IL1 Columbus Clippers

Johnny Bench at The Coop

Published on May 1, 2005 under International League (IL1)
Columbus Clippers News Release


We are in for a treat! Hall of Fame catcher Johnny Bench is visiting The Coop, Tuesday. He is not throwing out the first pitch but appropriately will catch the first pitch of the game.

Driving to work, it donned on me that people 30 years old and younger have no first hand memory of the man, many call, the greatest catcher of all time. There are few athletes in any sport that stood head and shoulders above his contemporaries; athletes who changed their games forever. Johnny was one of these players. He set the Benchmark.

What has been lost in most of the contemporary baseball histories is that after his fabulous MVP season of 1972, John was diagnosed with a spot on his lung. That winter, Bench had major surgery. The muscles in his chest were sliced, his ribs split open and part of his lung was removed.

Amazingly, Bench did not miss a game. The Big Red Machine kept rolling on. Bench later said that he was never the same player after the surgery, as he had been before the operation. Yet, he was still the best in baseball.

It makes you wonder what kind of records Bench would have set if he hadn't had to gone under the knife? Every generation profits from medical marvels not available to their parents.

In 1931, the Columbus Red Birds had a young rawboned teenage catcher named Bill DeLancey. By 1933, DeLancey had led the Red Birds to the Little World Series championship and the following year, guided the famous St. Louis Cardinal's Gas House Gang to victory in the World Series over the Detroit Tigers.

DeLancey and Bench's career was eerily similar as their stats were after roughly 600 major league at bats:

Name AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BA

DeLancey 580 79 169 32 10 19 83 1 .291Bench 650 74 169 43 3 16 88 1 .260

Both led their teams to National League pennants. Both were fan favorites. Both had spots found on their lungs. Bench had his surgery and continued on his legendary career. DeLancey died a young man of tuberculosis. The difference between Johnny's Hall of Fame career and Bill's all too short career was the medical knowledge of their times.

Don't miss Johnny Bench at The Coop, Tuesday. And bring a young fan and fill them with your memories of the greatest catcher of all times.

Check out the Columbus Clippers Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



International League Stories from May 1, 2005


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central