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Jim
Bunning: Baseball and Beyond
By Frank Dolson, October 1998
Temple University Press, 320 pages
Most baseball fans are quite familiar with Jim Bunning's Hall of Fame career. Bunning, through stints with the Detroit Tigers, Philadelphia Phillies and Pittsburgh Pirates, was one of his era's best right-handed pitcher, finishing with 224 wins, 184 loses and a 3.27 ERA.
However, many baseball fans may not realize that Bunning's greatest accomplishment was not the perfect game against the Mets on Father's Day 1964 or election into the Baseball Hall of Fame but rather election to the United States Congress and, most recently, to the U.S. Senate.
Pretty heady stuff for a guy who took almost eight seasons of minor league ball to get to the big leagues.
And this
book chronicles all of it.
The interesting stories in this book are mostly first-hand. Dolson,
a former sports editor of the Philadelphia Inquirer, was the Phillies
beat writer and a columnist for much of Bunning's time in Philadelphia.
He also became a close personal friend with the Bunnings, which he
divulges early on.
Despite that, this tome is no lovefest. Although Dolson frequently gives Bunning the benefit of the doubt in some of the righthander's confrontations, he doesn't hide them or shy away from them. Just the mention of these incidents are enough to paint Bunning warts and all.
A few interesting chapters took us through Bunning's career as a minor league manager in the Phillies system. Dolson even chronicles Bunning's intense dislike for Max Patkin and other promotions that are a part of minor league baseball.
The problem with the book is it is mainly anecdotal. Frequently, Dolson will quote Bunning over and over again on a particular incident or piece. That got a bit old.
Otherwise, this was a good look at a very diverse and interesting man. One relatively fascinating story was how Bunning was one of the main movers and shakers of the player's union. In fact, Bunning was one of the people who recommended Marvin Miller to become union chief. The players certainly reaped the benefits of that decision.
Overall,
it's three baseballs out of five for Jim Bunning: Baseball and Beyond.
An interesting look at a baseball Hall-of-Famer.
[Editor's Note: ArmchairQB.com would like to congratulate Bill and his wife, Kay, who recently announced that they are expecting their second child. Congratulations!]
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