No one revolutionized the way the position of catcher was played more than Johnny Bench. His deft handling of pitchers helped lead the Cincinnati Reds to back-to-back World Championships and numerous National League West titles. This stunning Hillerich & Bradsby B278 bat dates to the very height of the Big Red Machines dominance of the NL, 1973-1975. This Hillerich & Bradsby B278 model bat shows excellent use with a handle crack. The barrel shows several ball marks and abrasions and Bench’s number “5” has been hand written in red marker on both the knob and barrel ends. The Reds superstar has signed the barrel above the stamped signature in black marker. The bat comes with a LOA from PSA/DNA (1B15104) for the game use and has been graded a near-perfect GU 9, along with a LOA from Steve Grad of Beckett Authentication (A19560) for the signature.

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