Joe DePugh, a grade-school friend of Bruce Springsteen forever immortalized in his 1984 hit “Glory Days” as the baseball player who “could throw that speedball by you,” died of cancer in Florida. He ...

Bruce Springsteen recently took to Instagram to pay tribute to an old friend and inspiration of his 1985 hit “Glory Days.” “Just a moment to mark the passing of Freehold native and ballplayer Joe ...

DePugh was a stand-out pitcher with a “speedball,” and he also played basketball. In baseball, he tried out for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Springsteen and DePugh were later part-time neighbors in Palm ...

Thanks to Bruce Springsteen, Joe DePugh’s glory days never really passed him by. DePugh, who helped inspire “Glory Days” — Springsteen’s rollicking, yet bittersweet ode to youthful memories on his ...