One of the best Major League Baseball pitchers in the Hall of Fame is the late Jim “Catfish” Hunter of Hertford, N.C., who signed a pro contract after graduating from Perquimans County High School in 1964.
Born in 1946, James Augustus Hunter was the youngest of eight children raised by Abbott and Lillie Harrell Hunter, who were tenant farmers. The five Hunter boys labored on the farm and worked odd jobs to earn enough money to buy baseballs.
Early in his high school days, Jimmy Hunter was “discovered” by Clyde Kluttz, a former major league catcher from Rockwell, N.C. (in Rowan County). After a nine-year playing career, Kluttz became a scout for the Kansas City Athletics organization.
The Athletics’ (known simply as the A’s) team owner was Charlie Finley, thought his 18-year-old pitcher needed a nickname.
Bob Ruegsegger, a freelance writer based in Virginia Beach, Va., said: “Finley decided his prized rookie would be Jim ‘Catfish’ Hunter.”
“Finley fabricated a story: ‘You left home when you were 6. When your momma and daddy finally found you, you had landed two catfish, and you had a third one on the line. They’ve been calling you ‘Catfish’ ever since.”
Hunter balked, but Finley said: “I just gave you $75,000,” (a reference to Hunter’s signing bonus). “Yes, sir. My name is ‘Catfish,’” Hunter conceded.
Hunter’s pitching record for his first three seasons at Kansas City was so-so, but he caught fire after Finley moved the A’s to Oakland, Calif., for the 1968 season.
The A’s, buoyed by Hunter, became unstoppable, winning three consecutive World Series championships from 1972-74. Hunter was the American League’s Cy Young Award winner in 1974 – the best pitcher of the year, selected by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.
Hunter made history off the field as well. A contract dispute with Finley was eventually settled, and Hunter was declared to be “free agent.”
Matt Kelly, communications specialist at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, N.Y., said: “For the first time since the 1870s, a major league player was free to offer his services to the highest bidder…a sweepstakes for baseball’s best big game pitcher, Catfish Hunter.”
Kelly reported that Hunter inked a five-year deal worth about $3.2 million, along with a $1 million signing bonus, to join the New York Yankees for the 1975 season. The deal was engineered by Clyde Kluttz, who was then employed as the Yankees’ “director of scouting.”
Hunter, as baseball’s first multi-million-dollar player, said: “I was probably the first player who broke it open for other players to be paid what they’re worth.”
Hunter helped the New York club win back-to-back World Series titles in 1977-78. Hunter retired at the end of the 1979 season. His five World Series rings, earned over the course of a 15-year career, is quite impressive.
Jimmy Hunter returned to his roots in Hertford, a town of about 2,000 people located at a bend in the Perquimans River, which flows into the Albemarle Sound.
He and Helen Overton had been high school sweethearts; they were married in 1966 and raised three children. The Hunters’ goal in life was to make their hometown proud.
In September 1998, Jim Hunter was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. He died at home about a year later on Sept. 9, 1999, at the age of 53.
The Perquimans County Chamber of Commerce in downtown Hertford houses the official Jim “Catfish” Hunter Museum. Call 252-426-5657.
Bob Ruegsegger simply
suggests: “Go.”
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