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Johnny Lee Bench
Cincinnati Reds
Catcher
Born: December 7, 1947, Oklahoma City, OK
Drafted: Drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the 2nd round of the 1965 amateur draft, June 8, 1965
Major League Teams: Cincinnati Reds 1967-83
World Series Appearances: Cincinnati Reds 1970, 1972, 1975-76
Hall of Fame Induction: 1989
The de facto leader of the Big Red Machine dynasty that won four National League pennants and a pair of World Championships between 1970 and 1976, Johnny Bench was also one of the best catchers in the history of the game. Bench was a 14-time All-Star, 10-time Gold Glove winner, the Rookie of the Year in 1968, and two-time MVP winner in 1970 and 1972. He led the league in home runs and RBIs in both of his MVP seasons, and topped the league again with 129 RBIs in 1974. Bench was a force for the Reds throughout the 1970s, averaging 33 home runs and 114 RBIs per 162 games between 1970 and 1979. While he struggled at the plate in the 1975 World Series, he won World Series MVP honors in 1976, batting .533 (8 for 15) with a pair of home runs and six RBIs against the Yankees. Bench and his superstar teammates Joe Morgan (#35), Pete Rose (#120), Tony Perez (#295), George Foster and others dominated the baseball landscape in the early to mid-1970s.
Hall of Fame Induction: 1989
The de facto leader of the Big Red Machine dynasty that won four National League pennants and a pair of World Championships between 1970 and 1976, Johnny Bench was also one of the best catchers in the history of the game. Bench was a 14-time All-Star, 10-time Gold Glove winner, the Rookie of the Year in 1968, and two-time MVP winner in 1970 and 1972. He led the league in home runs and RBIs in both of his MVP seasons, and topped the league again with 129 RBIs in 1974. Bench was a force for the Reds throughout the 1970s, averaging 33 home runs and 114 RBIs per 162 games between 1970 and 1979. While he struggled at the plate in the 1975 World Series, he won World Series MVP honors in 1976, batting .533 (8 for 15) with a pair of home runs and six RBIs against the Yankees. Bench and his superstar teammates Joe Morgan (#35), Pete Rose (#120), Tony Perez (#295), George Foster and others dominated the baseball landscape in the early to mid-1970s.
For his career, Bench batted .267 with 2,048 hits, 389 home runs and 1,376 RBIs. He still sits atop or close to the top of every major offensive category on the Reds' all-time leaderboard. Bench retired as the all-time home run leader among catchers with 327, a mark since surpassed by Carlton Fisk and Mike Piazza. The Reds retired his #5 in 1984, and he was a first ballot inductee into the Hall of Fame in 1989. Bench was selected as a catcher, along with Yogi Berra, on the Major League Baseball All-Century Team in 1999.
November 29, 2024 from Tomball, TX (The Battersbox)
Over the past few years, our youngest son Ben has become quite the Taylor Swift fan, joining the ranks of millions of Swifties around the world. Having missed her Eras Tour dates in Philadelphia in May 2023, and appreciating how much Ben wanted to see the tour live before it ended, my wife and I took the plunge and bought a pair of tickets on the secondary market for Swift's fifth concert in Toronto on November 22, 2024. Having satisfied my chauffeuring duties between South Jersey and Toronto, with a pitstop at Niagara Falls, and with Ben and my wife off to the show, I found a nearby restaurant on the night of the concert to enjoy a good meal . . . and purchase a baseball card for our 1969 Topps set.
I didn't realize it at the time, but apparently Moxie's is a chain located throughout Canada and the U.S. Seated comfortably at the bar at Moxie's Vaughan, and having ordered the steak frites with truffle fries, I spent some time browsing eBay on my phone and looking for a star card needed for our set, as one does. So while my wife and son were settling into their seats for a 3 1/2 hour Taylor Swift concert, I was ordering this Johnny Bench card from The Battersbox in Tromball, Texas. (And the steak frites was delicious.) It was a great trip, and it resulted in a lot of happy memories for our family, and this Bench card will be a nice little reminder of everything. Thank you Taylor Swift!
The Card / Reds Team Set / Accuracy Index +5
1969 Season
Following his Rookie of the Year win in 1968, Bench showed no signs of a sophomore slump, batting .293 with 26 home runs and 90 RBIs over 148 games with the Reds. He started his first All-Star Game, going 2 for 3 with a two-run home run off the Yankees' Mel Stottlemyre (#470) in the second inning. Bench was robbed of a second home run by Carl Yastrzemski's (#130) leaping catch over the left field fence at Washington's RFK Stadium.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1968 Topps #247
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (18): 1968-84, 1990
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2024 Stadium Club #75
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 3,420 in the Beckett online database as of 12/28/24.
The Card / Reds Team Set / Accuracy Index +5
This is Bench's first solo card, as he shared his rookie card in the 1968 Topps set with pitcher Ron Tompkins. Bench would appear again later in the set on an All-Star card (#430). His Topps 1968 All-Star Rookie trophy is displayed prominently, and this is probably one of my favorite cards from the set. It looks as if Bench is sporting a double number on the front of his jersey (#55?), perhaps a number he wore during spring training before switching to his more familiar #5. The cartoon on the back highlights his first home run, hit on September 20, 1967, off the Braves' Jim Britton (#154).
This card has been reprinted a bunch of times by Topps, and Topps has also liberally re-used this photo on a number of its Bench cards throughout the years. By my unofficial tally, Topps has reprinted the card 11 times between 2005 and 2021.
Accuracy Index: Bench's card earns a +5, and I'd award it more points on aesthetics alone if I were doing that kind of thing.
1969 Season
Following his Rookie of the Year win in 1968, Bench showed no signs of a sophomore slump, batting .293 with 26 home runs and 90 RBIs over 148 games with the Reds. He started his first All-Star Game, going 2 for 3 with a two-run home run off the Yankees' Mel Stottlemyre (#470) in the second inning. Bench was robbed of a second home run by Carl Yastrzemski's (#130) leaping catch over the left field fence at Washington's RFK Stadium.
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First Mainstream Card: 1968 Topps #247
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (18): 1968-84, 1990
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2024 Stadium Club #75
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 3,420 in the Beckett online database as of 12/28/24.
I'm impressed by the sheer volume of cards Bench has appeared on, and so far on Reggie Jackson (#260) and Mickey Mantle (#500) have appeared on more cards than Bench among the players I've collected for this set.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
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