Father’s Day Brings Back Memories

One the most underrated pitchers in baseball history might be Jim Bunning. Bunning was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1996. The honor was well deserved.

Bunning pitched for 17 years in the major leagues mostly with the Detroit Tigers and the Philadelphia Phillies. He became famous for throwing a no hitter in both the American League and the National League.

He threw a “no-no” in the American League in 1958 against the Boston Red Sox and Ted Williams. In the National he took it a step further. He threw a perfect game, facing the minimum of 27 hitters in 1964 against the New York Mets.

And, he did it on Father’s Day. He also did it against the backdrop of the 1964 World’s Fair in New York.

I remember the game well and every Father’s Day I think of Bunning.

Bunning became an instant celebrity. To make the story bigger, the media discovered Bunning was a father of six small children. After the game, he was whisked away to the Ed Sullivan Show where he made a live guest appearance that evening.

Endorsements also followed and beef companies rewarded Bunning with steaks and meat products for his large family. It became a great American story that this big league father of six threw a perfect game on Father’s Day.

Bunning continues to be a public figure. He has been a long time Congressman from the state of Kentucky. His accomplishments in baseball and politics are many. But, it was Father’s Day, 1964 that Jim Bunning made baseball history.

Frank Giardina