Catch You Later: The Autobiography of Johnny Bench

Bench, Johnny; Brashler, William

Published by New York: Harper & Row, 1979

About this Item

First edition, first printing. Signed by Johnny Bench on half-title page, with a Certified Authentication Service (CAS) sticker. Publisher's blue cloth-backed purple boards, with spine stamped in silver foil, publisher's device in blind to front board, and blue endpapers; in the original pictorial dust jacket designed by Neil Stuart, with matching photo of Bench by William Schildman to front and rear panels, lettered in pink and blue. Near fine book, with light toning to edges, a touch of separation between verso of half-title page and "Books by William Brashler" page, and printer's ink to fore edges of pp. 77 and 83; good unclipped dust jacket, with light toning to spine, shallow chipping to spine ends, ghost of removed sticker to top right of front panel, and some nicks and small closed tears to edges. Overall, a decent copy. This autobiography of all-time great MLB catcher Johnny Bench was written when Bench was only 31 years old. Sports journalist Roger Kahn writes, "What is most appealing about Johnny Bench, the finest catcher I have ever seen, is not so much the Herculean athlete as the sensitive, inquiring, compassionate and sometimes troubled young man in his prime. His sensitivity immediately lifts Catch You Later beyond the routine run of quickie sports biographies and, indeed, illuminates the book." Johnny Bench is regarded by many to be the greatest catcher in MLB history. A member of the Cincinnati Reds for his entire career (1967 - 1983) and one of the "Great Eight" during the team's Big Red Machine era, Bench was selected as an All-Star fourteen times and won the Gold Glove award ten times. He also won two NL MVP awards (1970, 1972) and a World Series MVP award (1976). In 1999, Bench was elected to the prestigious Major League Baseball All-Century Team and was ranked 16th on The Sporting News' list of the 100 greatest baseball players. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1989. Seller Inventory # JBBW001

Bibliographic Details

Title: Catch You Later: The Autobiography of Johnny...

Publisher: New York: Harper & Row

Publication Date: 1979

Binding: Hard Cover

Condition: Near Fine

Dust Jacket Condition: Dust Jacket Included

Signed: Signed by Author

Edition: First Edition.