[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 15]
[House]
[Page 21729]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



        REMEMBERING JIM ``CATFISH'' HUNTER, HALL OF FAME PITCHER

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Jones) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. JONES of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, last week America lost a 
legendary figure in the game of baseball. The town of Hertford and the 
State of North Carolina lost a friend and a hero. Hall of Fame pitcher 
Jim ``Catfish'' Hunter passed away, just one year after being diagnosed 
with ALS, the same disease that took the life of former Yankee first 
baseman Lou Gehrig.

                              {time}  1645

  Mr. Speaker, Jim ``Catfish'' Hunter is a grand example of what a 
sports hero should be. He played baseball because he loved the game. 
The success he gained was secondary. During his career, no matter how 
impressive his accomplishments or how great the public recognition, he 
never forgot his family or his community. In fact, he lived the kind of 
life that movies are based on.
  Jim Hunter was raised in rural eastern North Carolina as the fourth 
of eight children. As a boy, he excelled in sports. In high school, 
professional scouts began taking interest in his pitching skills. 
Hunter's natural talent and dedication to the game led to a remarkable 
career which elevated a young country boy to a national sports hero. He 
was given the name Catfish in 1964 when former Oakland A's Charlie 
Finley signed the 18-year-old to play baseball.
  Hunter admitted that he enjoyed hunting and fishing, and the A's 
owner apparently insisted on the name Catfish. Jim Catfish Hunter went 
on to win five world championship rings and a plaque in baseball's Hall 
of Fame.
  As an 8-time All Star, he pitched in 6 World Series, helping to win 
three championships in Oakland and two more with the Yankees. His 15-
year baseball career ended in 1979, but not before he won 224 games, 
pitched a perfect game, and in 1974 received the American League's Cy 
Young Award.
  Jim Catfish Hunter gained the kind of superstardom that could have 
changed most men, but he remained the same unassuming man he was when 
he left Eastern North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, John Ruskin once said, 
``The first true test of a truly great man is his humility.'' Mr. 
Speaker, if this is the test, then Catfish Hunter will certainly be 
remembered as a great man.
  At age 33, Jim Catfish Hunter retired from baseball and moved back to 
North Carolina, not far from where he was raised, to concentrate on his 
family. He had married his high school sweetheart Helen, and together 
they had three children, sons Todd and Paul, and a daughter, Kim. 
Hunter has been quoted as saying he would have given up all of his 
money and fame for the health to watch his grandson Taylor grow.
  But Jim Hunter was a fighter. Instead of shying away from the 
disease, he worked to raise awareness of his illness in hopes of 
finding a cure. In fact, last May, Hunter attended the opening of the 
Jim Catfish Hunter ALS Foundation in Hartford, North Carolina. The 
event fell on May 8, the 31st anniversary of his perfect game.
  Mr. Speaker, we remember him as more than just a great ball player. 
He was a wonderful man who loved his family and his community. In fact, 
I imagine he would like to be remembered as Jim Hunter, the husband, 
father, grandfather, and friend, rather than Catfish Hunter, the Hall 
of Fame baseball pitcher.
  Today we celebrate his life and the legacy that he has left for 
future athletes. Mr. Speaker, the Nation and the game of baseball are 
better off because Jim Catfish Hunter passed this way.




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