RetroSimba

As might be expected of two Hall of Fame pitchers, Jim Bunning and Bob Gibson engaged in a couple of classics when facing one another.

Bunning and Gibson were matched against each other as starters six times.

In those encounters, Bunning got 1 win, 2 losses and 3 no-decisions. Gibson got 2 wins, 2 losses and 2 no-decisions.

In the two most memorable Bunning vs. Gibson duels, Roberto Clemente and Richie Allen played key roles.

Seeking support

Bunning pitched in the major leagues for the Tigers (1955-63), Phillies (1964-67 and 1970-71), Pirates (1968-69) and Dodgers (1969). The right-hander had a 224-184 record, with 118 wins in the American League and 106 in the National League.

His record against the Cardinals was 5-11, but his teams were shut out in five of those losses and were held to one run in each of two others.

Bunning and Gibson faced one another on June 26, 1964, and Sept. 10, 1965, without either getting a decision.

On May 18, 1966, the Phillies beat the Cardinals, 4-3, at Philadelphia. Gibson, who allowed four runs in 6.1 innings, was the losing pitcher. Ray Culp, who pitched four scoreless innings in relief of Bunning, got the win. Bunning gave up three runs in five innings. Boxscore

Three weeks later, on June 11, 1966, Gibson pitched a shutout against the Phillies in a 2-0 Cardinals victory at Philadelphia. Bunning yielded two runs in seven innings and took the loss. Boxscore

Heated rivalry

The final two career matchups of Bunning vs. Gibson were the best.

The Pirates were in St. Louis to play the Cardinals in a doubleheader on a sweltering Sunday afternoon, July 13, 1969. Bunning, in his second season with the Pirates after being traded by the Phillies, was pitted against Gibson in Game 1.

Larry Shepard, the Pirates’ manager, pitched 10 minutes of batting practice in the 95-degree heat. In the second inning, Shepard, 50, experienced chest pains and was rushed to a hospital. Coach Bill Virdon took over as acting manager.

Several fans were overcome by heat and given treatment, The Pittsburgh Press reported.

Bunning, 37, and Gibson, 33, dueled impressively in the oppressive conditions.

In the sixth inning, Gibson got his 2,000th career strikeout. It came against Roberto Clemente, the fellow future Hall of Famer, who two years earlier had hit a smash that struck Gibson and broke his leg.

Neither Bunning nor Gibson yielded a run through seven innings.

In the eighth, Matty Alou, who had reached on a bunt single, was on first with two outs. Next up was slugger Willie Stargell, who had struck out three times on outside pitches from Gibson.

“So I decided that I couldn’t do any worse looking for a fastball away,” Stargell said to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Stargell slapped a single to left, advancing Alou to second.

The next batter, Clemente, slashed a Gibson delivery over the right-field wall for a three-run home run.

“Gibby gave Roberto a high pitch to hit after getting him out with low-and-away pitches,” said Pirates pitching coach Vern Law. “Gibby was bound to get tired in that heat. When a pitcher gets tired, he gets his pitches high.”

A wilting Bunning pitched a scoreless bottom half of the eighth. In the ninth, Virdon replaced him with Bob Moose, who preserved the 3-0 victory for Bunning and the Pirates. Boxscore

“I had good off-speed stuff, especially my change of pace,” Bunning said. “Everybody knows that control is the name of the game.”

Power game

The final career matchup of Bunning vs. Gibson occurred on May 23, 1970, a rainy Saturday night in Philadelphia.

Bunning had been reacquired by the Phillies in October 1969, but Richie Allen had the attention of fans and media. Allen, the slugger acquired by the Cardinals from the Phillies after the 1969 season, was playing his first games in Philadelphia since the trade. A controversial player with the Phillies, Allen had drawn a mix of boos and cheers in the first two games of the series.

Two weeks earlier, on May 11, 1970, Allen had hit a three-run home run off Bunning in the ninth inning at St. Louis, breaking a scoreless tie and giving pitcher Steve Carlton and the Cardinals a 3-0 victory. Boxscore

During a rain delay before Bunning and Gibson squared off in Philadelphia, Cardinals player Leron Lee put on Allen’s jersey and glasses, wrapped a towel over his head and ran across the field to the Phillies’ dugout to shake hands with infielder Tony Taylor.

“Don’t blame me if you get shot,” Allen told Lee.

The fans, thinking Allen was making a friendly gesture to a former teammate, cheered. Frank Lucchesi, Phillies manager, playfully pushed Lee out of the dugout, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

In the third inning, with Lee on second base, Allen crushed a Bunning fastball well beyond the 410-foot sign in center for a home run and a 2-0 Cardinals lead.

Two innings later, Allen hit a Bunning curve onto the roof in left for a solo home run, extending the Cardinals’ lead to 3-0.

“He hit that second one one-handed,” Bunning said admiringly.

Said Cardinals third baseman Mike Shannon: “Watching Richie hit is like watching a stick of dynamite go off.”

Gibson, meanwhile, dominated the Phillies. He struck out 16 and got the win in a 3-1 Cardinals triumph. Boxscore

“That’s the hardest I’ve thrown since 1968,” Gibson said.

Allen Lewis of the Inquirer wrote, “It was difficult to tell which balls were traveling faster _ the ones Rich Allen hit or the ones Bob Gibson threw.”

Gibson struck out 17 in Game 1 of the 1968 World Series against the Tigers. His 16 strikeouts against the Phillies were the most he achieved in a regular-season game.

“I get keyed up with Richie playing here,” Gibson said. “Tonight, I had something extra and I got just about every pitch where I wanted.”