On this day in 1984, Johnny Bench’s uniform was retired. I was a huge Reds fan when I was little, but I always thought Johnny looked like someone who would be selling me something, like car insurance. I don’t know why, but I still think of that when I see his name in the news.

John Lee “Johnny” Bench (born December 7, 1947) is a former American Major League Baseball player for the Cincinnati Reds from 1967 to 1983. He is currently on the Board of Directors for the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame.

Bench, a 14-time All-Star selection and the National League’s Most Valuable Player in the 1970 and 1972 seasons, was a key member of the “The Big Red Machine”, the Reds teams of the 1970s which won six division titles and World Series championships in 1975 and 1976.

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