Winter Auction 2016 Closing January 30th
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 1/31/2016
No catcher revolutionized the way the position is played more than Johnny Bench. From his first full year in 1968 and throughout the 1970's Bench became the very model of a modern backstop. Bench won the Golden Glove Award every year for the first 10 years of his career and ESPN voted him the greatest catcher in the history of the game. This superb Adirondack 220A model bat was used by the Reds great drink his first three seasons in the majors. The bat's handle has been cracked and it shows heavy game use with many ball marks and stitch impressions in evidence on the barrel. There are cleat marks visible and the barrel carries a little bit of Crosley Field on it in the form of red bat rack paint streaks. The handle carries a heavy coat of pine tar and the model number "220A" is stamped into the knob end. Interestingly, the "A" has been stamped on top of a "B." This was a factory mistake - "B." indicated a 34 1/2" bat and an "A" indicated a "35" bat. The mistake was likely caught at the factory and over-stamped with the correct markings before it was shipped to Bench. A very attractive gamer dating from Johnny Bench's first seasons during which he established himself as the game's greatest catcher. Letter of Authenticity from PSA/DNA (H53079) who have graded this bat a GU 9.