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James Paul David Bunning
Pittsburgh Pirates
Pitcher
Born: October 23, 1931, Southgate, KY
Signed: Signed as an amateur free agent by the Detroit Tigers before the 1950 season
Major League Teams: Detroit Tigers 1955-1963; Philadelphia Phillies 1964-1967; Pittsburgh Pirates 1968-1969; Los Angeles Dodgers 1969; Philadelphia Phillies 1970-1971
Died: May 26, 2017, Edgewood, KY (age 85)
Hall of Fame Induction: 1996
Jim Bunning endeared himself to Phillies fans when he pitched the franchise's first perfect game on Father's Day 1964, providing a much-needed and rare highlight for Phillies fans of that era. Bunning was a nine-time All-Star, a 20-game winner in 1957 and he pitched a no-hitter with the Tigers in 1958. He's one of five pitchers to have thrown a no-hitter in both leagues, and he was the first pitcher to accomplish that feat while winning 100 games and striking out 1,000 batters in both leagues. He never pitched in the postseason, coming the closest in 1964 before the Phillies' epic and historic collapse in the final few weeks of the season.
Over 17 seasons, Bunning went 224-184 with a 3.27 ERA, 151 complete games and 40 shutouts. He led the league three times in strikeouts (1959, 1960 and 1967) and his 2,855 career strikeouts were second only to Walter Johnson when he retired following the 1971 season. Bunning finished in the top ten in ERA seven times during his career. He was also a great fielder, having four seasons in which he didn't commit a single error. Following his playing days, Bunning returned to his native Kentucky and entered politics, serving between 1987 and 1999 in the U.S. House of Representatives, and later in the U.S. Senate between 1999 and 2011. He was elected to the Phillies Wall of Fame in 1984, the Baseball Hall of Fame via the Veterans Committee in 1996, and had his #14 retired by the Phillies in 2001.
Hall of Fame Induction: 1996
Jim Bunning endeared himself to Phillies fans when he pitched the franchise's first perfect game on Father's Day 1964, providing a much-needed and rare highlight for Phillies fans of that era. Bunning was a nine-time All-Star, a 20-game winner in 1957 and he pitched a no-hitter with the Tigers in 1958. He's one of five pitchers to have thrown a no-hitter in both leagues, and he was the first pitcher to accomplish that feat while winning 100 games and striking out 1,000 batters in both leagues. He never pitched in the postseason, coming the closest in 1964 before the Phillies' epic and historic collapse in the final few weeks of the season.
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| 1988 Pacific Legends I #92 |
Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.
Building the Set / Card #65
February 13, 2023 from Wenonah, NJ (Gar Miller Cards)
Given my chosen profession, I sit through an inordinate amount of work meetings, which are now almost all virtual in this post-pandemic world. On some occasions, these meetings are admittedly a combination of boring, unneeded, too lengthy or some combination of all three. During a recent early February virtual work meeting, and after it became apparent the meeting had derailed into matters unimportant to me personally, I bought a bunch of old baseball cards. Gar Miller is a noted hobby luminary, and he still sells vintage baseball cards via his online store, Gar Miller Cards. I navigated over to his website, picking up a small stack of cards from this 1969 Topps set build and a few bonus cards for our not yet officially collecting 1955 Bowman and 1959 Topps sets. For those watching me on screen during the virtual work meeting, I had the appearance of someone smiling, nodding appreciatively and following along attentively. But in reality, I was adding baseball cards to my online cart, including this Bunning card which was one of the most expensive cards purchased at $12.
The Card / Pirates Team Set / Accuracy Index -8
1969 Season
Bunning was now 37 years old and he began the season as the Pirates' fifth starter behind Steve Glass (#104), Bob Veale (#520), Dock Ellis (#286) and Bob Moose (#409). In 25 starts, he was a respectable 10-9 with a 3.81 ERA and 124 strikeouts in 156 innings pitched. On August 15th, with the Pirates in fourth place in the East and the Dodgers only a game and a half behind the first place Reds in the West, Bunning was traded to Los Angeles for Chuck Goggin, minor leaguer Ron Mitchell, and cash. He'd make nine starts for the Dodgers, going 3-1 with one complete game and a 3.36 ERA. The Dodgers would drop to fourth place by season's end, and Bunning was released by the team on October 22nd. A week later, he'd return to the Phillies, where he'd pitch for his final two seasons.
Phillies Career
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1957 Topps #338
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (15): 1957-1971
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2021 Topps Chrome Platinum Anniversary #631
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 464 in the Beckett online database as of 2/15/23.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
Building the Set / Card #65
February 13, 2023 from Wenonah, NJ (Gar Miller Cards)
Given my chosen profession, I sit through an inordinate amount of work meetings, which are now almost all virtual in this post-pandemic world. On some occasions, these meetings are admittedly a combination of boring, unneeded, too lengthy or some combination of all three. During a recent early February virtual work meeting, and after it became apparent the meeting had derailed into matters unimportant to me personally, I bought a bunch of old baseball cards. Gar Miller is a noted hobby luminary, and he still sells vintage baseball cards via his online store, Gar Miller Cards. I navigated over to his website, picking up a small stack of cards from this 1969 Topps set build and a few bonus cards for our not yet officially collecting 1955 Bowman and 1959 Topps sets. For those watching me on screen during the virtual work meeting, I had the appearance of someone smiling, nodding appreciatively and following along attentively. But in reality, I was adding baseball cards to my online cart, including this Bunning card which was one of the most expensive cards purchased at $12.
The Card / Pirates Team Set / Accuracy Index -8
The photo here is from way back in 1964, taken during the same session as the photo used for Bunning's 1965 Topps card. The back of the card points out Bunning's feat of striking out at least 1,000 batters in each league, and also celebrates his 40 career shutouts to date. That ended up being his career total, as his last shutout came on April 14, 1968 against the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium.
Accuracy Index: Bunning's card scores a -8 for featuring the pitcher hatless (-3) and in a Phillies uniform (-5).
1969 Season
Bunning was now 37 years old and he began the season as the Pirates' fifth starter behind Steve Glass (#104), Bob Veale (#520), Dock Ellis (#286) and Bob Moose (#409). In 25 starts, he was a respectable 10-9 with a 3.81 ERA and 124 strikeouts in 156 innings pitched. On August 15th, with the Pirates in fourth place in the East and the Dodgers only a game and a half behind the first place Reds in the West, Bunning was traded to Los Angeles for Chuck Goggin, minor leaguer Ron Mitchell, and cash. He'd make nine starts for the Dodgers, going 3-1 with one complete game and a 3.36 ERA. The Dodgers would drop to fourth place by season's end, and Bunning was released by the team on October 22nd. A week later, he'd return to the Phillies, where he'd pitch for his final two seasons.
The Phillies acquired Bunning with Gus Triandos from the Tigers on December 5, 1963 for Don Demeter and Jack Hamilton (#629). The deal definitely worked out in the Phillies favor. During his first stint with the club, Bunning made two All-Star teams and went 74-46 with a 2.48 ERA over 163 games. The Phillies traded him to the Pirates on December 15, 1967 for prospects Harold Clem, Woodie Fryman (#51), Bill Laxton and Don Money (#454).
As mentioned above, Bunning was reunited with the Phillies a few years later, signing as a free agent with the club following the 1969 season. He appeared in 63 games in 1970 and 1971, going 15-27 with a 4.57 ERA. He started and won the first game ever played at Philadelphia's Veterans Stadium on April 10, 1971. Retiring following the 1971 season, Bunning began the next phase of his career as a manager in the Phillies minor league system, hoping to one day return to Philadelphia at the club's helm. That day never came, and following stops all the way up the ladder of the Phillies minor league system, he was let go following the 1976 season.
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First Mainstream Card: 1957 Topps #338
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (15): 1957-1971
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2021 Topps Chrome Platinum Anniversary #631
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 464 in the Beckett online database as of 2/15/23.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
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