"CLASSIC BASEBALL" CUSTOM WTHBALLS SET: JIM BUNNING

Today on the blog, we add Hall of Fame pitcher and future United States Senator Jim Bunning to my custom "Classic Baseball" set, which I hope to have released later this year as part of an ambitious 100+ card set:

As a baseball player Bunning put in 17-years of all-star play, winning 20 games once, but putting together four 19-win seasons along with three 17-win seasons, while leading his league in strikeouts three times and shutouts twice.
The seven-time all-star threw a no-hitter in each league, with his National League no-no a perfect game against the New York Mets in 1964.
He also won 100-games in each league, becoming the first to do so since the great Cy Young at the beginning of the 20th Century.

But I would love to mention one more time how this guy's career record is deceptive (224-184), as he posted multiple no-hitters, the aforementioned 100 wins as well as 1000 strikeouts in BOTH leagues before it became somewhat more frequent with the growth player movement from team to team, league to league.

Also, at the time of his retirement after the '71 season he was second all-time in Major League history with his 2855 strikeouts.

In 1996, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame, joining contemporaries such as Juan Marichal, Sandy Koufax and Whitey Ford.
By then he was already a Representative of Kentucky’s 4th District  for nine years before becoming a State Senator in 1999, a position he would hold until January 2011.
A great life to say the least. Though I like to think of it as incredible actually. To do any ONE of these things he accomplished is a life’s great achievement, and Bunning did them all.
Amazing man.

1969 "DO-OVER" SET: JIM BUNNING

Today on the blog, we spotlight my "do-over" for Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Bunning and his 1969 card, from my custom 1969 "Gimmie-A-Do Over" set released a few months ago:

Really happy to finally "fix" a bunch of the cards from my birth-year set that saw Topps reuse images from previous years, or use an image that was terribly outdated due to a licensing issue with the MLBPA.

As a baseball player he put in 17-years of all-star play, winning 20 games once, but putting together four 19-win seasons along with three 17-win seasons, while leading his league in strikeouts three times and shutouts twice.
The seven-time all-star threw a no-hitter in each league, with his National League no-no a perfect game against the New York Mets in 1964.
He also won 100-games in each league, becoming the first to do so since the great Cy Young at the beginning of the 20th Century.
In 1996, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame, joining contemporaries such as Juan Marichal, Sandy Koufax and Whitey Ford.
By then he was already a Representative of Kentucky’s 4th District  for nine years before becoming a State Senator in 1999, a position he would hold until January 2011.
A great life to say the least. Though I like to think of it as incredible actually. To do any ONE of these things he accomplished is a life’s great achievement, and Bunning did them all.
Amazing man.

"STARS RETIRE": 1972 ERNIE BANKS AND JIM BUNNING

Thought it'd be fun to start a new thread here on the blog, creating a special "Stars Retire" card for each year of the decade celebrating elite players who retired the previous season, starting off with a 1972 card for Hall of Famers Ernie Banks and Jim Bunning:

 

Beginning with the great Ernie Banks, what really needs to be said about the man at this point?

The most beloved baseball player in the North Side of Chicago, two-time Most Valuable Player (1958 and 1959), 500+ home runs, 2500+ hits, 11-time all-star and all-around great guy.

Oh, I may as well throw in the 1300+ runs scored, 1600+ runs batted in, 400+ doubles and 90 triples he chipped in as well, setting him on a straight path to the Baseball Hall of Fame with his 1977 induction, a no-brainer in anyone's book!

"Mr. Cub", wish there were more like him!

Then we have pitching great (and future long-time politician) Jim Bunning,

As a baseball player he put in 17-years of all-star play, winning 20 games once, but putting together four 19-win seasons along with three 17-win seasons, while leading his league in strikeouts three times and shutouts twice.
The seven-time all-star threw a no-hitter in each league, with his National League no-no a perfect game against the New York Mets in 1964.
He also won 100-games in each league, becoming the first to do so since the great Cy Young at the beginning of the 20th Century.

But I would love to mention one more time how this guy's career record is deceptive (224-184), as he posted multiple no-hitters, the aforementioned 100 wins as well as 1000 strikeouts in BOTH leagues before it became somewhat more frequent with the growth player movement from team to team, league to league.

Also, at the time of his retirement after the '71 season he was second all-time in Major League history with his 2855 strikeouts.

In 1996, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame, joining contemporaries such as Juan Marichal, Sandy Koufax and Whitey Ford.
By then he was already a Representative of Kentucky’s 4th District  for nine years before becoming a State Senator in 1999, a position he would hold until January 2011.

SPECIAL SPOTLIGHT: "LOST" 1963 FLEER SECOND SERIES: JIM BUNNING

Continuing with my 1963 "Lost Second Series" Fleer custom set, today we spotlight my card for Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Bunning:

 

As a baseball player he put in 17-years of all-star play, winning 20 games once, but putting together four 19-win seasons along with three 17-win seasons, while leading his league in strikeouts three times and shutouts twice.
The seven-time all-star threw a no-hitter in each league, with his National League no-no a perfect game against the New York Mets in 1964.
He also won 100-games in each league, becoming the first to do so since the great Cy Young at the beginning of the 20th Century.

But I would love to mention one more time how this guy's career record is deceptive (224-184), as he posted multiple no-hitters, the aforementioned 100 wins as well as 1000 strikeouts in BOTH leagues before it became somewhat more frequent with the growth player movement from team to team, league to league.

Also, at the time of his retirement after the '71 season he was second all-time in Major League history with his 2855 strikeouts.

In 1996, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame, joining contemporaries such as Juan Marichal, Sandy Koufax and Whitey Ford.
By then he was already a Representative of Kentucky’s 4th District  for nine years before becoming a State Senator in 1999, a position he would hold until January 2011.
A great life to say the least. Though I like to think of it as incredible actually. To do any ONE of these things he accomplished is a life’s great achievement, and Bunning did them all.
Amazing man.

REST IN PEACE- JIM BUNNING

Really sad to hear yesterday about the passing of former Hall of Fame pitcher and United States Senator Jim Bunning, about as accomplished a person to take a mound as there was.
Here’s a nice image of him in the form of a 1972 In-Action card I put together yesterday:

As a baseball player he put in 17-years of all-star play, winning 20 games once, but putting together four 19-win seasons along with three 17-win seasons, while leading his league in strikeouts three times and shutouts twice.
The seven-time all-star threw a no-hitter in each league, with his National League no-no a perfect game against the New York Mets in 1964.
He also won 100-games in each league, becoming the first to do so since the great Cy Young at the beginning of the 20th Century.
In 1996, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame, joining contemporaries such as Juan Marichal, Sandy Koufax and Whitey Ford.
By then he was already a Representative of Kentucky’s 4th District  for nine years before becoming a State Senator in 1999, a position he would hold until January 2011.
A great life to say the least. Though I like to think of it as incredible actually. To do any ONE of these things he accomplished is a life’s great achievement, and Bunning did them all.
Amazing man.

TURN BACK THE CLOCK: 1964- JIM BUNNING TOSSES A PERFECT GAME!

Next up in my series of “Turn Back the Clock” cards is one that celebrates Jim Bunning and his Father’s Day perfect game in 1964, which also made him one of the few Major League pitchers who tossed a no-hitter in both leagues, this one against the New York Mets:

Bunning, who pitched a no-hitter while with the Detroit Tigers against the Boston Red Sox in 1958, bettered himself with a spotless perfect game on June 21st of 1963, which was Father’s Day, appropriate for a guy who had seven children of his own!
He would finish the game with 10 strikeouts against the hapless Mets, and was helped in the game by a Johnny Callison home run, two runs batted in by his catcher Gus Triandos, as well as two RBI’s of his own on a double.
It would be the first perfect game in baseball during the regular season since Charlie Robertson of the Chicago White Sox in 1922.
Though surely one of the high-points of his career, he put together what would be a Hall of Fame tenure in the Majors, winning over 200 games, which consisted of more than 100 in each league, another rarity at the time.
Post career, as we all know, Bunning would go into politics, serving his home state of Kentucky for decades in various capacities, ultimately leading to a Senator’s seat after serving as a State Assemblyman.

RANDOM QUICKIE: JIM BUNNING IN THE 1972 TOPP SET

Was looking through team cards of the 1970's and noticed that Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Bunning, a favorite topic of mine on this blog, appears on the 1972 Topps Philadelphia Phillies team card, even though his last player card was in the 1971 set.

Check out the card:

That's him in the back row, fourth player from the right, with the Phillie-red collar showing under his uniform.

I designed a "career-capper" 1972 card for him a while back and never thought to check this card to see if he was in the photo.

Glad I caught it this time around…

THEN AND NOW #6: JIM BUNNING 1971

Here's a fun card to design, my 1971 Jim Bunning "Then and Now" edition, the sixth card in my "Super Veterans" series.

Take a look:

Anytime I get to design a unique card from the 1971 set is a treat. 

Working with the black base-design makes it that much more fun for me!

I've already gone on and on about Bunning: future Hall of Famer and Politician, so no need to get in-depth again in this post.

But I would love to mention one more time how this guy's career record is deceptive (224-184), as he posted multiple no-hitters, 100 wins and 1000 strikeouts in BOTH leagues before it became somewhat more frequent with the growth player movement from team to team, league to league.

Also, at the time of his retirement after the '71 season he was second all-time in Major League history with his 2855 strikeouts.

Pretty spectacular career.

Then he makes this all trivial by having somewhat of a spectacular political career for the state of Kentucy post-Major League baseball.

Talk about an over-achiever…

"HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE 1970'S" #24: BUNNING TOPS 100+ WINS IN BOTH LEAGUES

It's easy to forget that when Jim Bunning posted his 100th win in the National League during the 1970 season, he became only the third pitcher in Major League history, and first since Cy Young, to win 100 games in each league.

Pretty nifty if you ask me, even if seven other guys have joined the club since then.

So allow me to present my design for a 1971 Jim Bunning "highlight" card:

Bunning joined Cy Young and Al Orth, both turn of the century hurlers, with the 100/100 feat.

Since then, the trio have been joined by a pretty heavy set of names: Fergie Jenkins, Gaylord Perry, Dennis Martinez, Nolan Ryan, Kevin Brown, Randy Johnson and Pedro Martinez.

Bunning also had a couple of other accomplishments in both leagues: striking out over 1000 in each league (only the second to do so at the time), as well as throwing no-hitters in both leagues, accomplishing the feat in 1958 while with the Detroit Tigers, and a perfect game in 1964 against the Mets while with the Phillies.

Not a bad baseball resume!

And Cooperstown felt the same way, as he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1996.

1975 "CY YOUNG AWARD" SUB-SET: WHAT IF? 1957

Today we move along to 1957 on my imagined 1975 "Cy Young" sub-set to go along with the Topps "M.V.P." sub-set in the same set.

While the National league "winner" is a given being that Warren Spahn won the award outright that year, the folks at SABR picked Jim Bunning as the assumed winner for the A.L. since the award was not given to winners of both leagues at the time.

First off take a look at my card design:

Spahn easily won the award, garnering 15 of 16 votes for the award (White Sox pitcher Dick Donovan getting the only other vote). It would actually be the only time Spahn would win the award in his storied 21 year career, though he did finish second in the running three other times before he was through.

The 1957 season was a "typical" one for the southpaw pitching machine, as he finished with a league-leading 21 wins to go along with a 2.69 earned run average, 18 complete games, four shutouts ad even three saves in his 271 innings of work. 

Ho-hum right? After all, the man won 20 or more games an amazing THIRTEEN times in his career!

And don't forget, Spahn didn't pitch his first full season of work until he was 26 years of age!

We are easily looking at a 400+ game winner if it wasn't for World War II and his military obligation to his country.

But ending your career with 363 wins, 63 shutouts and a then record 2583 strikeouts for a left-hander isn't too shabby right!?

The man was a machine! And he's always been one of my favorite all-time players even if I never had the chance to see him pitch!

Over in the American League, the people at SABR chose a newcomer to the Majors, Detroit Tigers pitcher Jim Bunning, who just completed his first full year on the big league level, going 20-8 (leading the league in wins), along with a 2.69 E.R.A. in a league-leading 267.1 innings of work.

It was definitely a sign of things to come, as Bunning would go on to a Hall of Fame career with five 19+ game-winning seasons, as well as three strikeout crowns, ending his career with 2855, second all-time at the time of his retirement after the 1971 season, as well as 224 lifetime wins.

He pitched no-hitters in both leagues, his N.L. one being a perfect game against the Mets on June 21st, 1964, as well as becoming one of the first pitchers to win 100+ games in both the A.L. and N.L.

What's nice about this card design is that it features Bunning's "rookie card", which always commands a decent dollar for anyone trying to acquire it for their collection.

Nice virtual card featuring two future Hall of Famers!

Next, we take a look at 1958, featuring actual award winner Bob Turley of the Yankees, and the SABR pick for the N.L., well what do you know, our friend Warren Spahn again!

ACCIDENTAL PHOTO BOMBING: PART VII

I haven't uploaded a "photo-bombing" post in a while. Long overdue.
So today I spotlight the 1972 Rick Wise and the 1973 Jim Fregosi cards, which collectively have a Hall of Fame battery lurking in the background.
First up is the 1972 Rick Wise (#43) card. While you have Wise frozen in time with this lame follow-through pitching pose, there are three teammates gathered in the background, and one of them is Hall of Fame pitcher and future American politician Jim Bunning (#14). He's talking to pitcher Bill Wislon (#37) and most likely a Spring training invitee since I can't find any record of a player who wore #54 for them that year.
What's interesting is that the photo is from 1971 and was Bunning's last year in the Majors. He wasn't included in the 1972 set. So he snuck in there after he hung up the cleats.
Another interesting note is that Wise would be suiting up for another team in 1972, the Cardinals, as he was dealt to St. Louis for Steve Carlton before the season started.

Jim Bunning, second from left in the background.

Next up we have an awesome card from the 1973 set: (#525). What a great card. This is "action" done right!
We have Fregosi obviously looking back at a foul pop that went into the stands, as none other than Johnny Bench of the Reds looking on. I love the fact that you also see all the Mets in the dugout watching the action. I wish I could make out who the they are, but I've tried enhancing the image as best I could and didn't recognize any of them.
One of my favorite cards from the set right here.
Interesting coincidence is that both Rick Wise and Jim Fregosi are long remembered as being the "bust" part of two separate historically lopsided trades.
As stated earlier, Wise was traded to the Cardinals for Steve Carlton, who went on to a Hall of Fame career mainly on what he did with Philadelphia, and Fregosi was traded to the Mets for future Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan, who immediately became a superstar with the Angels in 1972.

Johnny Bench tracking the foul pop.

"CAREER CAPPER" #2: 1972 JIM BUNNING

Today I present the second card in the "Career Capper" thread, a 1972 Jim Bunning had Topps practiced issuing one last card AFTER a star player retired.
Bunning, who as we all know went on to a impressive career as a Kentucky politician after retiring from baseball in 1971, built a Hall of Fame career mainly for the Tigers and Phillies between 1955-1971.
Among some of his career highlights on the baseball diamond: he threw no-hitters (one a perfect game) in BOTH the A.L. and N.L., as well as leading both leagues in strikeouts. As a matter of fact, upon his retirement, he was second in baseball history with 2,855 punch-outs, second only to the "Big Train" Walter Johnson at the time.
A nine-time All-Star, he eventually had his number, #14, retired by the Phillies and finished his career with a 224-184 record to go along with those 2,855 K's and a 3.27 E.R.A.
Lastly, his career was topped off in 1996 when he was inducted into the Hall of Fame.

From the mound to Washington D.C.