(LOT 242)
1973 Topps #380 Johnny Bench PSA 10 GEM MINT – "POP 3"; FINEST OF ITS KIND!
GEM MINT BENCH!!! Presented here just happens to be one of the most significant artifacts from Johnny Bench's illustrious career, an absolutely unfathomable PSA 10 GEM MINT 1973 Topps #380 memento that shares the spotlight of the finest of its kind with a meager two other PSA examples! Most historians regard Johnny Bench as baseball's greatest all-time catcher, with the iconic backstop playing his entire 17 years in the Queen City. Bench spearheaded the Reds to two consecutive World Championships (1975 & '76) while belting 389 lifetime homers. The Cooperstown Inductee's combined offensive and defensive dominance placed him as one of baseball's finest players of the 1970s, with Bench capturing two MVP Awards in 1970 and 1972 as well as claiming the World Series MVP in 1976, when his two home runs and incredible .533 average led Cincinnati to a four-game sweep over the Yankees.

Bench was one of the main cogs of the "Big Red Machine" that boasted one of the most imposing lineups in baseball history, and aside from his superior clutch hitting, Bench will forever be noted for his unparalleled defensive prowess including a "cannon-like" throwing arm to cut down would-be base-stealers. The card's classic Bench "catching a popup" image is immaculate to say the least, with its most amazing attribute being the virtually dead-on centering that typically eludes most 1973 Topps subjects. Blizzard white borders, pinpoint corner tips, brilliant hues and impeccable surfaces are the final exclamation points for one of Bench's most significant PSA 10 keepsakes that like Bench himself, stands tall atop the prestigious PSA Pop Chart!

MIN BID $5,000
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