60th Anniversary, Bunning’s Gem

June 21, 1964

RHP Jim Bunning, 6-0, vs. the New York Mets at Shea Stadium, first game of a doubleheader. Age: 32. Catcher Gus Triandos. First perfect game in the National League since 1890. Season record: 19-8, 2.63 ERA, in his first season with the Phillies.

• Phillies Alumni

It was only fitting that Bunning, then a father of seven, would do something special when he took the mound in 90-degree heat at Shea Stadium on Father’s Day. The slender right-hander entered the record book by throwing a perfect game against the New York Mets on that Sunday afternoon, 6-0. It was the first perfect game in the National League since John Ward, pitching for Providence, blanked Buffalo, 5-0, on June 7, 1890.

Bunning struck out 10, including pinch-hitter John Stephenson to end the masterpiece in the first game of a doubleheader. Of the 90 pitches he threw, only 21 were out of the strike zone. He had a three-ball count twice. Pitches by the innings: 8, 11, 8, 12, 9, 7, 10, 12, 13. “My slider was my best pitch, and I had a pretty good curve. I had just as good stuff in my other no-hitter, but I think I’m a better pitcher now,” he said at the time.

While pitching for the Detroit Tigers, he authored a no-hitter against the Boston Red Sox on July 20, 1958, at Fenway Park. The last hitter he retired was future Hall of Famer Ted Williams. Bunning walked two and struck out 12 that Sunday afternoon.

The only potential Mets hit was wiped out by a sensational diving stop by second baseman Tony Taylor of a drive by Jesse Gonder in the fifth inning. Taylor knocked down the line drive, crawled after the ball and got Gonder at first base.

Generally, when a pitcher is working on a no-hitter it is a no-no for players to talk about it on the bench, especially the pitcher. In his book, Jim Bunning, Baseball and Beyond, written by Frank Dolson, Bunning talked, and his teammates talked at length about his approach during the game. “The other guys thought I was crazy, but I didn’t want anyone tightening up. Most of all, I didn’t want to tighten up myself,” said Bunning. “I started thinking about it around the fifth inning. By then, you know you have a chance.”

Manager Gene Mauch said after the game, “He acted like he knew something early. He was moving the infielders around early. Then late in the game when he was coming back to the dugout, he was yelling, ‘nine more, six more, three more. Do something out there, dive for the balls.’”

Teammates were also aware of Bunning’s behavior. Right fielder Johnny Callison, “It was the strangest thing. You don’t talk when you have a no-hitter, right? But he was going up and down the bench and telling everybody what was going on. Everybody tried to get away from him, but he was so wired that he followed us around.”

Said Triandos: “He was really silly. He was jabbering like a magpie.”

With the Shea Stadium fans on their feet and cheering, Bunning took the mound for the ninth inning. With two outs away from immortality, Bunning motioned Triandos to the mound. “He calls me out and says I should tell him a joke or something, just to give him a breather. I couldn’t think of any, I just laughed at him.”

Up stepped George Altman as a pinch-hitter, someone Bunning figured would get to bat. With a 1-2 count, Bunning recorded his ninth strikeout. That brought up a second straight left-handed pinch-hitter, Stephenson, who had a .047 average. “I knew if I got Stephenson up there with two out, I had it,” said Bunning. “I knew I could get him out on curveballs, no matter what.” Curveballs were all Stephenson saw. Swing and a miss on the first pitch, then strike two looking, curveball outside, another one outside, then a swing and a miss to end the game. Twenty-seven down and none to go.

Bunning pounded his fist into his glove and his teammates flooded the field while Mets fans continued to cheer. Mary Bunning and their oldest daughter, Barbara, had driven to New York for the game. The rest of the family was back in Bunning’s South Jersey residence watching the classic on television. Mary was ushered to the field where she hugged and kissed her husband. A postgame dinner was planned, but that didn’t happen. They drove back to Philly late that night.

Bunning got a phone call from Ed Sullivan, host of a very popular TV show that aired live on Sunday nights out of New York. Bunning appeared on the show and received $1,000. “We added a pool and bathhouse to our home in Kentucky,” he said.

While it went unnoticed, rookie Rick Wise, just 18 years of age, won the second game that afternoon, 8-2, for his first Major League win. Seven years and two days later, Wise became the next Phillies pitcher to enter the record books when he no-hit the Reds in Cincinnati.

Only one other pitcher had tossed a no-hitter in each league, the legendary Cy Young, 1887 while in the NL and 1904 and '08 in the AL. Bunning’s gem was the first no-hitter by a Phillies pitcher since 1906, when John Lush stopped the Dodgers by the same score in Brooklyn.

Hall of Fame artifacts

Rain check ticket signed by Mauch and broadcasters Richie Ashburn and Bill Campbell ... Jim’s cap ... Ticket stubs ... Official scoresheet.