Saturday, February 27, 2021

#20 Jim Bunning - Philadelphia Phillies


James Paul David Bunning
Philadelphia Phillies
Third Base

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'3"  Weight:  190
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.

2006 Toyota Phillies Wall of Fame Postcards
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. 

Building the Set
December 26, 2020 from Wenonah, NJ - Card #213
My Mom needed a few additional Christmas presents for her oldest grandson Doug, and I gladly offered to help with five star cards purchased from Gar Miller Cards in Wenonah, New Jersey.  I had recently learned that not only was Mr. Miller a hobby legend, but that he was still actively selling cards from my neck of the woods in South Jersey.  We exchanged e-mail pleasantries, and I'm looking forward to buying more cards from our set from him in the future.  Doug was more excited about the video games he had received from his Mimi for Christmas, but to his credit he recognized the players on each of the five cards she had gifted him.  I'll feature the next four cards in upcoming posts.

The Card / Phillies Team Set
Bunning received his first Phillies Topps card in the 1964 set, but this is his first Topps card with him actually wearing a Phillies jersey.  The back of the card highlights his 1964 perfect game and Topps appropriately labels him as the Phillies "ace."

This card was reprinted and included in the 2002 Topps Archives, 2002 Topps Archives Reserve and 2002 Topps Archives Autographs sets, with Bunning signing copies of the latter card.  Bunning, at card #17, is one of 72 players featured within the 1965 Topps Embossed insert set and one of four Phillies in the set.  He's also in the harder to find 1965 Topps Transfers insert set.

1965 Season
The Phillies came back down to Earth following the heartbreaking end to the 1964 season, finishing in sixth place with an 85-76 record.  Bunning and Chris Short formed a strong top of the rotation for the club, with Bunning making 39 starts and going 19-9 with a 2.60 ERA (5th in the league).  Short made 40 starts and went 18-11 with a 2.82 ERA.  Bunning's strikeout total of 268 was 4th best in the league and his 7 shutouts were 3rd best in the league.


Phillies Career
The Phillies acquired Bunning with Gus Triandos (#248) from the Tigers on December 5, 1963 for Don Demeter (#429) and Jack Hamilton (#288).  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, Bill Laxton and Don Money.

Bunning was reuninted 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.

1957 Topps #338
1962 Topps #460
1964 Topps #265
1967 Topps #560
1971 Topps #574

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1957 Topps #338
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (15):  1957-1971
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2020 Topps Update Decades' Best #DB-8

450 - Bunning non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 2/5/21.

 Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
National Baseball Hall of Fame
The Phillies Room
SABR
The Trading Card Database
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