The former secondary school star Joe Depigh – who inspired Bruce Springsteen’s song “Glory Days” – died at the age of 75.
Depigh died in a hospice in West Palm Beach, Florida, due to metastatic prostate cancer, his brother Paul told New York Times.
Springsteen and Depigh grew up together in Freehold, New Jersey, and played Little League Baseball together.
While Joe was known as the team’s star launcher, Springsteen was in fact nicknamed “Saddie” by his friend because of his unfortunate lack of capacity on the diamond.
And although the couple finally launched different paths of life, with Springsteen of course becoming a rock music icon, Depugh’s baseball capacity had an impact on him and in one of his most famous songs.
As reported by the Times leader, he and Springsteen reconnected one night in a bar in 1973, after being disconnected for years after their secondary school diploma.
Bruce Springsteen published a touching tribute on Instagram to his late friend Joe Depughh
In the song, Springsteen refers to a teammate who could “throw this speedball by you”
The pair caught up a few drinks and the conversation finally inspired several words of “Glory Days”.
“I had a friend was a great baseball player in high school,” sang Springsteen in the song. “He could throw this speedball by you, make you look like a fool, my boy.
“I saw him the other evening in this bar on the roadside, I was walking, he went out, we returned inside, we sat down, drink a few drinks, but all that he continued to talk about was days of glory.
Springsteen recognized the death of his friend with a post on Instagram, citing his own words.
“Just a moment to mark the death of the native of Freehold and balloon player Joe Depugh,” he said.
“He was a good friend when I needed it. “He could throw this speedball by you, make you look like a fool”…. GLORY Days my friend.
The song, released in 1985, has become Platinum and is always known as one of its most famous songs to date.
While Depigh tried for the Dodgers, he ended up playing university basketball for the college of Diii King Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
He would have worked as an entrepreneur and spent time living in Florida and Stowe, Vermont.