History Of 1968 Topps Baseball Cards

This Topps rookie card features Johnny Bench and Ron Tompkins paired together. The 1968 Topps Baseball Card series includes 598 cards and features multi-player rookie cards. These trading cards represent card number 247 in the Topps 1969 baseball card series. Johnny Bench is a former MLB catcher who played for the Cincinnati Reds from 1967 to 1983. Ron Tompkins is a former major league pitcher who played for the Kansas City Athletics in 1965 and the Chicago Cubs in 1971. This collector's card and vintage sports memorabilia commemorates the first few years of Bench and Tompkins's professional baseball careers.

Johnny, a revered player in the game, won the 1968 National League Rookie of the Year Award and Gold Glove. In this first season, he also notched 82 RBIs and 15 homers and even a spot in the All-Star game. He later became part of what's known as the Big Red Machine. This included other All Star players like Pete Rose and Joe Morgan. The Big Red Machine beat the Pittsburgh Pirates for the National League Championship 3 times in 6 years. That team also made it to the World Series 4 times in those 6 years. They won one championship against the New York Yankees and one against the Boston Red Sox. Johnny Bench is a member of the MLB Hall of Fame, inducted into the HOF in 1989.

Johnny is seen wearing his official Cincinnati Reds uniform with red sleeves. He wears his ballcap on backwards in his classic signature style. Ron wears no ballcap at all and wears his green-sleeved pitcher's uniform. Beside each man's name is a letter abbreviating his position. Beside Johnny's name is the letter "C" for catcher. Beside Tompkins's name is the letter "P" for