no runs, no drips, no errors with this post - it's johnny bench, and he is in my hall of famer collection with this card as his entry:
johnny bench is arguably the greatest catcher the major leagues has ever seen. he was the 1968 rookie of the year, a two-time national league mvp, a two-time world series champion, a world series mvp, a 14-time all-star, and a 10-time gold glove award winner. he retired as the all-time leader for catchers in home runs, total bases, rbi, and walks, among other categories.
johnny bench was also my brother's favorite player for the couple of years that he followed baseball in the late 1970's. as a result, we attended a couple of reds/dodger games at dodger stadium while bench was active. the first time i saw him play in person was on september 16, 1979. he went 2 for 4 with a run scored while catching a 3-hit shutout from battery mate tom seaver. the following season, we were back for more as bench and the reds took on the dodgers on august 16. in that game, bench hit a solo home run off of don sutton which made my brother happy. he also scored the winning run in the top of the 9th courtesy of a blown save by steve howe. i still have the programs from both of those games.
bench was one of the first players that demonstrated to me the decline of the aging catcher. he moved out from behind the plate for the 1981 season and failed to make the all-star team for the first time in his career. that was mind boggling to me. he played for a couple more seasons, and i anxiously awaited his 1984 cards with all of his career stats on the back. thankfully, fleer came through when donruss and topps did not. five years later, bench's greatness helped me realize that some baseball writers are idiots when it comes to hall of fame voting as he only received 96.4% of the vote in his first year of eligibility.
the lead-in to this post is a reference to the krylon paint commercials that bench used to do. these days he's back on tv for blue-emu, america's number one emu oil cream. former pitcher gene garber raises emu for their oil, but bench got the commercials. it pays to be an all-time great.
here's my hall of famer collection as its been documented so far:
babe ruth - 2003 topps tribute world series edition world series tribute relic 351/425
honus wagner - 2001 topps tribute relic
nap lajoie - 2002 topps tribute milestone materials relic
tris speaker - 2011 topps tribute dual relic green parallel 53/75
eddie collins - 2002 topps tribute milestone materials relic
george sisler - 2004 topps tribute hall of fame tribute relic
dizzy dean - 2001 topps tribute relic
hank greenberg - 2004 topps tribute hall of fame tribute relic
bob feller - 2001 topps archives certified autograph
jackie robinson - 2004 topps clubhouse collection clubhouse relic
ted williams - 1992 upper deck baseball heroes autograph 1067/2000
stan musial - 2002 topps team topps legends autograph
sandy koufax - 1998 donruss signatures significant signatures 1707/2000
roberto clemente - 2005 donruss greats hall of fame souvenirs relic
mickey mantle - 2000 upper deck legends legendary game jerseys relic
willie mays - 1997 topps willie mays reprints certified autograph
al kaline - 2001 fleer greats of the game autograph
duke snider - 2003 upper deck sp authentic chirography hall of famers 144/250
bob gibson - 2001 fleer greats of the game autograph
hank aaron - 2004 topps originals 1979 topps all-time record holders rbi 03/32
frank robinson - 1995 upper deck autograph
don drysdale - 1993 nabisco all-star autographs
harmon killebrew - 2000 upper deck legends legendary signatures
pee wee reese - 2001 topps tribute relic
lou brock - 2018 topps archives signature series 1989 buyback 53/61
jim hunter - 1998 donruss signature series significant signatures 0736/2000
jim hunter - 1998 donruss signature series significant signatures 0736/2000
willie stargell - 2000 upper deck legends legendary signatures
johnny bench - 2019 topps definitive collection legendary autograph 09/25
red schoendienst - 2012 panini cooperstown signatures 038/549
red schoendienst - 2012 panini cooperstown signatures 038/549
jim palmer - 2001 fleer greats of the game autograph
rod carew - 2004 topps retired signature autograph
fergie jenkins - 2013 topps five star baseball autograph 154/333
gaylord perry - 2003 topps finest finest moments autograph
fergie jenkins - 2013 topps five star baseball autograph 154/333
gaylord perry - 2003 topps finest finest moments autograph
rollie fingers - 2018 topps archives signature series 1978 topps buyback 1/3
hal newhouser - 1993 front row premium all-time greats autograph
reggie jackson - 2018 topps tier one tier one talent autograph 19/60
steve carlton - 2018 topps five star career year autograph 43/45
mike schmidt - 2002 topps archives autoproof 1980 topps buyback 048/147
phil niekro - 2017 panini donruss recollection collection 1983 donruss buyback autograph 13/33
don sutton - 2001 fleer greats of the game autograph
robin yount - 2001 upper deck ultimate collection ultimate signatures 112/150
carlton fisk - 1999 upper deck century legends epic signatures
carlton fisk - 1999 upper deck century legends epic signatures
dave winfield - 2003 upper deck sp authentic chirography hall of famers 121/350
ozzie smith - 2019 topps finest finest origins autograph
gary carter - 1999 fleer sports illustrated greats of the game autograph collection
eddie murray - 2004 upper deck sp legendary cuts legendary sigs 45/50
dennis eckersley - 2017 topps archives signature series 1984 topps buyback 47/99
paul molitor - 2016 topps museum collection archival autographs 021/125
wade boggs - 2005 upper deck baseball heroes autograph red parallel 30/49
ryne sandberg - 2016 topps five star autographs gold parallel 17/50
bruce sutter - 2003 topps all-time fan favorites certified autograph
ryne sandberg - 2016 topps five star autographs gold parallel 17/50
tony gwynn - 1997 donruss signature series millennium marks autograph 0702/1000
cal ripken jr - 2018 topps high tek portraitek autograph 32/75
jim rice - 2005 upper deck past time pennants past time signatures
cal ripken jr - 2018 topps high tek portraitek autograph 32/75
jim rice - 2005 upper deck past time pennants past time signatures
andre dawson - 2000 fleer greats of the game autograph
bert blyleven - 2004 upper deck legends timeless teams autograph
ron santo - 2004 topps retired signature autograph
greg maddux - 2018 topps luminaries masters of the mound autograph 13/15
pedro martinez - 2018 topps high tek portraitek autograph 09/60
ken griffey jr - 2003 upper deck game face autograph
bert blyleven - 2004 upper deck legends timeless teams autograph
greg maddux - 2018 topps luminaries masters of the mound autograph 13/15
pedro martinez - 2018 topps high tek portraitek autograph 09/60
ken griffey jr - 2003 upper deck game face autograph
mike piazza - 2014 topps five star autograph 35/50
tim raines - 2018 topps tribute tribute autograph green parallel 26/95
alan trammell - 2001 fleer greats of the game autograph
roy halladay - 2017 topps archives signature series 2004 topps buyback 15/23
barry bonds* - 2001 bowman heritage autographs
roger clemens* - 1995 upper deck autograph
you can find the full list of hall of famers (and some not - yet) that i aim to include in this collection at my want list site.
Beautiful card. Love how the blue ink pops off of the white background.
ReplyDeleteIt still boggles my mind that Bench only got 96.4%. Some of the stances the writers have taken in the past like "He's not a 1st ballot HOFer" and "No one deserves 100%" are just insane to me. You're right... some baseball writers are idiots.
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