It’s hard to imagine a person incredibly accomplished in sports and politics, but that’s the only way to describe the great Jim Bunning.
Jim Bunning’s MLB baseball career began in 1955. He’s best known for pitching a perfect game in 1964 for the Philadelphia Phillies against the New York Mets. Earlier, he had thrown a no-hitter for the Detroit Tigers. Bunning also played for the Pirates and Dodgers. His productive career ended in 1971.
Bunning is among only seven pitchers to throw a no-hitter and a perfect game. He also threw nearly 3000 strikeouts, claiming 1,000+ in each league, National and American. Elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1996, he is the only member of that august group who also served in the U.S. Senate.
His stint as a U.S. Senator was the capstone assignment of a political career that matched his long and productive baseball career. It began in the 1980s when he served as a state senator in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Later, he was elected as a U.S. Representative (1987-1999) and served in the Senate from 1999 to 2011, also from Kentucky.
Intimidating on the bullpen and straightforward in politics, Jim Bunning passed away in 2017 at 85.
