Ex-Tigers Hall of Famer Jim Bunning, Who Became a U.S. Senator, Dies at 85

Jim Bunning (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

Jim Bunning, who became a Hall of Fame pitcher, playing for the Detroit Tigers for eight seasons, and later other teams including the Philadelphia Phillies, died Friday night in Kentucky at age 85. He served  as a Republican U.S. senator from Kentucky from 1999 to 2011 .

The family issued a statement on his death, which was due to complications from a stroke he suffered last October, reports the Louisville Courier-Journal.

"The family is deeply grateful for the love and prayers of Jim’s friends and supporters," the statement read. "While he was a public servant with a Hall of Fame career, his legacy to us is that of a beloved husband, caring father and supportive grandfather."

Bunning played for the Tigers from 1955 to 1963 and ended his baseball career with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1971. During his 16-year career, he won more than 100 games and pitched a no-hitter for the Tigers on July 20, 1958 against the Boston Red Sox.

He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1996.

Staunchly conservative, Bunning served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1987 until until 1999 when he became a U.S. Senator.