I'll Take A Johnny Bench Rookie Card Over A Blaster Any Day Of The Week!

$11.49 delivered to my doorstep, to be exact, is all it took to land me a rookie card of one of the three greatest catchers of all-time, the man who was perhaps the best all-around backstop to ever play. For half a blaster the centerpiece to my modest and new Johnny Bench PC was an easy, easy pickup via eBay.

The front of this 1968 Topps Johnny Bench/Ron Tompkins RC presents very nicely for a VG copy. The corners are worn but not destroyed; the centering is solid though not perfect; and there are a few creases through the bottom portion of the Tompkins side. Johnny, however, is clean and clear as can be, still has great color to him, and is also thankfully crease-free.

With that solid front I'd normally expect the card to fall within the $30-$40 range especially with HOF rookie cards skyrocketing in price over the last year or so even more than they had already jumped. However, I knew I had a chance at winning the auction when I looked at the back scan. So much paper loss! It's perfect for my collection and budget and there was little activity on the auction which was even better.

Bench's RC was obviously a must for the new collecting venture I've undertaken. I'm happy to knock it off the list this early and I don't mind the shot of him but visually the '68 falls far behind the cardboard goodies in the '69-'72 Topps run.