Helmar “This Great Game” Card #19 – Jim Bunning (Detroit Tigers)

This finely rendered Helmar art card depicts Jim Bunning, the tall, right-handed pitcher whose sharp delivery and fierce competitiveness defined a generation of Detroit Tigers baseball. The portrait captures Bunning in a moment of quiet confidence—his blue eyes alert beneath the deep-brimmed Detroit cap, the sunlight illuminating the clean lines of his uniform. The artist uses smooth tonal gradients to emphasize Bunning’s angular features and athletic poise, while the background of green field and grandstand silhouettes suggests an early-summer afternoon at Briggs Stadium. The balance of color—deep blues against warm golden hues—gives the image a timeless depth, echoing the hand-painted realism of mid-century baseball iconography. The card’s composition is both intimate and monumental, honoring Bunning’s poise on the mound with an almost classical restraint.

James Paul David Bunning was born in 1931 in Southgate, Kentucky. After debuting with the Tigers in 1955, he quickly established himself as one of the American League’s premier pitchers through precision control and a devastating fastball-slider combination. Over a 17-year major league career, Bunning recorded 224 wins, struck out over 2,800 batters, and threw two no-hitters—including a perfect game on June 21, 1964, while pitching for the Philadelphia Phillies. A seven-time All-Star, he was known for his intelligence and steely determination, qualities that later defined his second career as a United States Congressman and Senator from Kentucky. Elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1996, Bunning remains one of the few players ever to achieve distinction both on the diamond and in public service.

Helmar’s “This Great Game” series immortalizes baseball’s legends through vivid, hand-painted portraits printed on textured, heavyweight stock to evoke the artistry of vintage gum cards. Card No. 19 pays tribute to Jim Bunning—an indomitable competitor whose mastery on the mound and integrity in life embodied baseball’s enduring spirit.

Original gouache painting by Sanjay Verma.