Campuses highlighting some of the more accomplished members of the United States senate weve had from our state, going back to the beginning. The first speech was at center and it was about two guys that had been probably long sense forgotten by most people. But were very influential in their time. John brown and several breckenridges. The second was somebody who youve all heard of. It was at uk and the speech was about henry clay. The third was at Eastern Kentucky university and it was about john j. Written den who was sort of a protege of clays and came along right after clay and rose to prominence in the 1850s. And today im pleased to be speaking of someone who will actually be here to hear it. In the humid night air several men in short sleeves leapt to their feet and began to yell hurling abuse. They were simultaneously followed by others. As each person jumped up to scream, it created a dynamic. The crowd taking on a life of its own. Within seconds scores and then hundreds of people were on their feet all shouting viciously. Like a wave the hundreds became thousands and then tens of thousands. The thunderous roar was made all the more menacing by the cavern nous surroundings and the crowds rage stood far below them. He was a lone silhouetted figure. His face largely concealed by his hat. He was completely encircled by the riotous crowd. He was in enemy territory. Hundreds of miles from home standing virtually alone. The source of the crowds ire was tall but under the bright lights he seemed small and vulnerable. Yet despite the lonely surroundings and the torrent of abuse directed toward him, the figure seemed impervious to his surroundings. All he had against this hostile crowd was self belief and eight colleagues stationed far away from him, but that was enough. The location of this event was a major league ballpark. That man was jim bunning. And he is the subject of my talk today. The scene i just described replayed itself many times over in road games throughout jims baseball career. But it is more than that. It is a reflection of jims public career as well. On many occasions jim stood alone, ignoring the howls of critics and naysayers relying only on his convictions and self confidence. As jim has said, ive been booed by 60,000 fans in Yankee Stadium standing alone on the mound. So i never cared if i stood alone in congress as long as i stood by my beliefs and my values. Todays speech will continue a series as i indicated of talks ive begun on past u. S. Senators from kentucky. Our commonwealth has been blessed with a Rich Heritage and has contributed much to our nations development. I hope to convey a bit of that political history to the lives of some of the distinguished individuals who served as senators from our state. Todays subject is living history. Both from a baseball and political point of view. Ive known jim since the early 1980s and as many of you know our careers have long been intertwined. In fact that kopted to this very day as im proud to say that jims granddaughter amanda works on my staff and is here today. Jim was born in southgate in the midst of the great depression, the soeskd three children. His father lewis worked at a ladder manufacturing plant to provide for the family. Jims mother gladys displayed talent of her own. A notable basketball player in high school, played tennis and ice skated. Both parents urged jim to follow his dreams and to stay on the straight and narrow. Looking back jim recollected mom and dad always encouraged me in everything i did. As a youth jim performed well both in sports and in the classroom. He started pitching as a young boy, as jim recalled, i had the only ball and glove. Despite his athletic prowess as the second child jim was often scrambling to keep up with his older brother lou. If was niz hi early efforts to keep up with lou that one can see the competitive fires that burned so brightly in jim. But this competition between the brothers belied the tight bond that existed between them. That close fraternal relationship reflected another major theme of jims life, the importance of family. As a little boy, jim met a girl, mary katherine. He was in the fifth grade, she was in the fourth. The two grew up a mile away from each other. As jim fondly remembers, it was a minute away by bike. All i had to do was ride down the hill. Of all of the blegzs that come jims way, his story book relationship with mary has got to top the list. I expect jim would be the first to tell you that his success in life could not have occurred without mary. She would raise their nine children, stood with him during all of the glory and the hardships of his baseball career, she was, in jims word, his rock, his best fan and his best friend. As we will see, she was also crucial to his political success. Im pleased to say that mariyo individual achievements have been publicly recognized. He was awarded the 2013 Henrietta Cleveland inspiring woman award. Even though she was a baseball star in high school and was signed by the Detroit Tigers in 1950, jims parents implored him to get his college degree. He attended xavier and earned a degree in economics in 1953. A course of study that would literally pay dividends down the road. Only after graduating did jim turn full attention to our National Past time. In his third year he won 20 games and in 1958 he threw a nohitter in fenway park against the red sox. In that game, as a number of you know, he fanned ted williams three times. What many dont realize, however, is that not only did he nohitter come against the likes of williams, but it occurred with the Opposing Side actually knowing which pitches were coming. The red sox had stolen the tigers signs and were tipping off the boston hitters. Didnt make any difference. This was not the only time an opposing team would steal the tigers signs. In a tigers yankee game in the early 1960s, jim caught on to the fact that the First Base Coach was tipping off yankees hitters to jims fabl. He was doing this, the First Base Coach with a quick whistle before the pitch was deliver. When the third yankee batter stepped to the plate jim turned to the new york coach and gave him fair warning saying if he whistled again jim would, in his own words, would drill the next batter. When jim returned to the mound, much to his surprise he again heard the sha ril sound of the whistle and with that jim promptly hit the next batter squarely in the back. That batter happened to be Mickey Mantle. Who grimaced in pain and headed straight for the mound. The tiger catcher stopped mantle in his tracks, however. While a pained Mickey Mantle staggered toward fist place, the next hitter dame to the plate. It was yogi barra. He had watched these events transpire with great entrance and when barra stepped into the batter box, the yankee coach again let out a whistle. As jims family recalls, barra, in act of self preservation, immediately stepped back from the plate and pleaded to jim, hes whistling but i aint listening. Even when the baseball when his baseball career was far behind him, i can assure you that in the political realm jim could serve up some chin music. Mickey mantle is not the only person with those initials to be plunked by jim. After several all star seasons in the American League with detroit, the tigers apparently decided jim was expendable. They traded him to the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League before the 1964 season, a really big mistake on detroits part. During his first year with the phillies, jim took the club to the brink of the pennant and threw a perfect game in the process. After that perfect game the Detroit Free Press noted, it was learned through reliable sources that the phillies do not intend to return jim bunning to the tigers. Jim continued to pitch well for the phillies after the 1964 season, but the team often gave him little support. In 1967, for example, jim had one of his best seasons but went only 17 and 15. That year he suffered, listen to this, five, five, 10 losses, which tied a major league record, a record i suspect jim does not cherish. He still found time to be active in the nation Players Association movement. In the mid 1960s, he and a handle of players were tasked with ber viewing players to become executive directors of the Players Association. One of the candidates was a wellknown lawyer in new york city. They met the attorney at his office and he invited them to lunch with one of his colleagues. Jim and the others were impressed with the mans knowledge and ideas about the National Past time. Yet in the end the attorney declined the players offer. As jim recalls, he had other plans. The attorney was richard nixon. And the colleague he brought to lunch with him was tom duey. As jim has joked, i must have been a bad salesman and added if nixon would have taken that job, American History would have been dramatically changed. Ultimately jim played an Important Role in bringing Marvin Miller into the executive director position. A man that would revolutionize the economics of the game. As active as jim was in the Players Association he was no fan of players strikesance other union techniques, such as the lack of a secret ballot. Jim believed such tactics were harmful to the game. In 1971, after 17 years in majors, jim retired, leaving behind a rich legacy of achievement that included pitching and winning the first game every at philadelphias veterans stadium. Recognition of his career with the phillies, jims number 14 was retired by the team. At his retirement jim sound the cy young as the Second Player ever to record 100 wins, 1,000 strouts and a no hitter in each league. And only Walter Johnson had thrown more strikeouts at the time. I would point out, however, that as great as johnson was, unlike jim, he never made it to congress. He was defeated in his bid for a maryland congressional seat in 1940. Jims great baseball career was finally capped off his by election to the hall of fame in 1996. To many this honor was long overdue and perhaps reflected jims disinwhich nation to cultivate Sports Writers who had the first crack to secting hall of famers. Unfortunately both of his parents had passed away and could not be with him on this proud occasion. No doubt they were there in spirit. On Christmas Day 1971 jim received his most memorable gift from his parents. A pair of scrapbooks about his baseball career. In one of the volumes was an inscription that read as follows. We wish to dedicate these two scrapbooks to our middle son, James Paul David Bunning who we held as a tiny infant, loved as an exploring child, disciplined as a young boy and tried to guide as a young man. But before we realized it he was grown up, married and with a family of his own. But even as a boy he had big dreams and by his hard work and devotion and determination and the help of a loving and understanding wife, he made a success of what he wanted to be. May this be an inspiration to his children in the future or any young person with big dreams. We are thankful for the great moments he gave us and the millions of people who followed his outstanding career. We hope as the years pass he will be enshrined in the Baseball Hall of fame. It was signed lovingly your devoted mother and dad. That moving note tells a lot about the kind of parents jim had and of their importance in jims life. After jim retired as a player he tried his hand with some success at minor league manage in the phillys organization. He established hymn as the hair apparent to a major league job. Despite that, jim was unceremoniously let go by the organization. And that was the beginning of a whole new thing. He returned to ft. Thomas to work as a broker and a player agent and as a testament to the trust jim engendered as a manager that a number of the players who had played for him in the minors asked him to be their agent. Jim was initially drawn to politics because he wanted to give Something Back to his beloved ft. Thomas. In 1977 he won election to the city council. In no time he had moved on to the state senate where he became the republican leader. I would note the vote was 54. There werent many republicans in the state senate then, which tells you, you know, how few there were. They have 24 now. Jim discovered that one of the advantages politics offered were that he and mary could Work Together and mary proved to be a natural. She and jim spent long hours going door to door. As jim recalls, mary was a lot better at walking precincts and knocking on doors than i was. Mary herself commented in one campaign in his speeches jim says were running and we are. In 1983 at the urging of state Party Leaders jim ran for governor. Even though he got a late start and lost to martha lane collins, it was the best any gubernatorial candidate had done in two decades. Jims efforts as a candidate and state senator help signal the rejuvenation of the state gop p. When gene snyder announced he would retired in 86, jim decided to run for his spot. Jim assembled an allstar team of a different kind. A political allstar team. Lee atwater ran the campaign, roger ailes did jims media and bob teeter did the polling. All three would later be reunited on george h. W. Bushs president ial campaign two years later. Even with this topnotch group and a tremendous personal effort, both jim and mary agreed Election Night was tense. Tense. It got to the point where mary could no longer sit around waiting for the returns. As she recalled, when i get nervous, i go shopping. To which jim replied, and then i get nervous. Ultimately there was no need for them to be anxious. Jim wond handily 5544 which in our line of work is a nice marg margin. Not long into his house tender he secured a seat on the house ways and Means Committee with jurisdiction over taxes and many entitlement programs. Committee assignments are much more important than in the senate. Its a reflection of how floor proceedings operate in both chambe chambers. In the house the rules traditions ensure that. The setting with which individual lawmakers typically exercise influence is in the committee. While house members can introduce any bills they want, house leadership and the rules committee with few exceptions decide which bills come to the floor and which amendments will be offer. This means that aside from brief floor speeches, the main outlet for house members to influence legislation is in the committee theyre on. In the Senate Lawmakers not only have the ability to participate in Committee Deliberations but also have Broad Authority to go to the floor and offer amendments and often get them voted on. This is the case even if senators do not sit on the relevant committees of jurisdiction. So from an individual standpoint a lawmaker can generally do more on a wider variety of subjects over on the senate side. In jims case in the house, he took full advantage of his committee perch, becoming an expert on Social Security and entitlement spending. For instance, jim pushed for the Social Security ticket to work act which was designed to help disabled americans return to work. It was ultimately enacted in 1999. Jim is also largely responsible for lifting the amount of income that Social Security beneficiaries can earn. Prior to jims effort there was a disincentive for seniors to work. Now they can remain productive in the workplace. He saw it enacted after he came over to the senate. Given the importance of family to jim, it is not surprising that he was influenced by those closest to him. Two of jims daurkts have adopted children and the issue became one near and dear to his heart. In the mid 1990s jim pushed for favorable tax treatment for adoptable parents. He served on the house committee. He was highly critical of lawmakers who had bounced checks at the house bank. In 1998, after 12 years in the house, jim took a cue from a commencement address he had heard. The speaker at that commencement said, if youre comfortable in what youre doing, youre not doing enough. Jim thought that perhaps he had grown too comfortable in the house and could do more in the senate. Jim seized the opportunity to run for the senate and won a competitive race. In the senate jim became active in banking matters, working on measures such as grahams. Similar also helped secure enactment of the 2004 flood act. This was the Assistance Program created to help Communities Reduce the risk of flood damage. However the Bush Administration proved slow in issuing rules under this measure. As a result jim had to place a hold on a fema nominee to ensure the regulations were finally issued. Now placing a hold on his partys nominee was just one of jims many stands on principle during his public career. As the Congressional Quarterly once wrote, all agree that bunning is unafraid to go his own way. In the senate jim was tough on the Federal Reserve board long before others were. He was highly critical of alan gre greenspan at the time when the fed was exalted. Jim was the only senator to vote against greenspans success ore, ben bernanke. In addition jim was vocal in his criticism of the sport he loved so much, baseball. He spared neither management for players. He called for a revitalized Commissioners Office and succeeded in narrowing baseballs antitrust exemption, he was an early proponent of drug testing. His views on these issues did little to endear him to the National Pastimes powers that be. But once again, jim went his own way. Perhaps the past kmabest example extension over 10 billion in Unemployment Insurance. Not long before the great fan dpar the Senate Passed a rule that ensured that new spending had to be paid had to be paid for. The Unemployment Insurance measure was exceedingly popular but it was not offset, in other words, not paid for. A unanimous consent request was made on the measure and jim objected. In the senate there is much truth to the axiom that the chamber moves in two ways. By unanimous consent, or by exhaustion. If one senator is willing to object to a request the Senate Remains in suspended animation until a set number of hours passes and until 60 votes can be mustered to invoke what we call cloture, the word for shutting down debate. This can be frustrating for the majority or the other 99 senators, but it empowers individual senators, and in turn their constituents. It also often draws public attention to important policy concerns that would otherwise be completely ignored. Jim objected repeatedly to prove a worthy point. That the Unemployment Insurance benefit should be paid for and not simply tacked on to the mounting national debt. This stance reflected jims deep and longstanding concern about profligate government spending. Much like his lonely stand on the mound in Yankee Stadium decades before, jims gambit on Unemployment Insurance received a torrent of catcalls. He was vilified in many circles. But it demonstrated once again jims willingness to stand his ground, no matter what the critics said. Ultimately, jim forced a vote to ensure the measure was paid for. As the wall street journal noted, his fight for fiscal responsibility was perhaps his finest hour. In 2010, after more than three decades of public service, jim decided it was time to spend more time with those who had mattered most to him all along, his family. Ive spoken to you today about jim bunnings two careers. But how did he succeed in two careers as different as sports and politics . Walter johnsons experience teaches us that success in one does not necessarily mean success in the other. I believe that much of it goes to jims character. Perhaps the most obvious trait is that jim is very competitive. In the eyes of longtime baseball man don zimmer, jim was in the class of competitors. You cant be a more fierce competitor than bunning was. As jim once noted about politics, the competitive spirit got me more involved, and more involved. This competitive instinct helped him immensely in his political career in which he only lost one race. In addition to being competitive, jim had a very strong work ethic. In baseball he trained vigorously in the offseason when that was a rarity. He was equally diligent in public life. Jim is also a man of strong beliefs. What is less well known, however, is that he is also respectful of the opinions of others. Philadelphia Sports Writer and bunning biographer frank dolson recalled a telling anecdote. He said, i vividly remember a casual political discussion shortly after the 1992 president ial election when jim suddenly asked me how i voted. He said, i took a deep breath, quickly glanced around the room to check the location of the nearest exit, and replied, rather bravely i thought, i voted for bill clinton. Jim did not raise his voice in anger. He did not order me to leave and never return. True, his face showed the disappointment he clearly felt that someone he knew so well could do such a thing. But the looks then passed and our friendship remained the same. Four years later, while visiting the bunnings in kentucky, jims wife mary asked the same question, though she phrased it a little differently. She said, you didnt vote for clinton, did you . Yes, i told her, i voted for him. Twice. Then seeing the look on marys face, i hastily added, but not in the same election. Jim also had the ability to shrug off bad news and turn it into something positive. When the tigers thought jim was washed up, he went on to pitch brilliantly for the phillies. When jim was dropped as a manager for the phillies aaa affiliate, costing him an opportunity to manage in the big leagues, he simply moved home, became a successful player agent, and public official. When he lost the governors race in 1983, jim parlayed that defeat into a successful run for the house and later for the senate. Jims candor and his independence are also his hallmarks. Im not always going to vote the way you want me to vote, he told a prominent Veterans Group during his first race for congress. Im going to examine every issue and vote my conscience. In addition, jim inspires great loyalty. Many of his former players asked him to be their agent. Jim fostered a close and enduring relationship with members of his house and senate staff. Jim was never one to make excuses. He simply did what he felt he had to do. One of his big League Managers summed it up this way. He never alibied, it was always, just give me the ball. Finally the ultimate gauge of jims character is his relationship with his family. An anecdote will demonstrate this. During his Senate Career jim was asked by a constituent about his grandchildren. At the time he had 34. I might add that since then its become 35. Jims interlocutor bet that jim could not name all of his grandchildren. In response jim began easily reciting the names of every one of them. Once he had listed a good number of his grandchildren, the constituent conceded. Amazed, the kentuckian asked, how do you remember all 34 . Jim replied, its not hard when you pray for each of them every night. According to the Senate Historical office, jim is one of only three individuals to be both a member of a professional sports hall of fame and a u. S. Senator. The others are basketball player bill bradley and kentuckys own happy chandler, who was commissioner of baseball. But jim is not just a Baseball Hall of famer. Hes a hall of famer in life. A storied baseball career and more than three decades as a successful public official would be sufficient, but he is also a devoted husband, father, grandfather, and great grandfather. In all of these areas, jim has shone brightly. What possibly could be a grander legacy . Thank you so much. Youre watching American History tv. 48 hours of programming on American History every weekend on cspan3. Follow us on twitte twitter cspanhistory for information on our question and to keep up with the latest history news. Tuesday night, july 4th on American History tv, pulitzer prizewinning historian david mac cull luf talks about the founders viewed education, slavery, and persevered in the face of hardship. Heres a preview. Now i dont think we can ever know enough about the revolutionary era. I dont think we can ever know enough about the founders. We have to see them as human beings. History is human. When in the course of human events, human is the operative word, history is not about dates and memorizing quotations. Its about people. Its about human beings. And theyre different from each other. And they all have their faults, their failings. And they all none of them ever knew how it was going to turn out, any more than we do. They talk about foresight, they talk about the foreseeable future. So such thing as the foreseeable future. That ought to be remembered and thats how history should be taught and in my view how it should be written. Im not oh, thank you. Im not at all one who favors the view from the mountaintop, the wise historian who can say they should have done this, they should have done that. Put yourself in their places. And then try to judge what they did or didnt do. Watch the entire program at 8 00 p. M. Eastern, july 4th, here on American History tv only on cspan3. 2017 marks the