Vintage Baseball Glove Forum

Hi All,

I am doing some Research on Johnny Bench Catcher's Mitts as he is my Favorite Player and per my Thread in the Wanted Section I am considering Buying a Mitt as I it would be a nice Display Item.

That said, I've started a seperate Thread here simply to gain insight as to what Johnny might have worn on Field as a Catcher during his Career.

The Mitt I am leaning towards is a Rawlings DE1 Conventional (Open Back) Mitt. But I am unsure if that was what he actually used.

The other three Johnny Bench Models I believe exist are 1) Rawlings RL1 Fastback (Closed Back), 2) Rawlings K3 and 3) Rawlings Target Mitt (with Orange on it).

My main question is does anyone know which Specific Model did Johnny actually use?

1) Might he have just used one of these Models and the others just were Endorsed by him?

2) Might he have used them all throughout his Career?

3) Might there be another Model he used I am unaware of?

Thanks all for your time and insight, this site is a helpful and great resource!

All My Best,
John

I've always been curious about this also. Johnny's pictured on his '75 Topps card with what appears to be a Rawlings HOH X. I know later in the 80's his high-quality-glove endorsement was a PRO-LT.

First, let me congratulate you on your excellent taste in baseball catchers! As a kid that grew up in Ohio during the heyday of the Big Red Machine, Bench is one of my all-time favorites, too. One segment of my collection is dedicated to Reds players from that era.

There are probably at least a dozen different Bench-endorsed mitts that were sold by Rawlings- and even a conventional fielder's glove! Many of those models were most definitely not used by Bench, as they were less-expensive mitts sold for use by amateur players and little kids- definitely not professional quality, but Bench models nevertheless.

I really lucked out on the HOH Bench mitt in my collection. It's used, but in nice shape and I found it in an antique mall for $18! I also have an RL-1, another top-of-the line mitt and two DB35's, which were mid-priced smaller mitts with a "double break" hinge in the palm.

In 1994 I attended the Sports Collector national show in Houston and took along three heart of the hide Bench store gloves for Johnny to sign. When I got to his table and laid the mitts out in front of them, he picked one up and asked, "where the h _ _ _ did you get these?" I told them they were from friends. He said he wanted to buy one and pulled out a huge roll of money.
I told him that since they weren't mine I couldn't sell them but I had one back home (heart of the hide) and would send him that. He said he'd buy any that I had any time. I believe he was signing these and giving them out at his charity golf tournaments. I found varioud "heart" mitts for him for a couple of years. His secretary would always send me back a check.
I even sent him one of his Bench target store mitts.
I never asked him what he used all those years but I know he was very careful about recognizing his gamers. Once Denny Esken had a mitt that a lady in Cincinnati got from a charity auction, took it to Bench to sign and Bench declared it wasn't his mitt. I heard him say something similar in another signing in Dallas when he presented with a heart of hide store model.
I do know that at the Museum the Rangers have in Arlington, it had one of his early gamers that he gave to the scout who helped sign him, Tony Robello. It was an HOH or an HOH X. Another positive game I believe was a Pro RL was in a Heritage auction not long ago. I'll have to check that. I feel sure he used mitts such as the Pro RL, Pro LT, RL 1. Maybe DocGlove knows for sure.

I found the information on the Bench gamer in the Heritage auction. It was an RL-P which indicated an exclusive pro stock designation. It was given by Bench, it seems, to Duane Walker who was traded from the Reds to the Rangers. DocGlove can check me out on this on the exclusivity. Had marker #5 on the back thumb.