Reds legend and MLB Hall of Famer Johnny Bench breaks Yogi Berra’s career home run record for backstops
On July 15, 1980, Reds catcher and team leader Johnny Bench, still considered by some to be the greatest catcher in MLB history, set a new home run record for backstops when he blasted his 313th career home run, while donning the ‘tools of ignorance’. That was enough for him to surpass New York Yankees great and fellow Hall of Famer Yogi Berra.
Bench debuted as the Cincinnati Reds’ backstop in 1967, a year that was quickly followed by a National League Rookie of the Year campaign in 1968. In 1970 and 1972, he would earn NL Most Valuable Player Awards, complemented by 10 consecutive Gold Glove Award seasons between 1968 and 1977. Red looked good on Bench; he remained in Cincinnati for the length of his 17-season career, notably driving the 1970s Big Red Machine to four NL pennants and back-to-back World Series titles in 1975 and 1976.
Bench’s record was eventually surpassed by Carlton Fisk and later Mike Piazza, both of whom joined Bench and Berra as Hall of Famers.
