Jim Bunning, Pitcher, member, Major League Baseball Hall of fame, has passed away.

[Deaconblue]

Hall of Fame pitcher and two-term U.S. Senator Jim Bunning has died, members of his family said Saturday. He was 85.

He pitched mostly for the Detroit Tigers (AL) and the Philadelphia Phillies (NL). He never won the Cy Young award. He retired with the second most career strikeouts.

As a member of the Phillies, Bunning pitched the seventh perfect game in Major League Baseball history on June 21, 1964, against the New York Mets. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in 1996.

He was the ace of the rotation for the Phillies who nearly won the 1964 pennant, but for the epic collapse - losing 10 games in a row to finish second after leading the league most of the season.

 

[RJKarl]

The collapse happened when Gene Mauch basically alternated Bunning and Chris Short down the stretch.

Bunning was like BKF. Stop laughing. He was a major force behind starting the MLBPA. He worked right along side Marvin Miller (who should be in the Hall of Fame). Bunning helped make the union an unbelievably strong and effective voice of the players at a time when the owners held all the cards.

Then, like BKF, he became an arch conservative in his political life.

He was the first pitcher, in baseball's "modern era", to throw no-hitters in the AL and NL. I'm pretty sure the perfect game was on Father's Day.

 

[Deaconblue]

You are correct. Bunning's perfect game was on Fathers' day. Fitting for the father of then seven (finally nine) children.

He also owns another rarity:
On August 2, 1959, Bunning (pitching for the Detroit Tigers) struck out three batters on nine pitches in the ninth inning of a 5–4 loss to the Boston Red Sox. Bunning became the fifth American League pitcher and the 10th pitcher in Major League history to accomplish the nine-pitch/three-strikeout half-inning.

 

[Sgt Harp]

I was at Fenway for that 1958 game. At least the Sox won the second game in the doubleheader. Different era.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/1958/07/21/jim-bunning-throws-hitter-beat-red-sox/5MR3a8Mx22BeuItBkq2gDL/story.html

 

[Bluegrass Deac]

Kentucky and BC QB Patrick Towles was his grandson.

 

[KennyRogersRoast]

Great family. RIP.

 

[bluefish]

Bunning started the first two big league games I ever saw in person, against Maloney and Gibson. I thought that TV had lied to me. I had no idea that Major League pitchers threw this hard. It took a couple more games for me to realize that not all of them did.

RIP

 

[WFU1977]

The collapse happened when Gene Mauch basically alternated Bunning and Chris Short down the stretch.

Bunning was like BKF. Stop laughing. He was a major force behind starting the MLBPA. He worked right along side Marvin Miller (who should be in the Hall of Fame). Bunning helped make the union an unbelievably strong and effective voice of the players at a time when the owners held all the cards.

Then, like BKF, he became an arch conservative in his political life.

He was the first pitcher, in baseball's "modern era", to throw no-hitters in the AL and NL. I'm pretty sure the perfect game was on Father's Day.

My best friend growing up was a crazy Mets fan. I can recall listening to the perfect game on a transistor radio while in his backyard. Seemed pretty cool at the time.