 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 (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 campaign derailed Bruce as he sought to cement a place in the Tigers' starting rotation.