1979 Topps #200 Johnny Bench
About Johnny Bench
Catch You Later, Bench's autobiography with William Brashler, was published in 1979. Cincinnati's catcher had collected 102 hits and scored 52 runs in 1978. His 1979 Topps card, #200, carried the All-Star banner. He hit 22 home runs with 80 RBI in 1979.
Johnny Bench spent all 17 of his major-league seasons with Cincinnati, catching for the Reds from his 1967 arrival through most of the Big Red Machine years. He grew up in Binger, Oklahoma, played baseball and basketball, and graduated as his high school class valedictorian. Cincinnati selected him 36th overall in the second round of the 1965 amateur draft. A broken right thumb in the minors helped change his catching technique: he adopted a hinged mitt and kept his throwing hand out of the way while receiving pitches. Bench won the 1968 National League Rookie of the Year award, becoming the first catcher to win the NL honor. He was the league's MVP in 1970 and 1972, made 14 All-Star teams and won ten consecutive Gold Gloves from 1968 through 1977. He played on Cincinnati's 1975 and 1976 World Series championship clubs. Over his career he collected 2,048 hits and batted .267. He hit 389 home runs and drove in 1,376 runs. In his final three seasons he played chiefly at first and third base. His last home run came on Johnny Bench Night at Riverfront Stadium in September 1983. He entered the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1989, his first year of eligibility.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 3,293 | 124 | 830 | 1,208 | 444 | 294 | 177 | 216 | 0 |
| SGC | 386 | 2 | 27 | 105 | 111 | 60 | 39 | 40 | 2 |
Graded population — a scarcity guide, not a price. Data as of 2026-10-19. Half grades fold down for both graders (8.5→8); PSA qualified slabs (OC, ST, PD, MC and the like) are not counted.
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Related cards
Team card: #259 Cincinnati Reds / Sparky Anderson
More Cincinnati Reds cards:
- #2 1978 Home Run Leaders
- #3 1978 RBI Leaders
- #20 Joe Morgan
- #47 Fred Norman
- #73 Ken Henderson
- #100 Tom Seaver
- #126 Doug Bair
- #149 Manny Sarmiento
- #174 Rick Auerbach
- #204 Pete Rose
- #220 Cesar Geronimo
- #281 Vic Correll
- #301 Tom Hume
- #326 Pedro Borbon
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1979 Topps #200 card?
It is card #200 of the 726-card 1979 Topps Baseball set, picturing Johnny Bench of the Cincinnati Reds.
How many cards are in the 1979 Topps Baseball set?
726 cards, numbered 1 through 726 with none skipped and issued as a single series, tracked as 727 collectible states: #369 Bump Wills comes with a Rangers or a Blue Jays team banner, and the master set counts both.
Sources: Trading Card Database, PSA, BaseballCardPedia, Cardboard Connection, Baseball Almanac, Baseball-Reference, the SABR BioProject and the National Baseball Hall of Fame, PSA & SGC population reports. Card data compiled and maintained by T206Cards.com. Page last updated 2026-10-25.