Jim Bunning, a former Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher who went on to serve in Congress, has died. He was 85.
Bunning’s death was confirmed by Jon Deuser, who served as chief of staff when Bunning, who was from Kentucky, was in the Senate. Deuser said he was notified about the death by Bunning’s family.
Bunning was one of only 18 Major League Baseball pitchers to throw a perfect game in the modern era. The only member of the Baseball Hall of Fame to serve in Congress, he was the second pitcher to record 100 wins and 1,000 strikeouts in the American and National Leagues.
Active from 1955 to 1971, he spent most of his major league career with the Philadelphia Phillies and Detroit Tigers and was an All-Star selection eight times. He threw his perfect game, the ninth of 23 in major league history, for the Phillies against the New York Mets on 21 June 1964. He had a no-hitter for the Tigers, against the Boston Red Sox, in July 1958.
Bunning also played for the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was inducted to the Hall of Fame in 1996, having retired with 2,855 strikeouts, then the second-most ever. He is now 17th on that list.
In a statement posted to Twitter on Saturday, Major League Baseball Players Association executive director Tony Clark said Bunning, who was involved in hiring the first MLBPA executive director, was “one of the most important figures” in its history.
“All players – past, present and future – will forever owe Jim a debt of gratitude,” Clark said.
Bunning entered the US House of Representatives in 1986 and spent 12 years there before winning election to the Senate in 1998.
A staunch conservative, he was a fierce protector of state interests such as tobacco, coal and military bases. His ornery nature forced Republican leaders to push him to retire after two terms, however, and he did not seek re-election in 2010.
Rand Paul, a candidate for the presidential nomination in 2012, won the election to replace him.