Sports / Politics
Jim Bunning
1931–2017
· baseball pitcher, later U.S. Senator
Hall of Fame pitcher who spent nine seasons with the Tigers, throwing a no-hitter and a 20-win season, before a Hall of Fame career and later the U.S. Senate.
- Born
Southgate, Kentucky- Died
Edgewood, Kentucky
aged 85- Birth name
- James Paul David Bunning
- Detroit years
- 1955–1963
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Jim Bunning signed with the Detroit Tigers out of Xavier University and made his major-league debut with the club on July 20, 1955. Over nine seasons in Detroit he became one of the American League's most feared pitchers, throwing a no-hitter against the Boston Red Sox on July 20, 1958, exactly three years after his debut, and leading the league with 20 wins in 1957, the only 20-win season of his career. He pitched for the Tigers through 1963, when Detroit traded him to the Philadelphia Phillies, where in 1964 he threw a perfect game against the New York Mets. Bunning was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1996. After baseball he returned to Kentucky and built a political career, serving in the U.S. House and then the U.S. Senate — the only major leaguer elected to both the Senate and the Hall of Fame.
Highlights
- Major-league debut with the Tigers on July 20, 1955
- Threw a no-hitter for Detroit against Boston on July 20, 1958
- Led the American League with 20 wins in 1957
- Pitched for the Tigers through 1963; elected to the Hall of Fame in 1996
- Later a U.S. Congressman and Senator from Kentucky
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 1
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Played here · 1955–1963
Tiger Stadium
Demolished · 1912–1999
His home mound for nine seasons, including his 1958 no-hitter; demolished in 2008–2009.