Jim “Catfish” Hunter Memorial, Hertford
The “Catfish” Hunter memorial is a monolithic black marble column, rectangle in shape, standing six feet tall. At the top of the front face is a head and shoulders photo of Hunter in a New York Yankees uniform. The remainder of the front face is filled with inscriptions detailing his life in baseball.
The Veterans and
Jim “Catfish” Hunter memorials |
View of the historic Perquimans County Courthouse with the Veterans Memorial and
Jim “Catfish” Hunter Memorial on the front lawn
JIM “CATFISH” HUNTER / NATIVE SON AND LONGTIME RESIDENT / OF PERQUIMANS COUNTY / MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PITCHER / FOR 15 YEARS WHO NEVER PLAYED / MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
CAREER RECORD / 224 WINS – 156 LOSSES – ERA 3.26 / WORLD SERIES RECORD / 5 WINS --- 3 LOSSES
P.C.H.S. BASEBALL 1961 – 1964 / AMERICAN LEGION BASEBALL 1962 – 1963 / KANSAS CITY ATHLETIS 1965 – 1967 / OAKLAND ATLETICS 1968 – 1974 / NEW YORK YANKEES 1975 – 1979
PERFECT GAME AGAINST THE / MINNESOTA TWINS – MAY 8, 1968 / FIRST AMERICAN LEAGUE PITCHER / IN 46 YEARS TO THROW / A REGULAR SEASON PERFECT GAME / FIRST FREE AGENT TO / SIGN A CONTRACT - 1975 / CY YOUNG AWARD WINNER – 1974 / ELECTED MEMBER OF NORTH CAROLINA / SPORTS HALL OF FAME – 1974 / WON 20 OR MORE GAMES / FIVE CONSECUTIVE YEARS / PITCHED IN 6 WORLD SERIES / WITH OAKLAND AND NEW YORK
INDUCTED INTO BASEBALL / HALL OF FAME – 1987 / COOPERSTOWN, OHIO
Perquimans County
August 5, 1987
36.189200 , -76.465600
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“Catfish Hunter,” Baseball Hall of Fame, baseballhall.org, (accessed August 21, 2022) Link
“Hertford, North Carolina: Catfish Hunter Memorial,” RoadsideAmerica.com, (accessed August 19, 2022) Link
“Hunter Unveils Monument,” Rocky Mount Telegram (Rocky Mount, NC), August 6, 1987
“Jim ‘Catfish’ Hunter ALS Foundation,” Catfishfoundation.org, (accessed August 19, 2022) Link
“Jim ‘Catfish’ Hunter – Hertford, North Carolina,” Waymarking.com, (accessed August 19, 2022) Link
“NC Weekend | Jim ‘Catfish’ Hunter Museum | UNC-TV,” YouTube.com, (accessed August 19, 2022) Link
Yes
Black marble
Perquimans County and the City of Hertford
This Hunter memorial was dedicated a few weeks after his induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame on July 22, 1987. “Most folks have to die to get one of these,” Hunter was quoted as saying at the dedication ceremony.
Hunter was a Perquimans County farm boy who went straight from high school to the major leagues. After pitching for 10 years with the Kansas City/Oakland Athletics he became the first baseball million dollar free-agent when he signed with the New York Yankees. Charles O. Finley, owner of the Kansas City Athletics gave Hunter the nickname “Catfish.” There is a small museum devoted to him in downtown Hertford at the Chamber of Commerce/Visitor Center. Hunter died in 1998 at the age of 53 from Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), sometimes called Lou Gehrig’s disease.
The monument is located on N. Church Street between E. Grubb and E. Market Streets in Hertford, NC to the right of the entrance to the Perquimans County Courthouse. The Veterans Memorial stands a few feet away and Confederate Soldiers Monument stands to the left of the courthouse entrance. The "Honoring Kilcocanen and the Yeopim Indians" plaque is nearby.
The memorial stands on the front lawn of the historic Perquimans County courthouse, to the right of the building entrance.
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