Auction Winner of $1M Worth of Johnny Bench Memorabilia to Return Items to HOFer

Hall of Fame catcher Johnny Bench is going to get back some memorabilia items that were recently sold at auction. 

Per the Associated Press, Alan Horwitz spent over $1 million on Bench items that include his 1968 National League Rookie of the Year award, World Series rings from 1975 and 1976 and NL MVP award plaques from 1970 and 1972. 

Horwitz told the AP that he's been friends with Bench since the two met during a Christmas vacation in 1967:

"After that, for the next 16 seasons, I met Johnny at every spring training in Tampa, and along with his fans, watched him play at All-Star Games, World Series games, and of course witnessed his Hall of Fame Induction. When I learned of the auction of Johnny's memorabilia I felt compelled to participate, with the goal to return some of the items to the Bench family and Johnny's fans."

The AP noted last month that Bench decided to sell the items in order to help pay for his youngest children's college funds. 

"The memories are still there," Bench said. "I still am the MVP. I'm blessed with what I've got, and I'm enjoying my life.''

Bench, 73, spent his entire 17-year career with the Cincinnati Reds. He was named to the All-Star team 14 times and won 10 Gold Glove awards, in addition to his two NL MVP awards. 

After his retirement following the 1983 season, Bench was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year on the ballot four years later. He was named on 96.42 percent of the ballots, the 15th-highest vote total in history.