Baseball Hall-of-Famer Jim “Catfish” Hunter was a proud Hertford, NC native. After retiring, Hunter returned to Hertford to farm and lived hereuntil his early death in 1999. Jimmy was the first free agent in Professional Baseball.
He signed with the Kansas City athletics in 1964. He went on to play for Oakland Athletics and in 1974 where he was the first free agent signed with the New York Yankees.