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.
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.
