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 (ERA) 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 innings for Detroit, and was briefly sent to
Triple-A Denver. On December 1, 1961, he was traded to the Houston Colt .45s, a first-year
expansion team, for veteran pitcher
Sam "Toothpick" Jones. Bruce became a mainstay of the Houston starting rotation during the team's early years, tying
Turk Farrell for the team lead in wins (with 10) in the
Colt .45's inaugural 1962 season, and becoming the first Houston pitcher to win 15 games, in 1964. On April 19, 1964, Bruce struck out all three batters on nine total pitches in the eighth inning of a 6–2 win over the
Los Angeles Dodgers, becoming the seventh
National League pitcher and the 12th pitcher in major-league history to throw an
immaculate inning, one day after
Sandy Koufax achieved the same feat. That season, Bruce also reached career bests in
complete games (nine),
shutouts (four), and ERA (2.76, 10th in the National League). He threw the last pitch in
Colt Stadium on September 27, 1964, then on April 12, 1965, he threw the first pitch in the history of the
Astrodome, as the
Opening Day starting pitcher for the renamed
Astros. He was Houston's hard-luck losing pitcher that day, surrendering a two-run, third-inning
home run to
Dick Allen, as the visiting
Philadelphia Phillies prevailed, 2–1. His last two seasons with Houston, 1965 and 1966, were disappointing. In the former year, he lost 18 of 27
decisions while posting seven complete games and a decent 3.76 ERA. He led the team in strikeouts (145), innings pitched (229.2), and runs allowed (107, 95 earned). In 1966, his record was 3–13 and his ERA rose to 5.34, a career worst, in innings pitched. During the off-season, the Astros included him in a trade to the
Atlanta Braves for
Eddie Mathews, the future
Baseball Hall of Fame third baseman then in the twilight of his career. Bruce got into only 12 games for the
1967 Braves before being sent to Triple-A
Richmond, and then retired after the 1967 season. One notable achievement by Bruce during the 1967 season was picking up his one and only MLB save on June 14, 1967 against the Phillies. In an MLB career that encompassed all or parts of nine years, Bruce compiled a 49–71
win–loss record, with 26 complete games (in 167 starts), six shutouts and one
save. In innings pitched, he
struck out 733, allowing 1,146
hits and 340
bases on balls. His career ERA was 3.85. ==Post-baseball==