Bruce Springsteen Pays Tribute to Joe DePugh, Behind ‘Glory Days’

Bruce Springsteen has paid tribute to Joe DePugh, the New Jersey pitcher who inspired his hit song “Glory Days,” following news of DePugh’s death this week at the age of 75.

“Just a moment to mark the passing of Freehold native and ballplayer Joe DePugh,” Springsteen wrote in an Instagram post on March 30. “He was a good friend when I needed one. ‘He could throw that speedball by you, make you look like a fool’ …. Glory Days my friend.”

DePugh and Springsteen grew up together in Freehold, N.J., and played baseball in the same youth league. Their now-legendary chance encounter at a bar in 1973 served as the real-life basis for one of the most iconic verses on Springsteen’s Born in the U.S.A. album.

DePugh later confirmed the moment in interviews, recalling how the two reconnected outside the Headliner in Neptune, then spent hours catching up inside.

“Whenever we’re together, it’s the same dynamic: I’m the star and he’s the guy at the end of the bench,’ said DePugh to the Palm Beach Post in 2011. “That’s who he has always been to me, my right fielder.”

” … Once I saw Bruce we went back in and closed the place. He had a little entourage with him. They all sat in a booth, but it was just me and him at the bar. All of a sudden, it’s 1:30 (a.m.) and they started blinking the lights.”

“Glory Days” reached No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1985, and DePugh told the Palm Beach Post that he was “tickled pink I would even get into the song.”

“When I first heard the song, I thought the song said ‘and all we kept talking about was glory days,’ “ said DePugh. “And years later, I finally saw the lyrics and saw ‘all he kept talking about was glory days.’ And I thought, ‘Huh, (he) took a little shot at me!’

DePugh and Springsteen remained friends throughout their lives, occasionally crossing paths in Palm Beach County, where Springsteen owns a home and DePugh lived in Lake Worth.

DePugh died after a battle with cancer. He is remembered fondly by friends, including longtime Freehold teacher and coach Rich Kane, who said: “All he wanted to do was raise his brothers, play baseball, play basketball and just hang in Freehold Borough. This one hurt. Joe and I were very close.”