| | In 1965, James Augustus Hunter came to the major leagues just a month after his 19th birthday and went 8-8 with the Kansas City Athletics. He'd been "Catfish" since the summer before, when A's owner Charles O. Finley hung the moniker on Hunter at the occasion of his signing a professional contract. In 1968, the Athletics moved to Oakland, and that same season Hunter threw a perfect game, the first in the American League since 1922.
He became the ace of the staff in 1971, just as the A's were establishing themselves as the dynasty of the decade. Beginning that season, he won 21 games three straight years, and in 1974 Hunter topped the American League with 25 victories.
More than his pitching, however, it was a money matter that made Hunter perhaps the most famous pitcher of the 1970s. Prior to the '74 season, Hunter had signed a two-year contract with the A's. The contract called for him to receive $100,000 per season, with half the money to be paid into an annuity by Finley. However, when October rolled around, Finley still had not made the required payment, and Hunter charged his employer with breach of contract. The mistake, Hunter and his lawyers insisted, voided the contract and should result in Hunter becoming a free agent.
Remember, this was before the advent of free agency. The news broke on October 11 ... one day before the A's were scheduled to open the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, and two days after Hunter had won the Oakland's pennant-clinching game against the Baltimore Orioles. To Hunter's credit, he had hoped to keep the dispute a secret until after the World Series, and when a reporter asked him if he still worked for the Athletics, he replied, "I wouldn't be wearing this uniform if I didn't."
Also to his credit, Hunter pitched wonderfully in the Series. In Game 1, he was summoned from the bullpen in the bottom of the ninth, with two outs and the tying run on first base. Hunter struck out Joe Ferguson to seal Oakland's victory. Three days later in Oakland, Hunter threw seven-plus strong innings to beat the Dodgers in Game 3, and the A's wound up cruising to their third straight World Championship in five games.
Moments after the A's clinched, the Major League Baseball Players Association filed the first of two grievances regarding Hunter's case, arguing that Hunter should immediately be considered a free agent, due to breach of contract. The second grievance, issued the next day, argued for the payment of $50,000 that had never been made.
On November 26, a hearing was held before a three-man arbitration panel. Given that one of the arbitrators was Marvin Miller, head of the Players Association, and the other was John Gaherin, chief negotiator for the owners, the weight fell upon Peter Seitz, the only "impartial arbitrator." And on December 13, Seitz ruled that Finley had indeed defaulted on Hunter's contract, thus making Hunter a free agent. The first one.
While Hunter's victory had no important legal ramifications, it did make everyone realize just how much owners would pay for a superstar free agent. The bidding for Hunter's services began on December 19, and eventually all 24 major league teams (even the A's) would make offers. The serious negotiations were conducted in Ahoskie, North Carolina, where Hunter's lawyers had their office, and the list of visitors to the small town comprised a veritable Who's Who of major league management, including but not limited to: Walter Alston, Gene Autry, Peter Bavasi, Al Campanis, Ruly Carpenter, Harry Dalton, Bob Howsam, Ewing Kauffman, Billy Martin, Gene Mauch, Peter O'Malley, Gabe Paul, Bud Selig and Dick Williams.
After all the presentations, Hunter wound up negotiating his own deal with the New York Yankees, in large part because he liked and trusted Yankees scout Clyde Kluttz. Let history note that Hunter did not accept the biggest financial offer. While his deal with the Yankees was worth nearly $3.5 million, the Padres and Royals reportedly offered somewhere between $3.5 million and $4 million (though the Royals' offer would have been worth that much only if Hunter lived to be 70 years old).
In 1974, to a ballplayer $3.5 million seemed like all the money in the world, even if that $3.5 million covered five years, and most would be deferred (Hunter was still receiving annual checks from the Yankees until 1994).
Many assumed that Hunter's departure would mean the end of Oakland's dynasty, but the A's actually won 98 games in 1975, more than they'd won in any of the previous three seasons (though they lost to the Red Sox in the American League Championship Series).
Hunter, meanwhile, pitched brilliantly for the Yankees in '75, going 23-14 with a 2.58 ERA, and leading the league in victories, complete games and innings pitched. A year later the Yankees won the American League championship, though Hunter's record fell to 17-15 as he began to suffer the shoulder soreness that would end his career. He pitched three more seasons for the Yankees, but went just 23-24 in 62 starts before retiring at the age of 33.
Hunter's period of outstanding performance lasted for only about seven seasons. But his 224 major league victories, his five seasons of 21-plus victories, and his 9-6 postseason record made an impression, and in 1987, his third year on the ballot, Catfish Hunter was elected to the Hall of Fame.
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