1968 Topps Johnny Bench Rookie Card

[sixpointone]

Hi All,

I am new to this forum, and although it has been years, I’m not new to the world of sports cards. Mind you, I’ve been away from them for about 25 years.

I own many cards, from Larry Bird’s rookie, to Michael Jordan’s, but there is no player I am a bigger fan of than Johnny Bench, and no card I own that means more to me than his rookie card. I bought it as a kid, making payments on it, until I was able to take it home. My guess is it is a 8 or 9 condition wise, with a slight centering issue as the border is thicker on the Ron Tompkins side, and the lower left corner might have the slightest hint of being fuzzy. That said, I might send it into PSA to have them officially grade it.

That all said, my dream, which might not be realistic is to one day own a Bench rookie, with correct spelling on the back (as mine has) with a PSA grade of 10. Since there are not many of them, and they are priced at a premium, time will tell if I am able to purchase one. If anyone has any tips on when one might come up for sale feel free to let me know.

If not, I am proud to say that I am indeed the proud owner of a Bench rookie card, and in the end, to me, that is what means the most.

Best always,
John

[rats60]

The 1970 Bench was always my favorite card of his. It was much tougher to find than his rookie and from his first MVP season.

[ALR-bishop]

I assume the OP is referring to the fact the Bench card can be found with a recurring print defect on the back where part of the h in the word "the" in the first line of his bio is missing. Here are my two versions of the card



This is my weirdest Bench....and the weirdest Maury Wills too. Maury looked like Bump :-)

[sixpointone]

Originally Posted by ALR-bishop

I assume the OP is referring to the fact the Bench card can be found with a recurring print defect on the back where part of the h in the word "the" in the first line of his bio is missing. Here are my two versions of the card



This is my weirdest Bench....and the weirdest Maury Wills too. Maury looked like Bump :-)

Hi ALR-bishop,

That is indeed the error I am referring too. I love that Bench you posted there. It makes me want to dig out my collection, and look through everything Johnny that I have. It is pretty comprehensive, up until I stopped collecting in roughly 1990.

Best,
John

[Rookiemonster]

I've never heard of the Bench error. Not that I know of all errors .
So I searched eBay and it seemed that most did not have the error .
And I don't think it would matter in grading .

[71buc]

wrong section sorry

[sixpointone]

Originally Posted by rats60

The 1970 Bench was always my favorite card of his. It was much tougher to find than his rookie and from his first MVP season.

I love that card too. I have one of them, but it is not in as good a shape as my 1968 Bench. Two reasons I really dig the 70 card are he has on a red Reds cap, and secondly his catcher's mitt is in the picture too. It is for sure a classic.

[BBB]

I'd say 7 or 8 for sure. I wouldn't even comment if it were mint because I often can't really tell the difference between a 9 and a 10 . Sometimes it looks like a coin flip to call it on the graders side .


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Zach Wheat]

Originally Posted by sixpointone

Hi All,

I am new to this forum, and ......

.........my dream, which might not be realistic is to one day own a Bench rookie, with correct spelling on the back (as mine has) with a PSA grade of 10. Since there are not many of them, and they are priced at a premium, time will tell if I am able to purchase one. If anyone has any tips on when one might come up for sale feel free to let me know.

Best always,
John

John,

Auctionzip.com and Invaluable.com have auction alert sections...where you enter data on what you are searching for and it will notify you when an auction they cover pops up with the key words in question.

Best of luck reaching your dreams.

Z