Jim Bunning parlayed sports fame into political career
Hall of Fame pitcher was hard-nosed U.S. senator
Jim Bunning was an intimidating figure as a major-league pitcher and was just as hardnosed and uncompromising as a U.S. senator.
“The main qualities it takes for professional athletes and politicians is to have a very thick hide, a thick skin, and to be able to meet and greet people,” he said in July 2000.
Bunning, a Hall of Fame pitcher who parlayed his sports fame into a political career as a staunch advocate for conservative causes, has died. He was 85.
Bunning’s family said the exsenator and baseball great died late Friday of complications from a stroke suffered last October. His large family included his wife, Mary, and their nine children, 35 grandchildren and 21 great-grandchildren.
“The family is deeply grateful for the love and prayers of Jim’s friends and supporters,” his family said in a statement. “While he was a public servant with a Hall of Fame career, his legacy to us is that of a beloved husband, caring father and supportive grandfather.”
Bunning won 224 games in a workman-like 17-year major-league career, mostly with the Detroit Tigers and the Philadelphia Phillies. The big right-hander, known for his intimidating mound presence, pitched the first perfect game in modern National League history and became the first pitcher after 1900 to throw nohitters in both the American and National Leagues.
Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said Saturday that Bunning “led an extraordinary life in the national pastime and in public service.”
Bunning’s success in baseball carried over into politics, as the Kentucky Republican served stints on a city council and in the state Senate before a nearly quarter-century career in Congress.
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, his longtime colleague from Kentucky, remembered Bunning for his “long and storied life.”
“This Hall of Famer will long be remembered for many things, including a perfect game, a larger-than-life personality, a passion for Kentucky and a loving family,” McConnell said in a statement.
Bunning’s son, David, a federal judge, said in a tweet: “Heaven got its No 1 starter today. Our lives & the nation are better off because of your love & dedication to family.”
A pitcher who threw hard and knocked batters down when necessary, Bunning belonged to a rare group of major league pitchers to throw a perfect game in the modern era.
He became the first pitcher since Cy Young to record 100 wins and 1,000 strikeouts in both the American and National Leagues.
When he retired, his 2,855 strikeouts were second in baseball history to Walter Johnson.
Bunning retired from baseball in 1971, then took his hardnosed approach to politics.