I previously wrote a story called My Crazy Night With The Starkist Tuna Man and the Heineken Lady which told of one of my more interesting nights in my grocery career. So I figured I should share one of my more pleasant experiences as well.

In 1992 I got some good news, I was promoted to the position of store manager for the very first time. The promotion also came with some bad news, I would have to leave the good old state of Virginia and move to North Carolina. My boss at the time said “They want you away from the corporate office….so if you mess up ….nobody will know”.

So I moved to the small town of Hertford, North Carolina….population of roughly 2,000. Amazingly when I moved to Hertford, two of the population of Hertford were pretty famous people. Legendary disc jockey Wolfman Jack and Hall of Fame baseball pitcher Jim “Catfish” Hunter.

I would end up in Hertford for almost three years. I quickly learned two things when I first arrived in Hertford….. most people had great stories about Wolfman and Catfish……and Helen Hunter (Catfish’s wife) was the best customer at my store. Over the those three years I got to know Mrs. Hunter during her weekly shopping trips. I can tell you she was and is a very down to earth person, very friendly, easy going and always in a happy mood.

Now let’s move ahead to Thanksgiving of 1994…..although I had lived in this small town for nearly three years…..I had never met either Catfish or Wolfman. Two days before Thanksgiving, I helped bag up this huge order of turkeys and hams…..when the customer left…the cashier said….”I guess Catfish is having a huge Thanksgiving Day dinner”…..I had just bagged Catfish’s order and did not realize that this was a Hall of Fame baseball pitcher….the big fish had gotten away….lol.

About this time I was hearing rumors that I was about to be transferred to another store after the holiday season ended. …..also around this time my dairy manager, Jerry, offered to get me Catfish’s autograph…I responded with…”I appreciated the offer, but I really would like a chance to meet Catfish….I do not want to say that I lived in this very small town for three years and never got to meet him”. Jerry said “I will see what I can do” and walked away.

In mid December of 1994, I got word that I was officially leaving my Hertford store after the holidays were over in only a few weeks. As I was getting ready for Christmas and my big move, I heard the local hardware store was selling Catfish Hunter autographed baseballs for five dollars each. I thought those would make great Christmas gifts. So I went down to the hardware store and purchased four balls for twenty dollars. The owner of the store said….”Jimmy’s supposed to be in later this week and will sign the balls and then you can come and get them”….. as my days in Hertford were winding down, I figured I better it least secure his autograph.

Three days before Christmas, Jerry, the dairy manager, walks up to me and says “I have a Christmas and a goodbye present for you”…he then handed me a piece of paper and said….”This is Catfish’s home address, they (the Hunters) say tonight between 6 and 7, would be a good time for you to come over and meet Catfish”. …stunned and flabbergasted ….I originally refused to believe this was true….but at 6:00 that night I was on Catfish’s porch ringing his doorbell.

As I rang the doorbell I was thinking….”This could be a huge joke, and they could think I am a stalker”….but Catfish’s daughter opened the door, and said “You are that guy from the grocery store….my dad is not here yet….come on in”. She took me to their kitchen, where Mrs. Hunter said “Jimmy will be here in a couple minutes make yourself at home” …. I sat at their kitchen table and waited for Catfish to come home.

About 5 minutes later, I finally got to meet Jim “Catfish” Hunter after nearly three years of living in the same small town. He shook my hand and said it was nice to meet me….imagine that! I was there about a hour, he seemed more interested in the grocery business than talking about his baseball glory days (the strike of 1994 was still going on)….at the end of the hour he asked if I wanted him to sign anything …..I produced two baseball cards….which he signed to my brother and my father. He then said….”Did you bring any baseballs for me to sign?”….when I said no…..he reached into a box and signed two baseballs and gave me the balls and the autographs.

The coolest thing in his house was his staircase pillars….instead of just plain old wood…the pillars were baseball bats signed by the greatest players of the 1970s, players like Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, and Reggie Jackson. On my departure I thanked them for being so kind and wished them a Merry Christmas. As walked to my car I was one happy camper.

But Catfish had one more surprise for me…..on Christmas Eve, the hardware store owner called my store and said “Sorry, Jim could not sign the balls you paid for, come by and get a refund when you get a chance”.. no problem I responded…….later that Christmas Eve, about half a hour before the store closed for Christmas, I got paged to the front of the store.

Standing at the service desk, was Catfish’s daughter, with the four baseballs I had bought from the hardware store……she said “My Dad heard you wanted to give the autographed balls as Christmas presents…and he did not want to disappoint your friends and family…..Merry Christmas” stunned I wished her Merry Christmas as well.