Family, friends and former teammates and colleagues are paying tribute to Jim Bunning. The former U.S. Senator, Congressman and baseball Hall-of-Famer died Friday night. He was 85.
Bunning had suffered a stroke in October at his home in Southgate, Kentucky.
By the time Jim Bunning decided to enter politics, he already had a distinguished baseball career behind him. Bunning pitched for four teams during his 17-year career, mainly for Detroit and Philadelphia.
He’s still the only pitcher to throw no-hitters in both the National and American leagues. The second one, on Father’s Day, 1964, was a perfect game, as Bunning’s Phillies blanked the New York Mets.
Bunning played baseball at a time when players’ salaries were not enough to make ends meet year-round, prompting him to find work in the financial sector during the off-season. It became a full-time pursuit when his baseball career ended in 1971, but it wasn’t long before Bunning, a Republican, began what would become an even longer political career.
First, Bunning became a city councilman in his native Northern Kentucky town of Southgate, then moved on to the Kentucky Senate.
In 1986, Bunning was elected to the first of six terms representing Kentucky’s Fourth Congressional District on Capitol Hill. Then, with the retirement of U.S. Senator Wendell Ford in 1998, Bunning pulled off the first of two narrow victories for that seat.
In his Hall of Fame induction speech in 1996, Bunning said baseball prepared him well for the rough-and-tumble world of politics.
“I developed a thick skin,” he said. “If you’ve ever been booed by 40,000 people at one time, you know what I mean.”
Bunning’s hard-nosed political style and fiscal conservatism combined to produce some showdowns with officials in the opposing party.
He came under the glare of the national spotlight by being the lone opponent of a measure that would extend unemployment benefits to millions of people, many of them left jobless by the recession. Bunning wanted the extension paid for up front instead of adding to the national debt. His proposal was put up for a vote but was ultimately defeated.
Faced with declining poll numbers and campaign fundraising struggles, Bunning announced in 2010 that he would not seek a third term in the Senate, and threw his support to his eventual successor, Rand Paul.
“Words cannot express my gratitude to the people of Kentucky for giving me the distinct honor of serving them for 12 years in the House of Representatives and 12 years in the U.S. Senate,” said Bunning in his farewell address on the Senate floor.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell offered condolences to the Bunning family in a statement issued Saturday afternoon:
“Senator Jim Bunning led a long and storied life. From his days in the major leagues to his years as my colleague in the Senate — and the many points in between, from the City Council to the House of Representatives — Jim rarely shied away from a new adventure. 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. Elaine and I offer our sincere condolences to Mary and the entire Bunning family.”
Congressman John Yarmuth also released a statement Saturday, saying he respected the late Senator, despite their political differences.
“Sad to hear of the passing of Senator Jim Bunning. My thoughts are with his family during this difficult time. When we served together, even though we had different thoughts on many things, I always respected him for speaking his mind. He’ll now get to pitch no-hitters forever on his field of dreams.”
Other Kentucky politicians offered condolences via Twitter on Saturday, including Gov. Matt Bevin, who called Bunning “a champion of conservatism.”
“His absence will be felt in the years to come, but we are thankful for what he left behind: an incredible legacy of hard work, determination, and selflessness,” Bevin wrote.
Bunning’s survivors include his wife, Mary, their nine children and numerous grandchildren.
