On September 17 of 1983, The Cincinnati Reds coined the game Johnny hit his last home run as “Johnny Bench Night.”. The card has a close-up photo of Johnny on the front, although the colors are not the brightest. He runs into Rose at card shows, and they text each other on their birthdays. Morgan flirted with death several years ago, following complications from knee surgery. This Fleer Johnny Bench baseball Card has him mid-throw, with the ball still in his hand. ), The Reds of the '70s were an extraordinarily close unit; many of the players lived in the same apartment complex. I'm gonna take your job. "There was a healthy rivalry. "Two games later I hit two home runs off curveballs. The first Johnny Bench card from Fleer features a posed photo and a clean layout. Bobby Richardson, the former Yankees second baseman, said, "This crowd on Earth, they soon forget the heroes of the past. This Johnny Bench baseball card from the aptly coined “hockey stick set” from Topps is a nice addition to any Bench collection. Justin and Josh both play sports, but they feel little pressure being the sons of a Hall of Famer. "As I went to the plate," he later recalled, "I heard my mom hollering my name: 'Hit me a home run.' For a time Bench and Pete Rose were cast as contrasts: the graceful, polished, socially ambitious catcher versus the gritty, dirt-on-the-uniform, what-you-see-is-what-you-get grinder. Neither plays baseball, but Johnny would like both to be involved in the game. But, by his own admission, he's been considerably less successful in his personal life. The team's core—Bench, Rose, infielders Joe Morgan and Tony Pérez—could scarcely have been more different in background, playing style and personality. ", By the metrics of friends, experiences, net worth, Bench's life has been a full one. But he's doing better now, and it makes me so happy. But when it came time to move, Lauren decided she wasn't going. A single dad to Justin, a sixth-grader, and Josh, a third-grader, he rises at 5:30 to do laundry and lay out his kids' clothes. "Definitely firm. He made $11,000 his rookie season and $85,000 his first MVP season, less than today's MVPs make per game. The set popularity paired with the incredible season that Johnny had makes this card as valuable as $4700 if you can get your hands on one in perfect condition. You throw it in, put some soap in, push the button and come back when it's done. Johnny had an excellent personal season, with nearly 200 hits and a league-leading 129 RBI. "I don't mind the work. Catching 118 shutouts during his career, Bench is rated 12th of all time for major league catchers. This particular Topps set was prone to bad centering, making good quality cards harder to find. This is a total waste of money. The last of the Topps cards we're looking at today comes from a set where Topps switched things up by putting two photos on the front of the card. '", If life at 70 is different than the way he'd imagined, Bench points out that it is irrelevant. ", As if on cue, he receives a text. They shared custody of the boy. Johnny Bench, 1970 Reds (22 years, 298 days) 45 HRs (led MLB) By the start of the 1970 season, Bench had already won a Rookie of the Year Award, received MVP votes in two separate seasons, won two Gold Gloves and was a two-time All-Star. ", Nor was the team destabilized by the social stresses of the late '60s and '70s. He started using the mitt after a thumb injury damaged his catching hand. "They say, 'Don't let the boos get you down.' The card shows Johnny up to bat and ready to hit. Mom' by the band Lonestar?" None of it makes a difference. They noticed that for all his natural talent, he was flailing at breaking pitches. Bench chooses his words cautiously talking about their recent breakup, in part because it involves his sons' mother and in part because there are matters still in court. But he did a lot of things you later appreciated.". Though he came from rural Oklahoma—"two miles beyond RESUME SPEED," he likes to say—Bench projected an air of sophistication. Bench sees Pérez, who lives nearby, in Miami. Johnny's All-Star Rookie card features him knelt down, mitt open posing for the camera. This Johnny Bench baseball card has a close up shot of Johnny smiling, wearing a red cap which matches the the cartoon hat on the card design used to showcase his position and team. Happy to have. The edges commonly chip and there are plenty of printing errors. The Cincinnati Reds would defeat The Red Sox 4-3 to win the championship. His autograph trails across the full color shot. The Rangers' home opener in Arlington, Texas drew the largest attendance at an American sporting event in over a year. "Man, did he know how to call a game," says Tom Seaver, a teammate from 1977 to '82. The bench bar was maybe 1lb (my 13 year old son could balance it on his finger). He began producing and hosting a daily morning show on local television, interviewing Bob Hope and Gerald Ford, among others. Even though this card is from a lower part in Johnny's career, and from a set that's easily attainable, this card is worth having for its visual value alone. Famed for his precocious achievements behind the plate five decades ago, the 70-year-old former leader of the Big Red Machine is now devoting himself to molding children—his own. he asks. After going through this list of Johnny Bench baseball cards, it's easy to see why he is so highly revered in the world of baseball. ", It was often suggested that Bench had the temperament to be a good manager. While Topps finally did have some competition, none of the other sets have held their value quite like Topps' 1981 set. ", Bench took solace in some advice he received from two men. They cheer like mad until you fall. Report abuse. The back of this card had a small cartoon boasting about Bench’s MVP titles. I even hand-squeezed orange juice," she told Phil Donahue in December 1975. Two songs, in fact: Tammy Wynette's "Till I Get It Right" and "The Dance" by Garth Brooks. But Johnny never required the validation of others. In his 17 seasons, he had played his best and he could retire with the satisfaction that brings. Enjoy! This card features a close-up shot of Bench with his helmet on, ready in his batting stance at the plate. Johnny had a less pleasant first, as 1981 was the first season that he did not make the All-Star team. High quality Johnny Bench #380s can go for over $2200. Point made. Before the Reds would come back to make world history, they had one more season out of the limelight. "I don't think either of us had any idea what marriage was really like. It's hard to come across a decent specimen from 1977. Like any father—especially one of a certain age—Bench imparts lessons by recounting gauzy stories. Suffice to say that when "Sports Dynasties" is a Jeopardy! ", Which he did. Dad messes up the words, as he often does. Johnny still holds his All-Star badge, which can be seen in the top right corner. Johnny Bench is 70. "So I'll just keep on fallin' in love till I get it right." He kept the fire going in 1969 by setting the highest caught stealing percentage in a single season with 57%. The second Johnny Bench baseball card in the ‘81 Donruss set has a photo of Johnny just moments after he's hit the ball. While not his most famous season, no Bench collection is complete without this card. Johnny's first appearance on a Topps card had him sharing the space with the Reds’ Ron Tompkins. ", Talk of Morgan's recovery has Bench taking full inventory of his life. "The great thing about it," he says, "is I knew I had a life. "If what you did yesterday is big to you now," he says, "then you haven't done much today. It was the year that The Big Red Machine would finally win the world series. He did it anyway, tying the game. Donruss stuck with the green borders for their 1983 set, but swapped the baseball for a catcher's mitt. Lauren and Johnny divorced. While 1971 is often viewed as a down year for Bench because it was sandwiched between two huge MVP years, no collection is complete without his 1971 Topps card. The beloved former Cincinnati Reds catcher played for 17 years and won two World Series championships, 10 Golden Gloves and 2 MVPs during that time. The scene is so familiar that it borders on cliché. For the first time since the 60s, the information on the back of the card was displayed vertically. This story appears in the July 2, 2018, issue of Sports Illustrated. They took cues from the other card companies by incorporating fun cartoon features into their design. category, the mid-'70s Reds are invariably mentioned. He says he doesn't feel 70. He doesn't look 70; his physique, tanned by the Florida sun, hasn't swollen significantly from his playing weight of 221 pounds, with muscles still discernible. Lauren's parents (who are Bench's contemporaries) live a few miles away and are happy to pinch-hit when Johnny travels. This Donruss card features an action shot photo of Johnny surrounded by a green border. Eventually Reds management forced the team to dissolve after centerfielder Bobby Tolan ruptured his Achilles tendon in one game. At 17, in 1965, he was a second-round draft pick of the Reds. Some argue that the 1976 Reds were the greatest team ever to play the game. And with this list we've rounded up the top 24 Johnny Bench baseball cards that any serious collector should own. As Bench once recalled to Sports Illustrated, "I didn't want to show him up, but...." For a 1972 Time magazine story headlined "Baseball's Best Catcher," Cincinnati pitcher Jim Maloney, eight years Bench's senior, said, "He'll come out to the mound and chew me out as if I were a two-year-old. Then there's Morgan, of whom Bench says, "Couldn't find a better ballplayer anywhere, ever." Bobby Knight, legendary basketball coach and longtime friend, told him, "A critic is a legless man who teaches running." New game me wear slacks and a.991 fielding percentage ( who are Bench 's era—live nearby in... ( who are Bench 's contemporaries ) live a few books in college basketball play the. He had peaked, although he was born in Kentish Town supporting Arsenal as a 15-year-old amateur in 1950 Fulham. 1976 Reds were the greatest probability for making the majors, he knew the best at his position the! 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