Joe DePugh, High School Baseball Star Who Inspired Bruce Springsteen Song, Dies at 75

The "Glory Days" subject tried out for the Dodgers and played college basketball.

Bruce Springsteen speaks at Monmouth University in 2023. / Provided by Daniella Heminghaus / USA TODAY NETWORK

Joe DePugh, a former New Jersey high school baseball star known for his association with one of musician Bruce Springsteen's most celebrated songs, has died. He was 75.

Springsteen's friendship with DePugh inspired the first verse of "Glory Days," a platinum-selling No. 5 hit in 1985. In the song, he discusses running into a former pitcher who "could throw that speedball by you."

DePugh, a gifted pitcher, was a Little League teammate of Springsteen's in Freehold, N.J. Unlike Springsteen—an inept athlete as a child—DePugh tried out for the Los Angeles Dodgers after a standout high school career.

"Just a moment to mark the passing of Freehold native and ballplayer Joe DePugh. He was a good friend when I needed one," Springsteen wrote on Instagram. "Glory Days my friend."

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DePugh went on to play basketball at King's College, a Division III school in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. He obtained and English degree and later worked as a substitute teacher and contractor.

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