Ten Items Of Trivia That Could Accompany The Johnny Bench Documentary
He Swung A Mighty Bat But Also Sang, Acted, And Manged Businesses
Number Five Had Four Marriages, Including One That Was Quite Short-Lived
The most anticipated television event for the week is not the Super Bowl, at least not for baseball fans. Three nights before that over-hyped game, which is between the team nearly everyone hates and another team which should not even be there but for a blown call by the referees, a much more pleasurable show will have aired on the MLB channel.
Simply called Bench, the documentary highlights the life of Hall of Fame catcher Johnny Bench, who spent his entire Major League career with the Cincinnati Reds. It had been reported on a Hot Stove show days before the airing that, after watching the test run of the documentary, Bench teared up throughout the film.
Most of the baseball info is already well-known, including the many on field accomplishments of J.B. Starting in 1968 by winning the National League Rookie of the Year Award, Bench would go on to be the most feared slugger in the lineup of the Big Red Machine that captured numerous pennant as well as World Series Championships in 1975 and 1976.
In between the titles and the ROY award, Bench also earned two selections (1970,1972) as the Most Valuable Player in the N.L. Also on his resume were fourteen straight All-Star game appearances, two home run crowns, and three titles for the most runs batted in.
As the movie must surely indicate, there is much more to Johnny Bench than just his prowess as a perennial Gold Glove catcher and prolific slugger. Here are some of the lesser known trivia items on J.B., both on the diamond and in popular culture.
1. He started two games in center field in the 1970, pulling in all three balls hit to him. Because Bench was such a profound hitter, the Reds early in his career used him at positions other than catcher in order to preserve his health.
2. His favorite opponent was Philadelphia, against whom he had his highest career batting average and second highest home run totals. He slugged 42 dingers against the Phillies, and he batted .305.
3. Part of the reason for his success against the Phils was because left hander Steve Carlton, who would go on to join Bench in Cooperstown, was their ace. JB hit twelve home runs off of the left hander, his highest career total against any pitcher. In addition to the long ball Bench, who was a career .260 hitter, batted .305 against Carlton.
4. During the 1972 World Series Bench suffered an embarrassment at the hands of Rollie Fingers, when the Oakland reliever signaled for an intentional but ending up fooling JB into taking strike three.
5. He appeared numerous times on television, even aside from hosting his own series. In the Eighties Bench was the star of The Baseball Bunch, a weekly series that also featured the San Diego Chicken and Tom LaSorda.
6. The Hall of Fame catcher also appeared in an episode of The Partridge Family, serving as a waiter in a restaurant near the amusement park Kings Island. After he retired Bench popped up in the Fox Network sitcom Married With Children, joining a guest list that also included Ernie Banks and Joe Namath. The hour-long drama series Mission Impossible also cast him in a classic episode in the Seventies.
7. Of course his most memorable television time came via commercials, especially those he did on behalf of Krylon paint. As the company's spokesperson, Bench always ended the ad with the slogan, "No runs, no drips, no errors."
8. Bench was also a guest on the weekly syndicated show Hee Haw, starring country music legends Roy Clark and Buck Owens. His rendition of Jim Croce's "You Don't Mess Around with Jim" has been immortalized through video clips on social media.
9. His spot on Hee Haw was not the only time the catcher dabbled in the music business, as he later recorded an album with the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra. On that record Bench narrates the classic poem Casey At the Bat, which precedes Hall Of Fame pitcher Tom Seaver's recital of Peter and the Wolf.
10. Four days after meeting Vicki Chesser, a model for Ultra-Brite toothpaste, Bench proposed to her. She became his first wife, but the couple would divorce just thirteen months after their wedding.
