Robert James Bruce (May 16, 1933 – March 14, 2017) was an American professional baseball player, a right-handed pitcher who appeared in 219 games in Major League Baseball from 1959 to 1967 for the Detroit Tigers, Houston Colt .45s and Astros, and Atlanta Braves. \n', '

Born in New York, New York, and raised by adoptive parents in Detroit, Michigan, Bruce graduated from Highland Park High School and attended Alma College. He was listed as 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m) tall and 200 pounds (91 kg).\n', '

Bruce began his professional career in 1953 in the minor league system of his hometown Tigers. He won 18 games in the Class D Wisconsin State League in his first season and began a steady rise through the Detroit farm system. He missed part of 1956 and all of 1957 while serving in the United States Army, and debuted with Detroit at the tail end of 1959, working in two games. In 1960, Bruce spent the entire season with the Tigers, appearing in 34 games (making 15 starts during the latter half of the season) and posting a 3.74 earned run average in 130 innings pitched. However, a shoulder injury suffered early in the 1961 campaign derailed Bruce as he sought to cement a place in the Tigers\' starting rotation. He worked in only 44​2⁄3 innings for Detroit, and was briefly sent to Triple-A Denver.\n', 'On December 1, 1961, he was traded to the Houston Colt .45s, a first-year expansion team, for veteran pitcher Sam "Toothpick" Jones. \n', '

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