JIM BUNNING - FIRST DAY COVER SIGNED CO-SIGNED BY: JIM PALMER - HFSID 46119

JIM BUNNING and JIM PALMER. Philatelic Envelope signed: ""Jim Bunning" and "Jim Palmer", 6½x3½. First Day Cover honoring Babe Ruth postmarked Chicago, Ilinois, July 6, 1983, 20-cent stamp affixed, FIRST DAY OF ISSUE. Below a photo of Ruth (b/w, 2x2¼) is the following caption, reproduced from the New York Times Mid-Week Pictorial, April 22, 1920: "'Babe' Ruth, the mightiest batsman of them all, seen for the first time in Yankee uniform. He made twenty-nine home runs last season. His transfer from the Red Sox to the New York Americans, at a reported cost of $125,000 was the sensation of the year. The great length of his bat is noticeable. All opposing pitchers view him with profound respect." Pitcher Babe Ruth had led the Boston Red Sox to the 1918 World Championship. His career evenly split between the major leagues, BUNNING was the first pitcher to record 100 wins and 1,000 strikeouts in each league. He retired second only to Walter Johnson with 2,885 strikeouts (11 other players have since passed him). He pitched a no-hitter for the Detroit Tigers in 1958 and a perfect game for the Philadelphia Phillies in 1964, the first National League perfect game since 1880. Bunning has represented Kentucky as a Republican in the U.S. Congress since 1987, first in the House of Representatives and, since 1999, in the Senate. A dominant figure in the founding of the players' union, he helped establish the players' pension plan. In 1996, he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Pitching his entire career for the Orioles (1965-1984), PALMER was a 20-game winner in eight of the nine seasons between 1970 and 1978. Three-time winner of the Cy Young Award, he appeared in six World Series and six All Star games for the Baltimore Orioles. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1990. Of course, neither Bunning nor Palmer ever had to face the Babe. Palmer's signature is slightly smudged. Otherwise, fine condition.