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.

Joe DePugh, the Freehold, New Jersey native who inspired Springsteen's hit “Glory Days” after a chance encounter in their shared hometown, has passed away. He was 75. DePugh died after a bout with cancer, Rich Kane, a friend and long-time Freehold Borough teacher told the Asbury Park Press.