There’s a great story told about Ted Williams meeting a rookie catcher who so impressed the Hall of Famer that he signed a ball to the youngster predicting that one day he too would be enshrined in Cooperstown. That kid: none other than Johnny Bench. Williams’ prediction was spot-on: not only did Bench get his own plaque in 1989 but along the way he re-invented the position of catcher and brought back-to-back World Championships to Cincinnati. This bat dates to Bench’s first years in the majors 1967 and 1968. The Hllerich & Bradsby R161 model bat is un-cracked and shows outstanding game use. There is some checking on the barrel from repeated ball contact and small slivers of wood are missing from the checking. Many ball marks with stitch impressions can be seen and model number “R161” is stamped into the knob. A spectacular rookie era bat from the man who brought the position of catcher into the modern era.

LOA from John Taube of PSA/DNA confirming its game use and order period.