Binder Page Heroes 7 Johhny Bench Edition

hey everybody. happy monday!

Regular readers of ATBATT know that i consider johnny bench to be the greatest catcher to play the game.  while some might argue that point, bench is certainly the greatest catcher i ever had the privilege to see play.  so its a given that any johnny bench card is welcome in my collection.

what makes bench such a bad ass to me is he caught a heck of a game, blocked the plate like a man, and then could go out and beat your team with a big home run.  with bench at the plate and a good pitcher on the mound, that's all you really needed. 

we don't get a rear view of this card, as it's just a part of some larger puzzle image.  anybody out there know what the puzzle image is?  a boring card back, but i still love these sporting news cards.

how about some johnny bench stats: 14 time all-star, 10 times gold glove, 2 times MVP, rookie of the year, and later..a world series MVP. 

how about the condition of this '71 bench? pretty durn awesome IMO.

this is my favorite bench card.  i love the old time catchers gear and uni.  photo taken seconds after a play at the plate. the dust still in the air, and bench with a look that says "who else wants some?"

i love WS cards with WS heroes doing WS shite.  the '76 fall classic featured a 'show down' between 2 of the best catchers of the generation, bench and thurman munson.  here comes munson to the plate, and bench not giving an inch.  bench was MVP of the series.

...but why does his card have batting stats for the yankees on it?

i don't usually collect these kellogs issues, but i just couldn't pass this one up when i came across it.  classic card with a classic player, and a great portrait.  even the inevitable cracks on the face of the card don't distract and seem to be luckily placed just right.