A member of the Hartfords of Brooklyn nine for a single game in 1877, Bunce was pressed into duty as a left fielder when three players (Bob Ferguson, Jim Holdsworth and Tom York) were either sick or injured. Isreal Pike, brother of Lip Pike, played his only MLB game on this date, too. Anyway, while Bunce himself went hitless and made a single putout, his teammates took out Cincinnati, 5 – 1.  Most of the team knew Bunce though. At the time he was a member of the Nameless of Brooklyn and he had gained local fame in Brooklyn running the Nassau Club.

That said, it wasn’t his only MLB job. He served as an umpire for National League games during the 1877 season covering games played in Brooklyn – which makes it interesting that he played in a game for a team whose games he had officiated and would continue to officiate through the end of the season. (At that time, players would be called into umpiring service if needed – so, it’s only fair that an umpire could be called into service when a baseball team needed a warm body.)

Joshua A. Bunce was the first child of tavern keeper Joshua Bunce and his wife, Eliza (Carman) Bunce. In time the Bunce family had five children, not counting the two Eliza brought from a previous marriage. Bunce and his siblings attended Brooklyn Public School #15. The father had a short run, dying in 1859 – before his son reached his teens. That said, Brooklyn was a hotbed for baseball, especially the years after the Great War for Slavery when Brooklyn had the best team in the country, and Bunce got in his time on the amateur fields. And, he learned from his father. When the younger Joshua joined the junior Liberty Base Ball Club, the Brooklyn Eagle noted, “The captain of the first nine is Joshua Bunce. If this Joshua makes as good a leader as Joshua of old, the club will be successful this season.”

Bunce was also active in local city (and Republican) politics, having won a first ward constable seat. His mingling with the government types also contributed to his getting a job as a night watchman for the Brooklyn Court House and, the following year, a public works job. When not working, he played baseball into his 40s.

For the rest of the story, I’ll turn things over to the Brooklyn Daily Times, written when Bunce passed to the next league.

“Joshua Bunce, in his time one of the most popular baseball players of old Brooklyn, died on Sunday at his residence, No, 1230 Bedford avenue. He had been suffering for some time with a complication of ailments and his death was due to valvular heart disease. He was found in his bed dead and he probably passed away in his sleep. He was the son of Joshua and Eliza Bunce, and he was born in lower Brooklyn, May 10, 1847. His father was a hotel keeper in old Brooklyn. In his younger days he was employed by the Union Ferry Company and was a member of the old Brooklyn Volunteer Fire Department. During the last years of his life he had been employed in the stereotyping department of the New York ‘American.’ (Note: Other papers said he worked for the New York Journal.)

“‘Josh’ Bunce never married. He was a man of few words, and it is characteristic of him that a member of his family by marriage did not know until after his death that he had ever played baseball. He was captain of the Nassau Club, which was the holder of the first amateur championship played on the Parade Grounds of Prospect Park. He played shortstop and left field, and under his management the Nassau Club gained great local fame…”

Bunce is buried near family in Green-Wood Cemetery in Greenwood Heights, New York.

^* The middle initial ‘A’ was discussed in a lawsuit for missed wages in 1878, otherwise, he’s listed as just Joshua Bunce in every other thing I have seen.

Notes:

1850, 1860, 1880, 1900 US Census

Image Source: https://www.digitalcommonwealth.org/search/commonwealth:sf2687821

“Public School Number 15,” Brooklyn Evening Star, February 9, 1861: 2.
“Base Ball,” Brooklyn Eagle, May 4, 1867: 2.
“Charter Election,” Brooklyn Daily Times, December 2, 1873: 1.
“Base Ball,” Cleveland Leader, April 24, 1877: 6.
“Brooklyn vs. Cincinnati,” Brooklyn Eagle, August 28, 1877: 3.
“The Supervisors,” Brooklyn Daily Times, December 7, 1877: 2.
“County Matters,” Brooklyn Daily Times, February 6, 1878: 4.
“A Garfield and Arthur Campaign Club Formed in the First Ward,” Brooklyn Eagle, August 14, 1880: 2.
“Baseball Gossip,” Brooklyn Citizen, June 13, 1889: 3.
“Joshua Bunce,” The Brooklyn Daily Times, April 30, 1912: 4.
“Joshua Bunce,” The Brooklyn Weekly Chat, May 4, 1912: 19.