SPARKY ANDERSON - AUTOGRAPHED SIGNED PHOTOGRAPH CO-SIGNED BY: JOHNNY BENCH - HFSID 278840

JOHNNY BENCH, SPARKY ANDERSON
Signed poster-sized b/w photo of Anderson and Bench celebrating the Reds' 1975 championship with a bottle of champagne
Photograph signed "Sparky Anderson" and "Johnny Bench" in blue ink. B/w, 19¾x15¾ overall, 18¾x14 image, one surface. Captioned: "Sparky and Johnny Celebrate the '7 World Championship - October 22, 1975". ©International Photo Archives. John Lee "Johnny" BENCH, born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in 1947, is regarded as one of the greatest catchers in Major League Baseball history. He played for the Cincinnati Reds from 1967 to 1983. A member of the Reds' 1975 and 1976 World Series championship teams (known as "The Big Red Machine"), Bench's career highlights included being named the 1968 National League Rookie of the Year, winning ten Gold Gloves (1968-1977) and playing on 14 All-Star teams (1968-1980, 1983) as well as being named 1976 World Series MVP. An outstanding hitter as well as a great catcher, Bench hit 389 home runs and 1,386 RBIs over his 17-year major league career. He was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1989, three years after he had been inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and his #5 was retired. ANDERSON (1934-2010), born in Bridgewater, South Dakota, had one undistinguished season as a Major League ballplayer, hitting .218 at 2B for the Phils in 1959. He returned to the big leagues for what was to become a Hall of Fame (2000) career as a manager. Between 1970 and 1995, he accumulated the third most wins (2,194) of any MLB manager in history, trailing only the very long careers of John McGraw and Connie Mack. His teams won three World Series; the 1975-76 Cincinnati Reds and 1984 Detroit Tigers are considered two of the finest teams in the history of baseball. Light creases on image. Light dents at bottom edge. Otherwise in fine condition.