabetes[33][34] and combined with his chronic arm trouble the disease began to sap Hunter's energy. Following the1979 season and the end of his five-year contract, Hunter retired from baseball at age 33.[3][35] Hunter won 63 games in his five seasons with the Yankees. He retired with appearances in six World Series and with five World Series championships.[3][36]
While with the Yankees, Hunter was a resident ofNorwood, New Jersey, preferring to live outside of New York City.[37]
He returned to his farm in Hertford where he grew soybeans, corn, peanuts, and cotton, and was a spokesman for diabetes awareness.[38][39][40] Hunter noticed arm weakness while hunting in the winter of 1997–1998. He was diagnosed withamyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), orLou Gehrig's disease.[3]
Hunter died at his home in Hertford on September 9, 1999, at age 53, a year after his ALS diagnosis.[3][6][36] A month before his death, on August 8, Hunter fell and hit his head on concrete steps at home.[41] He was unconscious for several days after the fall, but he had returned home from that hospitalization when he died.[42] Hunter is interred at Cedarwood Cemetery in Hertford, adjacent to the field where he played high school baseball.[43]
Along withBilly Williams andRay Dandridge, Hunter was inducted into theBaseball Hall of Fame inCooperstown in1987.[7] At the time, Hall of Fame officials would always defer to the player's wishes in determining which team would be memorialized on his Hall of Fame Plaque. Before and after his induction, Hunter spoke highly of his experiences with both the Athletics and Yankees and his appreciation for both team owners,Charlie Finley andGeorge Steinbrenner. For this reason, he declined to choose a team; accordingly, hisplaque depicts him with no logo on his cap. He was credited by Steinbrenner as the cornerstone of the Yankees in their return to championship form.[3]
In 1990, Hunter was inducted into theBay Area Sports Hall of Fame. In 2004, the Oakland Athletics began theCatfish Hunter Award.[45] His number 27 was retired by the Oakland Athletics in apre-game ceremony on June 9,1991, the first in the franchise's 90-year history.[44][46]
The Jim "Catfish" Hunter Memorial is located in Hertford.[47] An annual softball event is held in Hertford in memory of Hunter. All proceeds from the weekend benefit ALS research. The tournament has raised over $200,000 since 1999.
On September 5, 2018, Hunter was inducted into the Oakland Athletics first Hall of Fame class, with his widow, Helen, in attendance to receive the posthumous honor.
After Hunter's death, former teammateReggie Jackson described Hunter as a "fabulous human being. He was a man of honor. He was a man of loyalty."[48] Steinbrenner said, "We were not winning before Catfish arrived... He exemplified class and dignity and he taught us how to win."[48] Former teammateLou Piniella said, "Catfish was a very unique guy. If you didn't know he was making that kind of money, you'd never guess it because he was humble, very reserved about being a star-type player... almost a little bit shy. But he told great stories. He had a heck of a sense of humor. When you play with guys like that, you feel blessed."[48]
Hunter has been the subject of multiple popular culture references.Bob Dylan wrote the song "Catfish" in 1975.[6] The song was later released by Dylan,Joe Cocker, andKinky Friedman. In 1976, Hunter was also the subject of the Bobby Hollowell song "The Catfish Kid (Ballad of Jim Hunter)", which was performed by Big Tom White and released on a 45 RPM single. Hollowell was best friends with the young Jim Hunter while they grew up together.
Hunter is mentioned in the 1976 filmThe Bad News Bears. When Coach Morris Buttermaker (Walter Matthau) is trying to get Amanda Wurlitzer (Tatum O'Neal) to pitch for hisLittle League team, Amanda makes a number of outlandish demands (including imported jeans, modeling school tuition, and ballet lessons) as conditions for joining the team. Buttermaker asks, "Who do you think you are, Catfish Hunter?" Amanda responds by asking, "Who's he?"
In the movieGrumpier Old Men, an enormous and highly prized fish is named "Catfish Hunter" by the locals.
InYou, Me and Dupree, Catfish Hunter is mentioned byOwen Wilson's character, Dupree, convincing an Asian orchestra student that he can pitch: "First, call me Dupree 'cause I'm your teammate. Second, so what if you're in the orchestra? So was Catfish Hunter."
Minor-league pitcher Jason Kosow portrayed Hunter in theESPN miniseriesThe Bronx is Burning, which depicted the 1977 New York Yankees.
In the Marvel Comics' "The Tomb of Dracula #51 (December 1976, page 26), the narrative written by Marv Wolfman states that "Dracula throws Blade through a window with the ease of Catfish Hunter throwing a fastball."
| Category | W | L | Pct | ERA | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | R | HR | BB | K | WP | HBP |
| Total | 224 | 166 | .574 | 3.26 | 500 | 476 | 181 | 42 | 0 | 3,449+1⁄3 | 2,958 | 1,248 | 1,380 | 374 | 954 | 2,012 | 49 | 49 |
He has lived in Norwood, a leafy Bergen County town less than half an hour's drive from Yankee Stadium; he has succeeded in remaining a farm boy.
| Achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Perfect game pitcher May 8, 1968 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | No-hitter pitcher May 8, 1968 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
