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JOHNNY BENCH
1989 Baseball Hall of Fame Inductee
Johnny Bench was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on December 7, 1947. The third of four children of Ted and Katy Bench, he was All-State in basketball and baseball at Binger High School and the Valedictorian of his graduating class. Johnny’s childhood dream was to become a major league baseball player and his father counseled that the position of catcher was the most direct route to that goal. Taking that advice, he was selected in the 1965 amateur draft by the Cincinnati Reds and signed with them. After two seasons in the minors, Bench made Cincinnati’s Major League roster for the 1968 season. This marked the beginning of one of the most successful careers in baseball history and to Johnny’s ascension as a celebrity.
Today Johnny enjoys a well-rounded, stellar career. By making the transition from athletic superstar to successful broadcaster, he has proven himself a winner in two of the most popular areas in American culture: baseball and the media. Elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in January 1989 with the fourth highest percentage of total votes cast, Bench is undoubtedly the greatest catcher ever. His honors include National League Rookie of the Year (1968), National League Most Valuable Player (1970 & 1972), World Series MVP (1976), 14-time All-Star, with 10 consecutive Gold Gloves. In 1980 Bench set an endurance record by catching 100 or more games for 13 consecutive seasons.
He maintains a sense of balance by using his celebrity status to aid worthy causes, such as the Heart Association, the American Cancer Society (as National Chairman of “Athletes vs. Cancer”), the Kidney Foundation, Franciscan Sisters of the Poor Health System and Muscular Dystrophy. He also supports the Cincinnati Symphony, the Museum of Science and Industry, and his own Johnny Bench Scholarship Fund, which grants financial aid to Greater Cincinnati-area college students.
Bench has enjoyed maximum national visibility through his thousands of hours of entertainment experiences and personal appearance of the Bob Hope Christmas Shows in the Far East has sung with the Cincinnati Pops, authored books including Baseball For Idiots, and hosted a wide range of television programs, from his Emmy Award-winning instructional show The Baseball Bunch, a 1984 PBS special Billy Sunday, and various baseball oriented programs. The year 2000 marks Johnny’s 27th anniversary as spokesperson for Fifth Third Bank based in Cincinnati. He has appeared in hundreds of advertising campaigns promoting the banks’ products and services as well as teaming up to support a variety of community events.
Johnny spent nine years with CBS Radio broadcasting the National Game of the Week, the All-Star Game, the League Championship Series and the World Series. He has worked Reds baseball on television and continues into his year as a co-host of a daily in-season radio show focusing on baseball and now is a special consultant to the General Manager of the Cincinnati Reds. Johnny’s passion for golf has grown and spread into business opportunities from hosting Mastering Golf and Golf in Paradise, two cable shows featuring guests and golf tips. Johnny played in three Senior Professional Golf events in 1998 and on the Celebrity Golf Tour (CPT). CPT has between twelve and fifteen events in 1999 and will keep him on the move.
Using a blend of sincerity, credibility and wit, Johnny Bench can move easily from the world of sports and entertainment to civic involvement, from culture to business. He is a symbol of winning through hard work as outlined in his presentation featuring The Vowels of Success which highlights easy to remember motivational tips.
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