Hunter was effectively pitching for half the money for which he signed. Every effort has been made to accurately determine the rights status of images. Hunter was declared a free agent after Finley failed to make certain payments called for his in contract. I asked [Finley] once why he only called me on the days I was due to pitch, but he said he didnt know when I was going to pitch, Hunter recalled. In 1966 and 1967, he was named to the American League All-Star team. [24] He left the game with a bruised foot and was eventually placed on the 21-day disabled list with the injury, not pitching again until May5. The tournament has raised over $200,000 since 1999. 221 Catfish Hunter Premium High Res Photos - Getty Images Just walking into Yankee Stadium chills, run through you. Finley gave Hunter the nickname "Catfish" in 1965 because he thought his 19-year-old pitcher needed a flashy nickname. Catfish Hunter was a Pitcher. While Paul and Flythe made travel preparations for New York, Greenwald was already on his way to the airport in Cleveland to charter a plane to North Carolina. [37], Along with Billy Williams and Ray Dandridge, Hunter was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown in 1987. He had his best season in his last. [8] Twenty days later on December 16, arbitrator Peter Seitz decided in favor of Hunter, officially making him a free agent. A trip to Cooperstown has something for baseball fans and everyone else. There were two flaws to this argument. Catfish Hunter weighed 190 lbs (86 kg) when playing. That was drastic. Hunter retired at age 33 following the 1979 season, after developing persistent arm problems, and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1987. View Catfish Hunter's Page at the Baseball Hall of Fame (plaque, photos, videos). In 2004, the Oakland Athletics began the Catfish Hunter Award. Blue plastic ballpoint pen and cap. Bob Dylan wrote the song "Catfish" in 1975. Bio/Historical NotePen used by Jim "Catfish" Hunter to sign a five-year contract estimated at $3.75 million with the New York Yankees on December 31, 1974. Object number: B-1975-0563. . Explore the map and charts for more successful Flathead catfish fishing. If you have corrections or additional information about this object, please email research@baseballhall.org to help improve our records. While at the Yankees he had . Ordinarily, Paul could go directly to owner George Steinbrenner for approval, but the Boss had been suspended by Bowie Kuhn for making illegal campaign contributions to Richard Nixon and was temporarily banned from contact.