HUNTER, James Augustus ("Catfish"; "Jim")

(b. 8 April 1946 in Hertford, North Carolina; d. 9 September 1999 in Hertford, North Carolina), standout major league pitcher who played on World Series–winning teams for the Oakland A's and New York Yankees, and earned election to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Hunter, the son of Abbott and Lillie Harrell Hunter, dominated high school competition with a powerful right arm that drew the attention of many major league scouts. Unfortunately, a hunting accident, in which his brother inadvertently fired shots into his foot, sidetracked his career. The incident left a series of shotgun pellets in his foot and curtailed his fastball by limiting his ability to push off the mound. Although most scouts no longer considered Hunter one of the best high school pitchers in the country, Kansas City A's scout Clyde Kluttz and team owner Charlie Finley maintained their loyalty. Finley paid for Hunter's foot operation and signed him to a 1964 contract that included a $75,000 bonus. Finley also fitted Hunter with the nickname of "Catfish," concocting a fabricated story to accompany the origin of his new identity.

The following spring, the A's planned to send the nineteen-year-old to the minor leagues, but his surprising maturity convinced management that he should remain with Kansas City. "Here's a kid right out of high school who goes on the major league mound and pitches as if he were a veteran," said Jack Aker, a reliever for the A's. "Catfish never showed a bit of fear or nervousness. He just picked up on major league baseball like it was another day back at his high school in Hertford, North Carolina."

With no minor league training, Hunter showed flashes of stardom in his first three seasons, but it wasn't until 1968 (with the A's franchise by then relocated to Oakland, California) that he started to gain national recognition. On 8 May Hunter pitched a perfect game against the hard-hitting Minnesota Twins. Afterwards, Hunter exhibited his typical modesty, refusing an attempt by teammates to lift him onto their shoulders. "I just wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible," Hunter told Sport magazine. "I was too embarrassed."

As much as Hunter made an impression with his growing pitching talent, he impressed the veteran A's players even more with his demeanor, both on the pitching mound and in the clubhouse. Hunter was reserved, but his shyness eventually gave way to a subtle confidence, allowing him to become a team leader. "Catfish was a jokester, one of the guys, and very unassuming," said A's captain Sal Bando. "He was liked by everybody."

Hunter's teammates enjoyed his practical jokes, even if his managers did not. Early in 1971 the A's found themselves playing poorly, which did not please their new skipper, Dick Williams. Prior to boarding the team bus at the Milwaukee airport, one of the players decided to steal a battery-operated megaphone from the team airplane. Williams angrily lectured his players, demanding the mega-phone be returned immediately. As an irritated Williams continued his diatribe, one of the players—none other than Hunter—dropped the megaphone from the bus onto the sidewalk.

On the field, Hunter played a large part in the A's' 101-win season in 1971—marking their first trip to the post-season under Finley. Hunter's emergence as a star in 1971 was even more impressive, considering his starts were often pushed back so that the A's could start Vida Blue—on his way to the Most Valuable Player (MVP) and Cy Young awards—at home as often as possible. Yet Hunter never publicly complained and continued to pitch well, reaching the twenty-win plateau for the first time.

Hunter relied on tenacity and competitiveness to compensate for his lack of a feared fastball—a shortcoming often noted by opponents. When a reporter approached Cincinnati Reds left fielder Pete Rose during the 1972 World Series and asked him if he would characterize Hunter as a great pitcher, Rose responded tersely: "No, I wouldn't. He's a good pitcher, but hell, I'm not gonna make him out to be a super pitcher because he's not." Unshaken by such uncomplimentary words, Hunter won two games and posted a 2.81 ERA in helping the A's defeat the Reds.

In spite of his success, which included three consecutive twenty-one-win seasons and a twenty-five-win campaign, Hunter remained modest—and good-hearted with team-mates. One day in 1974 Hunter presented a greeting card to little-known infielder John Donaldson, who was about to complete his fourth year of service, making him eligible for a Major League Baseball (MLB) pension. The card, signed by the Hunter family, read as follows: "From the four of us for your fourth." The gesture left Donaldson overwhelmed. "That shows what kind of class Hunter has," Donaldson told the Sporting News.

Hunter's popularity with teammates was reaffirmed when he became a free agent after the A's won their third consecutive World Series in 1974. Finley's failure to make an insurance payment as part of the pitcher's contract triggered his departure, with the timing proving especially good for Hunter, the American League's Cy Young Award winner. After all but two teams made him offers, Hunter elected to sign a five-year, $3.75 million contract with the New York Yankees. "With Catfish, we were world champions," A's outfielder Reggie Jackson told Sport magazine. "Without him, we have to struggle to win the division." Without Hunter, the A's did manage to win the American League West, but went no further, losing the playoffs in three straight games.

Despite a fifth consecutive twenty-win season in 1975, Hunter's Yankees didn't make the post-season. Nonetheless, the Yankees soon replaced the A's as the elite team in the league. In 1976 the Yankees won the American League pennant, followed by World Series titles in 1977 and 1978. Hunter thus enjoyed an incredible stretch of five world championships in seven years.

The 1978 season, however, proved bittersweet for Hunter. While the Yankees won their second straight championship, Hunter discovered that he was suffering from diabetes. The disease forced him to take regular medication for the rest of his life.

Although Hunter's five-year contract with the Yankees expired, he returned for one more season in the Bronx, but struggled badly, winning just two of eleven decisions. Still relatively young at thirty-three, he decided to retire in order to spend more time with his family. In 1987 Hunter won election to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Hunter's post-playing days did not treat him kindly. In addition to battling diabetes, he noticed problems holding a shotgun in his hand while hunting near his farm in 1998. A visit to Johns Hopkins Hospital resulted in a diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis—or ALS—a fatal disease that had previously claimed the life of Yankee great Lou Gehrig. Over the next year and a half, Hunter courageously battled ALS, refusing to publicly complain about his fate. During the summer of 1999 he fell while trying to climb steps and suffered severe head injuries. The fall—the direct result of the effects of ALS—ultimately contributed to his death at the age of fifty-three. Hunter left behind a wife, Helen, and three children. He is buried in Cedarwood Cemetery in Hertford, North Carolina.

Although his career was nearly short-circuited as a youth, Hunter maximized his success as a pitcher, becoming an integral part of two of the game's most dominant franchises of the 1970s. He also maintained his down-to-earth nature, making him one of baseball's most well-loved and respected players. In addition, he worked with friends to form the Jim "Catfish" Hunter ALS Foundation, an organization dedicated to bringing an end to the fatal disease.

For additional information on Hunter, see Jim "Catfish" Hunter and Armen Keteyian, Catfish: My Life in Baseball (1988); Bruce Markusen, Baseball's Last Dynasty: Charlie Finley's Oakland A's (1998); and clippings files for Jim "Catfish" Hunter at the National Baseball Hall of Fame Library, Cooperstown, N.Y.

Bruce Markusen