1965 Topps #20 Jim Bunning
About Jim Bunning
Card #20 places Bunning in the 1965 set's first series after a superb first year in Philadelphia: 19-8, a 2.63 ERA and 219 strikeouts over 284.1 innings. The signature afternoon came on June 21, Father's Day, when he retired all 27 Mets at Shea Stadium. The finish was cruel - the Phillies carried a six-and-a-half-game lead into the last twelve games, lost ten straight, and missed the pennant by one.
James Paul David Bunning signed with the Detroit Tigers in 1950 out of his freshman year at Xavier University, finished an economics degree there in three and a half years while grinding through the farm system, and made his major league debut in July 1955. A rangy right-hander with a wicked slider, he led the American League in wins and innings in 1957, his first full season, and no-hit the Boston Red Sox on July 20, 1958. He led his league in strikeouts three times, with 201 in both 1959 and 1960 and 253 in 1967. Traded to the Philadelphia Phillies after the 1963 season, Bunning threw a perfect game against the New York Mets on Father's Day, June 21, 1964, the first by a National League pitcher since 1880. He later pitched for the Pirates and Dodgers before a second Phillies stint. A nine-time All-Star and an early leader of the players union who helped bring in Marvin Miller, he retired in 1971 with 224 wins and 2,855 strikeouts, then second only to Walter Johnson. Kentucky elected him to the state Senate, the US House and the US Senate, making him the only major leaguer sent to both the Senate and Cooperstown. The Veterans Committee voted him into the Hall of Fame in 1996; he died in 2017.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 617 | 2 | 47 | 246 | 144 | 82 | 48 | 48 | 0 |
| SGC | 101 | 0 | 2 | 20 | 16 | 30 | 17 | 16 | 0 |
Graded population — a scarcity guide, not a price. Data as of 2026-09-04. Half grades fold down for both graders (8.5→8); PSA qualified slabs (OC, ST, PD, MC and the like) are not counted. The two checklist variations, #79 and #508, are listed under the wording PSA uses for each state.
Find this card
Search T206 Cards Shop 1965 Topps cards Live auctions Buy It Now on eBay Sold prices
As an eBay Partner Network affiliate, T206Cards.com may earn from qualifying purchases.
Related cards
Team card: #338 Philadelphia Phillies
More Philadelphia Phillies cards:
- #4 National League 1964 Home Run Leaders
- #36 Bobby Wine
- #52 Ed Roebuck
- #72 Tony Gonzalez
- #107 Phillies 1965 Rookie Stars
- #123 Frank Thomas
- #163 John Briggs
- #184 John Boozer
- #203 Dallas Green
- #225 Bo Belinsky
- #248 Gus Triandos
- #280 Dick Stuart
- #296 Tony Taylor
- #310 Johnny Callison
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1965 Topps #20 card?
It is card #20 of the 598-card 1965 Topps Baseball set, picturing Jim Bunning of the Philadelphia Phillies.
How many cards are in the 1965 Topps Baseball set?
598 cards, tracked as 600 collectible states. Numbers run from 1 to 598 with no gaps and no printed-number collisions, and two checklist cards - #79 and #508 - carry catalogued print variations that the master set counts separately.
Sources: Trading Card Database, PSA CardFacts, Cardboard Connection, BaseballCardPedia, Baseball Almanac, Baseball-Reference, the SABR BioProject and the National Baseball Hall of Fame, PSA & SGC population reports. Card data compiled and maintained by T206Cards.com. Page last updated 2026-10-11.