Thought
it would be fun today to revisit a blog post from just about eight
years ago, my 1973 "nicknames of the 1970's" card for Hall of Fame
pitcher Jim "Catfish" Hunter:
One of the earlier nickname cards I created, and a favorite!
What a class-act Hunter was.
A down-to-earth dude who didn't let stardom sidetrack him, it was
sad that he'd have to retire from the game at the age of 33 because of
arm troubles, but downright tragic that he would pass away in 1999 from
ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease) at the young age
of 53!
By the time he retired in 1979, he posted 224 wins, a 3.26 earned
run average, 2012 strikeouts, and most importantly, FIVE championships:
three with Oakland and two with the Yankees.
In 1987 Cooperstown came calling and elected him in, forever enshrined in baseball's all-time history.
