SPECIAL REQUEST: 1969 IN-ACTION JOHNNY BENCH

By special request, today on the blog we have a 1969 "In-Action" card for Hall of Fame catcher Johnny Bench, perhaps the greatest of them all:

Fun picture of the young Bench arguing a call with an umpire at the beginning of his incredible career.

Leading the Cincinnati Reds to two World Championships, four World Series appearances, while taking home two MVP Awards, and absolutely rewriting the catching game in Big League history, the man was already a legend by the time he was in his early-20's!

Of course as we all know, he would go on to put together a career rarely seen by ANY player, let alone a catcher: TWO N.L. MVP Awards, 14 all-star games, 10 Gold Gloves, two home run titles and three RBI titles, all while donning the “tools of ignorance” for 17 seasons, all with the Reds.

As a kid growing up in the 1970’s, this man was a mythic figure, a “god”, and he and the rest of his "Big Red Machine" teammates were steamrolling through the league towards two straight championships in 1975 & 1976, while appearing in two other series in 1970 and 1972.

L-E-G-E-N-D.

By the time he retired after the 1983 season, he collected 2048 hits, hit 389 homers, drove in 1376 runs, and scored 1091 runs, all mainly done during the "dead ball" decade of the 1970s.

Just the best!

 

CAREER-CAPPER: 1984 JOHNNY BENCH

Time to step out of the 1970's yet again and create another fun "Career-Capper" from the 1980s, this one of the greatest catcher of them all, Johnny Bench, 1984 style:

Leading the Cincinnati Reds to two World Championships, four World Series appearances, while taking home two MVP Awards, and absolutely rewriting the catching game in Big League history, the man was already a legend by the time he was in his early-20's!

Of course as we all know, he would go on to put together a career rarely seen by ANY player, let alone a catcher: TWO N.L. MVP Awards, 14 all-star games, 10 Gold Gloves, two home run titles and three RBI titles, all while donning the “tools of ignorance” for 17 seasons, all with the Reds.

As a kid growing up in the 1970’s, this man was a mythic figure, a “god”, and he and the rest of his "Big Red Machine" teammates were steamrolling through the league towards two straight championships in 1975 & 1976, while appearing in two other series in 1970 and 1972.

L-E-G-E-N-D.

By the time he retired after the 1983 season, he collected 2048 hits, hit 389 homers, drove in 1376 runs, and scored 1091 runs, all mainly done during the "dead ball" decade of the 1970s.

Just the best!

A SET THAT NEVER WAS: 1971 ALL-STAR TICKET SET: JOHNNY BENCH

Today on the blog I post the first of what is a "set that never was", a 1972 All-Star Ticket card for 1971 starting N.L. catcher Johnny Bench, which was going to be released some years back before I opted for the standard sized 1972 All-Star set that quickly sold-out:

This was a bookmark-sized set that would have had all nine starters for each league, as well as managers.

The background design is based off the actual ticket design for the historic All-Star game, along with a deckle-edge element that Topps was using at that time.

After designing everything, including the packaging for the set, I then decided to go with the other set simply because I wanted to add those cards into my 1972 set binder. Ha!

Still only 24 years old when this card would have come out, Bench was a Rookie of the Year in 1968, a two-time All-Star and Gold Glove winner by the end of 1969, and would go on to take home the first of his two MVP Awards at the end of the 1970 season.

All-time best at his position? I'd be hard-pressed to argue this.

Of course as we all know, he would go on to put together a career rarely seen by ANY player, let alone a catcher: TWO N.L. MVP Awards, 14 all-star games, 10 Gold Gloves, two home run titles and three RBI titles, all while donning the “tools of ignorance” for 17 seasons, all with the Reds.
As a kid growing up in the 1970’s, this man was a mythic figure, a “god”.

WTHBALLS GUM PACK CUSTOM SET: JOHNNY BENCH

Today on the blog we have my custom mini card for all-time great Johnny Bench, from my "Gum Pack" set released a short while ago in fun packaging resembling a pack of gum:

Leading the Cincinnati Reds to two World Championships, four World Series appearances, while taking home two MVP Awards, and absolutely rewriting the catching game in Big League history, the man was already a legend by the time he was in his early-20's!

Of course as we all know, he would go on to put together a career rarely seen by ANY player, let alone a catcher: TWO N.L. MVP Awards, 14 all-star games, 10 Gold Gloves, two home run titles and three RBI titles, all while donning the “tools of ignorance” for 17 seasons, all with the Reds.

As a kid growing up in the 1970’s, this man was a mythic figure, a “god”, and he and the rest of his "Big Red Machine" teammates were steamrolling through the league towards two straight championships in 1975 & 1976, while appearing in two other series in 1970 and 1972.

L-E-G-E-N-D.

SPECIAL 1969 "TEAM" CEREAL EXTENSION SET: JOHNNY BENCH

Next up in my "missing" 1969 Nabisco Team Flakes set, the great (if not greatest) Johnny Bench, who was just starting out on his mission to become perhaps the greatest catcher the game has ever seen:

All the man would do in his first full season at the age of 20 in 1968 was catch a staggering 154 games, hitting .275 with 15 homers and 82 RBIs, with 67 runs scored and 40 doubles, easily taking home the Rookie of the Year Award.

Of course as we all know, he would go on to put together a career rarely seen by ANY player, let alone a catcher: TWO N.L. MVP Awards, 14 all-star games, 10 Gold Gloves, two home run titles and three RBI titles, all while donning the “tools of ignorance” for 17 seasons, all with the Reds.
As a kid growing up in the 1970’s, this man was a mythic figure, a “god”, and he and the rest of his "Big Red Machine" teammates were steamrolling through the league towards two straight championships in 1975 & 1976, while appearing in two other series in 1970 and 1972.

It still amazes me that they didn't win any other titles during the 1970's, especially after adding Tom Seaver in 1977.

Go figure...

1977 N.L. CENTENNIAL: JOHNNY BENCH

On the blog today, we add the great Johnny Bench to my on-going 1977 N.L. Centennial sub-set, celebrating the league's 100th anniversary of 1976 designated with a patch you can see in all the photos used in these cards:

Bench already had two MVP’s under his belt by the time this card would have hit the market, and was also a two-time world champion with two straight World Series wins in 1975 and 1976 against the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees respectively.
He would put together a career rarely seen by ANY player, let alone a catcher: 14 all-star games, 10 Gold Gloves, two home run titles and three RBI titles, all while donning the “tools of ignorance” for 17 seasons, all with the Reds.

Arguably, he rewrote the catching position from both sides of the plate, with his incredible offense as well as his defense.

Legend!

1970'S ALL-DECADE TEAM: N.L. CATCHER JOHNNY BENCH

Today on the blog we begin a FUN new thread, my personal picks for the 1970's "All-Decade Team", which I'm sure will cause some arguments back and forth as I have selected some surprises when it was all said and done!

I definitely plan on releasing this as a custom set this year, as the cards came out brilliant, using the 1980 Topps template as the design.

We begin with my pick for the decade's best N.L. catcher, this is a simple decision, Cincinnati Reds legend Johnny Bench, perhaps the greatest catcher of them all:

Not really much going into this pick, as anyone trying to argue for someone else as the decade's best N.L. catcher has quite the task in front of them, with Bench dominating the Majors over the 1970's.

Leading the Cincinnati Reds to two World Championships, four World Series appearances, two MVP Awards, and absolutely rewriting the catching game in Big League history, the man was already a legend by the time he was in his early-20's!

Of course as we all know, he would go on to put together a career rarely seen by ANY player, let alone a catcher: TWO N.L. MVP Awards, 14 all-star games, 10 Gold Gloves, two home run titles and three RBI titles, all while donning the “tools of ignorance” for 17 seasons, all with the Reds.

L-E-G-E-N-D.

Next week, my pick for the A.L.'s top catcher for the 1970's...

 

1960'S DEDICATED ROOKIES: 1968 JOHNNY BENCH

On the blog today, we have my 1968 "dedicated rookie" for all-time legend Johnny Bench, who made an immediate splash in the Majors and became the game's greatest catcher:

All the man would do in his first full season at the age of 20 was catch a staggering 154 games, hitting .275 with 15 homers and 82 RBIs, with 67 runs scored and 40 doubles, easily taking home the Rookie of the Year Award.

Of course as we all know, he would go on to put together a career rarely seen by ANY player, let alone a catcher: TWO N.L. MVP Awards, 14 all-star games, 10 Gold Gloves, two home run titles and three RBI titles, all while donning the “tools of ignorance” for 17 seasons, all with the Reds.
As a kid growing up in the 1970’s, this man was a mythic figure, a “god”, and he and the rest of his "Big Red Machine" teammates were steamrolling through the league towards two straight championships in 1975 & 1976, while appearing in two other series in 1970 and 1972.

It still amazes me that they didn't win any other titles during the 1970's, especially after adding Tom Seaver in 1977.

Go figure...

CAN'T HELP MYSELF! ANOTHER 1973 JOHNNY BENCH REDO

Just couldn't help myself!

I know I've created a redone 1973 Johnny Bench card a while back, and even printed it up as part of my old Series 2 pack, but coming across this image made me desperately want to use this for another 1973 edition:

 

Just a beautiful up close and personal in-action shot of the great catcher in his prime with the "Big Red Machine" Cincinnati Reds.

I don’t know about you, but the 1973 Johnny Bench card has always irked me.

I hated the image they used for the reigning National League MVP and uber-star.

Of course, at the time this card would have been pulled from a pack we had Johnny Bench pretty much taking over the baseball world with his second MVP Award in three years, and STILL only 24 years of age, when he slammed a league-leading 40 home runs with 125 runs batted in while taking the Cincinnati Reds back to the World Series.
It was the beginning of the monster we’d get to know as the aforementioned “Big Red Machine”, with other future Hall of Fame members like Tony Perez and Joe Morgan, along with Pete Rose. But it was Bench that was the on-field general leading the way for one of the all-time great runs by an organization.
He wasn’t all offense mind you, as evidenced by his fifth straight Gold Glove. His fifth, and again I have to mention he was only 24!
Incredible talent.
Genuinely a once in a lifetime player.

EXPANDED LEAGUE LEADERS- 1975 N.L. RUNS BATTED IN

Moving on to the National League and their top three Runs Batted In kings of 1974 celebrated on my 1975 "Expanded League Leaders" thread today:

 

We begin with the top RBI man of the National League for 1974, Cincinnati Reds legend Johnny Bench, who topped the league in that category for the third time in five years, with his 129.

He had yet another wonderful season for the Reds, scoring a career-best 108 runs, while hitting 33 homers and leading the league with 315 total bases, all good enough for a fourth place finish in the MVP race by season's end.

Behind him with 116 RBIs in 1974, the new elite slugger on the scene, Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Mike Schmidt, who made his presence known with his first home run title to go along with a league-leading .546 slugging percentage, getting named to his first All-Star team while finishing sixth in the MVP race.

Of course, we all know now that the man would go on to top 100+ RBIs eight more times before he was done, along with eight home run titles, and most importantly three MVP Awards.

Let's not forget, the man also had some wheels in the beginning of his career, swiping 23 bases that season, followed by 29 in 1975.

In third place with 111 RBIs in 1974, the league's MVP, who had himself a fantastic first full season in the Big Leagues, Los Angeles Dodger first baseman Steve Garvey.

Garvey had quite a year, helping the Dodgers reach the World Series, collecting 200 hits, scoring 95 runs, with 32 doubles, 21 homers and a .312 batting average while making his first All-Star team and picking up the first of his eventual four Gold Gloves.

Not too shabby a trip right here!

EXPANDED LEAGUE LEADERS- 1975 N.L. HOME RUNS

On the blog today, we return to my on-going "expanded league leaders" thread, going through the 1970's and expanding on the years that Topps only had the top performer of each league for a particular category on a league-leader card.

Today we move on to the 1975 N.L. League Leaders for Home Runs, featuring three thumpers who'd make any line-up a threat:

 

We begin with Hall of Fame third baseman Mike Schmidt, who took home the first of what would eventually be eight Home Run titles over his stellar career, pacing the league with 36 "jacks" in 1974.

He would lead the league the next two seasons as well, then go on to do the same in 1980 and 1981, 1983 and 1984, and finally 1986 when he would also take home his third MVP Award.

The man was a machine, topping 30+ homers 13 times and driving in 100+ runs nine times before he was through, while also performing on the defensive end of the game with his ten Gold Glove Awards.

In second place with 33 home runs in 1974 is another future Hall of Famer, Cincinnati Reds all-timer Johnny Bench.

Bench had himself another wonderful season in 1974, hitting the aforementioned homers while leading the league with his 129 RBIs, the third time he led in that department.

He also scored a career-best 108 runs that year, while leading the league with 315 total bases, all numbers that would get hima fourth place finish for the MVP Award at season's end.

He wasn't done yet, as he'd play another nine seasons, through the 1983 campaign, finishing up with two MVP Awards, 14 All-Star nods and 10 Gold Glove Awards. Elite to say the least!

In third place with 32 home runs, the "Toy Cannon", Jimmy Wynn of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who helped the team return to the World Series in 1974.

Wynn had an excellent year in 1974, driving in 108 runs, which were a career-best, while also scoring 104 runs, stealing 18 bases, and drawing 108 walks to give him a very nice .408 on-base-percentage.

All of that got him a fifth-place finish for the MVP Award, which was taken home by teammate Steve Garvey.

Well there you go, the top-three home run hitters in the National League in 1974, shown in all their glory on an expanded 1975 league-leader card.

Next up, the American League's best three sluggers for 1974. See you then!

IN-GAME ACTION: JOHNNY BENCH

This week's 1970 "In-Game Action" card is none other than the great Johnny Bench, who was just beginning to build on what would become considered the greatest Major League catching career the game has ever scene:

 

Still only 22 years old, Bench was a Rookie of the Year in 1968, a two-time All-Star and Gold Glove winner by the end of 1969, and would go on to take home the first of his two MVP Awards at the end of the 1970 season.

All-time best at his position? I'd be hard-pressed to argue this.

Of course as we all know, he would go on to put together a career rarely seen by ANY player, let alone a catcher: TWO N.L. MVP Awards, 14 all-star games, 10 Gold Gloves, two home run titles and three RBI titles, all while donning the “tools of ignorance” for 17 seasons, all with the Reds.
As a kid growing up in the 1970’s, this man was a mythic figure, a “god”.

EXPANDED LEAGUE LEADERS- 1974 N.L. RUNS BATTED IN

On the blog today, we move ahead in my long-running "expanded league leaders" thread where we celebrate the top 3 men in a particular statistic in years where Topps just had the first place finisher of both leagues on one card.

Today we look at the top 3 N.L. RBI men of 1973 on this 1974 card:

 

 

Starting off, we have the great Willie Stargell, who paced the National League with his 119 run batted in during the 1973 season, the only time he led the league in RBIs over his career.

He also led the league with 43 doubles and 44 homers, as well as slugging percentage, good for a second place finish in the MVP race and a sixth All-Star nod.

In second place with 105 RBIs was the "Big Bopper", Lee May of the Houston Astros, who had what was a typical year for himself with 28 home runs and a .270 batting average in his second season in Houston after coming over from the Cincinnati Reds in the blockbuster Joe Morgan deal.

May was really a forgotten stud from the era, and it is a shame considering his consistency with 20+ homers and 90+ RBIs over a decade.

Tied at third place with 104 RBIs are Johnny Bench and Darrell Evans, who both had great years in 1973.

For Bench, it was "business as usual", as he'd reach 100 RBIs for the third time in four seasons, and something he would do six times in his career.

The man was in his prime and would go on to be considered the greatest catcher the game has ever seen, and justifiably so.

For Evans, 1973 was a breakout year for him, hitting 41 homers and reaching the 100 RBI mark for what turned out to be the only time in his career.

Though he'd never reach 100 RBIs again, he would certainly put in a Hall of Fame worthy career, finishing up with 414 home runs, 2223 hits, 1354 RBIs and 1344 runs scored, as well as a .361 OBP in 21 seasons.

There you have it! The top 3 RBI men in the National League for 1973 on a 1974 "expanded league leader card".

Onto the American League!

1972 ALL-STAR SUB-SET: JOHNNY BENCH

Today we start a fun new thread, celebrating one of the greatest All-Star games, the 1971 Midsummer Classic, with a special 1972 All-Star subset, beginning with the National League catcher, Johnny Bench of course:

 

It's a shame Topps didn't include All-Star cards in their classic 1972 set, whether it be on-base All-Star banner or a separate sub-set (I prefer on-base-card), being that the 1971 All-Star game is still arguably the greatest ever played.

With the combination of aging all-time greats like Mays, Aaron, Clemente and up-and-comers like Bench, Jackson, Blue, combined with the era of American society transitioning to a more "modern" era, it was incredibly significant in more ways than just "sports".

So we begin with Bench, who by then was already entrenched as the premier catcher in baseball, and an All-Star constant through the rest of the decade.

I'll be creating and posting the starters of that game over the next few months, starting with the National League, before perhaps creating cards for the non-starters, who happen to be some big-time names.

I also plan on having this as a special printed set in the future, some time in 2022!

Enjoy!

ON-CARD ALL-STAR: 1974 JOHNNY BENCH

Next up in my on-going "On Card All-Star" thread where I slap a big beautiful All-Star banner on a player's base card instead of the dreaded separate All-Star card Topps created in none other than the greatest backstop there ever was, Johnny Bench of the Cincinnati Reds:

 

Bench was coming off his sixth straight All-Star nod in six full seasons in the Big Leagues, as well as taking home his sixth straight Gold Glove.

Bench already had two MVP’s under his belt by the time this card would have hit the market, and was just about to become a two-time world champion with two straight World Series wins in 1975 and 1976 against the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees respectively.
He would put together a career rarely seen by ANY player, let alone a catcher: 14 all-star games, 10 Gold Gloves, two home run titles and three RBI titles, all while donning the “tools of ignorance” for 17 seasons, all with the Reds.

1978 SPECIAL SUB-SET- "1977 30 HOME RUN CLUB" JOHNNY BENCH

On the blog today, let's go ahead and add the great Johnny Bench to my on-going 1978 sub-set celebrating the sluggers of 1977, "30 Home Run Club":

 

Bench was part of the gang with his 31 homers, the last time he'd reach that mark in his illustrious career.

Along with those 31 home runs he drove in 109 runs while hitting .275, making his tenth All-Star team and taking home his tenth straight Gold Glove.

All-time best at his position? I'd be hard-pressed to argue this.

Of course as we all know, he would go on to put together a career rarely seen by ANY player, let alone a catcher: TWO N.L. MVP Awards, 14 all-star games, 10 Gold Gloves, two home run titles and three RBI titles, all while donning the “tools of ignorance” for 17 seasons, all with the Reds.
As a kid growing up in the 1970’s, this man was a mythic figure, a “god”.

EXPANDED YEARLY LEADER CARDS: 1973 N.L. RUNS BATTED IN

On the blog today, a nifty expanded 1973 league leader card for the National League's top RBI men of 1972, three future Hall of Famers with some serious fire-power:

 

Leading the league in 1972 was none other than Johnny Bench, with 125 runs batted in, and giving him his second RBI title in three years after his monster 1970 campaign that saw him drive in 148 at the age of only 22!

Just behind Bench in RBIs for the 1972 season was Chicago Cubs great Billy Williams, who drove in 122 runs while also taking home the N.L. batting title with his .333 batting average.

Sadly for him, his TWO best Major League seasons happen to come when Bench had HIS two best seasons, so there you have Billy Williams coming in second place for MVP, both times behind Bench. That is some tough luck!

Coming in third place in the RBI race for 1972, "Pops" Willie Stargell, who drove in 112 runs for the Pittsburgh Pirates, his fourth time reaching the 100-RBI mark, and funny enough, helping him finish third in the N.L. MVP voting by season's end.

So here you have the top 3 RBI guys in the National League, and they all finished first through third in MVP voting as well, in the same order!

Fun stuff!

Next up, we move on to the American League and their top three RBI men for 1972!

EXPANDED YEARLY LEADER CARDS: 1973 N.L. HOME RUNS

The next league leaders we tackle in my new "expanded league leader" card series is National League home run leaders for 1972:

 

We begin with the great Johnny Bench, who took home his second home run title in three years with his 40 jacks, leading to his second N.L. MVP Award.

He also drove in a league-leading 125 runs while helping the Cincinnati reds make their second trip to the World Series in three years. Not too shabby!

Coming in second place in the home run race was San Diego Padres slugger Nate Colbert, who hit 38 taters for the young Padre franchise, while also driving home 111 runs, getting him some MVP attention to the tune of an eighth place finish by season's end.

In third place, in what was easily an MVP year any other year a guy named Johnny Bench didn't win the award, was Chicago Cubs great Billy Williams, who hit 37 homers while leading the league in hitting at a .333 clip.

Once again the man took a second place finish in the league MVP race, as he did in 1970, to Johnny Bench, and I'm sure it was enough to make anyone crazy!

Nevertheless, Williams got the ultimate reward years later when he joined Bench in the Hall of Fame, so it all works out to a point!

There you have it, the top three home run hitters of 1972 on an expanded 1973 league leader card!

Next up, the American League's top-3 homer guys...

JUST FOR THE FUN OF IT: ON CARD ALL-STARS- 1970 JOHNNY BENCH

OK. Now today I start what I hope grows on me, a full set of 1970 cards with on-card All-Star designations, like my favorite cards between 1975 and 1981.We will begin this new thread with all-time great Johnny Bench, who of course was the National League starting catcher for the 1969 game:

 

Now, to begin with, if you recall Topps ended up producing All-Star cards in the 1970 that were actually the "Sporting News" All-Stars, not necessarily the starters from the game, so there will be some cool players getting their rightful All-Star call-out after all these years.

Now for the design: I weighed everything Topps did for this set and figured they wouldn't have done much to call-our an All-Star with this design, so I played it safe with a banner running across the bottom somewhat like the 1977 set.

Not a design that reaches out and grabs you by the throat, but just a little something extra to draw your eyes to an All-Star player.

Now as for Mr. Bench, the young rising star was already entrenched as the catcher of the era, making his second straight All-Star team in just his second season.

All he would go on to do in his career is win the National League Rookie of the Year as a 20-year old in 1968, win TWO Most Valuable Player Awards by the age of 24, and win a couple of championships by the age of 28.

Oh yeah, he'd also end up being what most consider the greatest catcher the game has ever seen!
Just an incredible career that took him straight to the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 1989, as if there was any chance of that NOT happening!
All-time legend of the game.

 

 

MINOR LEAGUE DAYS- JOHNNY BENCH

Ending yet another week here on the blog, today we add the great Johnny Bench to my “Minor League Days” thread, celebrating perhaps the greatest catcher the game has ever seen:

Bench was 19-years-old here, suited up for the Buffalo Bisons in 1967, his last Minor League stop before beginning his eventual Hall of Fame career towards the end of the season.
In 98 games for Buffalo, he hit .259 with 23 homers and 68 runs batted in over 344 at-bats before getting the call and making his debut with the Reds, appearing in 26 games as a teenager before the year was up.
Of course as we all know, he would go on to put together a career rarely seen by ANY player, let alone a catcher: TWO N.L. MVP Awards, 14 all-star games, 10 Gold Gloves, two home run titles and three RBI titles, all while donning the “tools of ignorance” for 17 seasons, all with the Reds.
As a kid growing up in the 1970’s, this man was a mythic figure, a “god”.