Bruce began his professional career in 1953 in the minor league system of his hometown Tigers. He won 18 games in the Class DWisconsin 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, Bruce spent the entire season with the Tigers, appearing in 34 games and posting a 3.74 earned run average in 130 innings pitched. However, a shoulder injury suffered early in the campaign derailed Bruce as he sought to cement a place in the Tigers' starting rotation. He worked in only 44 innings for Detroit, and was briefly sent to Triple-ADenver. 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 in the Colt.45's inaugural 1962 season, and becoming the first Houston pitcher to win 15 games, in. On April 19, 1964, Bruce struck out three batters on nine 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 accomplish the nine-strike/three-strikeout half-inning, only one day afterSandy Koufax achieved the same feat. That season, Bruce also reached career bests in complete games, shutouts, and earned run average. He threw the last pitch inColt 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, and, were disappointing. In the former year, he lost 18 of 27 decisions while posting seven complete games and a decent 3.76 earned run average. But in 1966, his record was a poor 3–13 and his ERA rose to 5.34, a career worst, in 129 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 Famethird 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. In an MLB career that encompassed all or parts of nine years, Bruce compiled a 49–71 win–loss record, with 26 complete games, six shutouts and one save. In 1,122 innings pitched, he struck out 733, allowing 1,146 hits and 340 bases on balls. His career ERA was 3.85.
