Hometown Hero: Jim "Catfish" Hunter

Jim "Catfish" Hunter was proud to call Hertford and Perquimans County "home." And, the folks here are equally proud to recognize him as a favorite son. Gateway signs proclaim Hertford as the "Home of Catfish Hunter" and a monument on the Perquimans Courthouse Green commemorates Hunter's tremendous accomplishments in baseball.

Jim Hunter signed with the Kansas City A's right out of Perquimans County High School. And, it was Charlie Finley, the owner of the Kansas City Athletics, who gave Jim Hunter the nickname "Catfish" inventing a story for the media about Hunter catching fish in the backwoods creeks of North Carolina. While with the A's, Hunter was named to the American League All-Star team in 1966 and 1967. In 1968, Hunter pitched the first perfect game in the American League since 1922. In 1974 he received the Cy Young Award. In 1975 Hunter left the A's for the Yankees, becoming the highest paid pitcher in baseball. While with the Yankees, the team won three straight pennants from 1976 to 1979.

After a record-setting career in baseball, Hunter retired in 1979 to his farm in Perquimans, close to where he grew up. He remained an active member of the community, frequently signing baseballs for local fundraisers and participating in community events.

In 1998, Hunter was diagnosed with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), the same disease that took the life of Lou Gehrig. Hunter died in 1999 at the age of 53. He is buried in Hertford in Cedarwood Cemetery.

Jim Hunter's high school sweetheart and wife, Helen, has taken up the fight to fund research into ALS. She is actively involved in the Jim "Catfish" Hunter Chapter of the ALS Foundation.

More information about Jim Hunter can be found from the North Carolina Encyclopedia