In 1973, when they had been out of touch for years, two boyhood friends bumped into each other at a roadside bar near the Jersey Shore. Bruce Springsteen was walking in; Joe DePugh was walking out.

Joe DePugh, a high school friend of Bruce Springsteen forever immortalized in the 1984 hit 'Glory Days,' has died at age 75.

If Bruce Springsteen’s song stands true, Joe DePugh was quite the baseball player back in his “Glory Days.” DePugh, who inspired Springsteen’s iconic song, has died after a battle with cancer at 75 years old.

Joe DePugh, the former Freehold, New Jersey baseball player who led a life that inspired Bruce Springsteen’s hit song Glory Days died at the age of 75.

Joe DePugh apparently had quite the arm when he took the mound as a kid. His fastball would blow by hitters and, boy, make them look like fools. At least, that's how he's remembered by one of his friends and former teammates -- music legend Bruce Springsteen,

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.

Bruce Springsteen is paying tribute to his late classmate Joe DePugh, a former star pitcher from New Jersey who inspired Springsteen’s wistful hit “Glory Days.” The Boss, 75, shared an Instagram post on Sunday, March 30 remembering DePugh, who died of cancer in Florida at age 75, according to The Athletic.

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.