June 21, 1964: As was often the case in that era, Sundays often featured baseball doubleheaders. The Philadelphia Phillies swept a doubleheader from the New York Mets, 6-0 and 8-2 at Shea Stadium.
In the opener, Jim Bunning pitched a perfect game for the Phillies. It was Father's Day, and Bunning, a Catholic from the Cincinnati suburb of Southgate, Kentucky, was already the father of 6 children. He and his wife, Mary Catherine, would eventually have 9, which is believed to be the most children of any Major League Baseball player. One, David Bunning, became a federal Judge.
Bunning was backed by an RBI single by Richie Allen in the 1st inning, an RBI double by Gus Triandos in the 2nd, and 4 runs in the 6th, including a leadoff home run by Johnny Callison.
The last batter was John Stephenson. He was pinch-hitting for pitcher Tom Sturdivant, a former Yankee reliever. The Mets' starter was Tracy Stallard, who had given up Roger Maris' 61st home run in 1961, and had probably had enough baseball history by this point.
Stephenson was a rookie catcher, who usually came in for defensive purposes. He was making only his 31st major league plate appearance, and was batting just .074. Triandos was catching for the Phillies, and went to the mound, telling Bunning, who had probably the best slider in baseball at that point, "He can't spell 'curve.'" Bunning listened to his catcher, threw Stephenson all curveballs, and struck him out.
This was the first perfect game since Don Larsen's in the World Series in 1956, the first in the regular season since Charlie Robertson in 1922, and the first in the National League since John Montgomery Ward in 1880 -- making it the first ever in the NL with the standard pitching distance of 60 feet, 6 inches.
It made Bunning only the 2nd pitcher ever to pitch a no-hitter in each League: He had previously pitched one in the American League, for the Detroit Tigers in 1958. Cy Young had pitched a no-hitter for the NL's Cleveland Spiders in 1897, and for the AL's Boston Americans (Red Sox) in 1904 and 1908.
Years later, Nolan Ryan threw 6 no-hitters in the AL, 4 for the California Angels and 2 for the Texas Rangers, and 1 in the NL, in 1981 for the Houston Astros. Randy Johnson threw one in 1990 for the AL's Seattle Mariners, and one for the NL's Arizona Diamondbacks in 2004. And Hideo Nomo threw one for the NL's Los Angeles Dodgers in 1996, and one for the Red Sox in 2001.
In the nightcap, Callison and John Briggs hit home runs, and rookie Rick Wise outpitched Frank Lary. Like Bunning, Lary had once pitched for the Tigers, and his wins over the Yankees in 1959 and '60 earned him the nickname "The Yankee Killer." But the Yankees' defeats of him in 1961 were a big reason why the Tigers won 101 games but fell 8 games short of the Yankees for the Pennant. Like Bunning, Wise would pitch a no-hitter for the Phillies, in 1971, and hit 2 home runs in the game.
This was the highlight of a season that saw the Phillies make their best run at the NL Pennant between 1950 and 1976. When the day was done, they were in 1st place by 2 games. At no time in the season, from Game 1 to Game 162, were they more than 2 1/2 games out of 1st place. But, with their staff, including Bunning, overworked down the stretch, they lost 10 straight games at the end of September, blowing a 6 1/2-game lead with 12 to play, ultimately finishing 1 game behind the St. Louis Cardinals.
It has long been suggested that, had the Phillies hung on to win the Pennant, Callison would have been named the NL's Most Valuable Player. Instead, that award went to the Cardinals' Ken Boyer. Allen was be named NL Rookie of the Year. Later, he insisted upon being called "Dick" Allen, saying that "Richie" was a little boy's name. Phillies broadcaster and former star center fielder Richie Ashburn backed him up, at least on principle, calling Allen what he preferred to be called himself: "Rich."
Bunning finished with a career record of 224-184. He joined Young and Al Orth as the only pitchers to win 100 games in each League. They have since been joined by Ryan, Johnson, Gaylord Perry, Ferguson Jenkins and Pedro Martínez. Milt Pappas missed by 1 win in the AL. (UPDATE: As of June 21, 2026, Max Scherzer is 6 AL wins short of joining them.)
Bunning also finished with a 3.27 ERA and 2,855 strikeouts. He was named to 9 All-Star Games. In 1967, he joined Young as only the 2nd pitcher ever to lead both Leagues in strikeouts. They have since been joined by only Ryan and Johnson. He was the winning pitcher in the 1st game at Veterans Stadium in 1971. The Phillies retired his Number 14 and elected him to their team Wall of Fame.
It has often been suggested that the reason that Curt Schilling, a former Phillies pitcher who also excelled in both Leagues, with more strikeouts than Bunning but fewer wins and a higher ERA, isn't in the Baseball Hall of Fame is his conservative politics.
But Bunning was elected to represent his native Kentucky in both houses of Congress, serving in the House of Representatives from 1987 to 1999, and then in the Senate until 2011. While there, he voted to approve policies that have hurt people much more than Schilling's infamous business scams. And yet, Bunning is in the Baseball Hall of Fame. So, clearly, Schilling's denial has not been about politics. Bunning died in 2017.
Being a backup catcher, John Stephenson was far more valuable than his career batting average of .216 would suggest. He hung on in the major leagues until 1973, getting to catch Ryan with the California Angels in the season in which he struck out a major league record 383 batters. He later coached in the minor leagues and at the college level.
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June 21, 1964 was, as I said, a Sunday. These other games were played that day:
* The New York Yankees had one of their longest days, but a successful one, sweeping the Chicago White Sox, 2-0 and 2-1 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. In the opener, Jim Bouton pitched 3-hit shutout ball over 7 2/3rds innings, then Pete Mikkelsen went the rest of the way, completing a 4-hit shutout. Mickey Mantle and Elston Howard hit home runs.
The nightcap went 17 innings. With 1 out in the top of the 17th, Héctor López doubled of Don Mossi. White Sox manager Al López (no relation to Héctor) ordered that Howard be intentionally walked. But Mossi unintentionally walked Phil Linz to load the bases. Having no more available pinch-hitters, Yankee manager Yogi Berra sent pitcher Bill Stafford up to bat for himself. He hit a grounder to short, and future Met hero Al Weis bobbled it, allowing to Héctor to score. Stafford finished the South Siders off, getting the win. Al Downing had started, going 12 innings.
The games took a combined 26 innings to play, but, in time, just 6 hours and 42 minutes. To really show how times have changed, over those 26 innings, the Yankees used just 5 pitchers, although Mikkelsen pitched in both games. The Yankees ended up beating the White Sox for the Pennant by only 1 game, so this day may have decided the title.
* The Boston Red Sox beat the Baltimore Orioles, 9-6 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Carl Yastrzemski went 3-for-4 with a walk and 2 RBIs. Brooks Robinson went 1-for-4 with a walk.
* The Chicago Cubs swept the Pittsburgh Pirates, 2-1 and 7-2 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. Ernie Banks went 1-for-8 with a walk and 2 RBIs, and Roberto Clemente went 0-for-8.
* A doubleheader was split at Crosley Field in Cincinnati. The Los Angeles Dodgers won the 1st game, 4-2. Sandy Koufax outpitched Bob Purkey. The Cincinnati Reds won the 2nd game, 2-1. Over the 2 games, Frank Robinson went 3-for-8. Pete Rose only appeared as a pinch-hitter in the 1st game, and did not reach base.
* The Houston Astros swept the Milwaukee Braves, 5-2 and 5-4 at Milwaukee County Stadium. Rusty Staub hit 2 home runs in the 1st game. Bob Bruce outpitched Warren Spahn. Ken Johnson won the 2nd game, and helped his own cause with a homer. Hank Aaron went 2-for-9 with 3 RBIs, but none was on a home run.
* The Detroit Tigers beat the Minnesota Twins, 4-2 at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota. Al Kaline went 0-for-3, but drew a walk. Harmon Killebrew went 1-for-4.
* The San Francisco Giants beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 7-3 at Busch Stadium (formerly Sportsman's Park) in St. Louis. Willie Mays and Hal Lanier hit home runs for the Giants, while the newly-acquired Lou Brock did so for the Cardinals. Gaylord Perry pinch-hit for Giants starter Jack Sanford in the 6th, and had a sacrifice bunt. He then pitched the rest of the way for the save.
* The Washington Senators swept the Kansas City Athletics, 13-2 and 5-2 at Kansas City Municipal Stadium.
* And the Los Angeles Angels beat the Cleveland Indians, 4-1 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, where the Angels groundshared with the Dodgers until their stadium in suburban Anaheim could open.
This was also the day that Fascist Spain beat the Soviet Union in the Final of the European Nations' Cup, the tournament now known as the UEFA Euro. And also the day that members of the Ku Klux Klan murdered 3 men who were working to register black voters in the project called "Mississippi Freedom Summer." I have separate entries for both of those events.
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