Jim Bunning

James Paul David "Jim" Bunning (October 23, 1931 – May 26, 2017) was an American former Major League Baseball pitcher and politician.

Bunning played as a pitcher in the Major League Baseball. In his career, he played for the Detroit Tigers (1955–1963), the Philadelphia Phillies (1964–1967; 1970–1971), the Pittsburgh Pirates (1968–1969) and the Los Angeles Dodgers (1969). He retired from baseball in 1971.

Bunning served in the United States House of Representatives from January 3, 1987 through January 3, 1999. He was a member of the Republican Party. Bunning served in the United States Senate from January 3, 1999 through January 3, 2011 after retiring.

Bunning was 67 years old when he entered U.S. Senate. Among the bills that Bunning sponsored is the Bunning-Bereuter-Blumenauer Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2004. Bunning was also the only member of the United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs to have opposed Ben Bernanke for Chief of the Federal Reserve.

In the 2010 Senate election, Bunning said he would not run and later supported then-eye doctor Rand Paul. Paul won the election with 56% of the vote.

Early life
Bunning was born in Southgate, Kentucky. He studied at St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati, Ohio and later at Xavier University where he got a Bachelor's degree.

Baseball career
During his baseball career, he pitched from 1955 to 1971, most notably with the Detroit Tigers and the Philadelphia Phillies. In 1959, the right-hander struck out the side, throwing the minimum nine pitches as a reliever in the top of the ninth inning of Detroit's 5–4 loss to Boston at Briggs Stadium. Sammy White, Jim Mahoney and Ike Delock were the victims of his inning.

When Bunning retired, he had the second-highest total of career strikeouts in Major League history; he currently ranks 17th.

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

Political career
After retiring from baseball, Bunning returned to his native northern Kentucky and was elected to the city council, then the state senate, in which he served as minority leader.

In 1986, Bunning was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Kentucky's 4th congressional district, and served in the House from 1987 to 1999. He was elected to the United States Senate from Kentucky in 1998 and served two terms as the Republican junior U.S. Senator.

Bunning reportedly blocked the move to restore public access to the records of past United States Presidents which had been removed under Executive Order 13233.

A September 2009 statewide opinion poll said Bunning had a 35% approval rating, with 55% disapproving of his performance.

In July 2009, he announced that he would not run for re-election in 2010. Bunning gave his farewell speech to the Senate on December 9, 2010, and was succeeded by Rand Paul on January 3, 2011.

Personal life
In 1952, Bunning married his wife Mary Catherine Theis. They had five daughters and four sons together. He lived in his hometown in Southgate, Kentucky.

Death
Bunning died at a Fort Thomas, Kentucky hospital on the night of May 26, 2017 at the age of 85 following a stoke he suffered in October 2016.

References

Other websites

Philadelphia Phillies history page on Bunning
Box score of Bunning's perfect game

1931 births
2017 deaths
Cardiovascular disease deaths in the United States
Deaths from stroke
Detroit Tigers players
Los Angeles Dodgers players
Philadelphia Phillies players
Pittsburgh Pirates players
Sportspeople from Kentucky
United States representatives from Kentucky
United States senators from Kentucky
US Republican Party politicians