Not able to afford giving each of them huge bonuses, the ballclub only signed Bunker after being disappointed by Boswell's performance in his senior year of high school.

That year, the Orioles fell short of the American League pennant, finishing in third place; the New York Yankees won their fifth consecutive pennant, finishing one game ahead of the Chicago White Sox and two games ahead of the Orioles.

Sixteen days later, he pitched his second one-hitter of the season, defeating the Kansas City Athletics 4–0, the lone hit being Rocky Colavito's fourth-inning double.

A "sore arm" (which, according to Bunker, he incurred in late September 1964, on a cold night in Cleveland) during the 1965 season reduced him to a part-time starter afterwards.

In the latter year, the Orioles won the World Series in a four-game sweep of the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers.

"[5] Wally Bunker and his wife Kathy were Artists in Residence at Palm Key Nature Getaway in Ridgeland, South Carolina.

Wally and Kathy now live in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho and plan to release other Wal-De-Mar, Friends and Such books in late 2015.