His Baseball Hall of Fame plaque catches the greatness of Johnny Bench:

He "redefined standards by which catchers are measured."

But it wasn't always easy for him.

Late in the 1972 season while Bench's Cincinnati Reds rolled toward the playoffs, doctors found a spot on his lung.

Despite the scary possibility of having cancer, Bench flexed his muscles in the postseason.

For Reds fans, few can forget Bench's bottom-of-the-ninth, game-tying home run against the Pittsburgh Pirates that helped Cincinnati win the National League pennant.

"I could never forget the league championship against Pittsburgh," Marty Brennaman, who joined the Reds' broadcast team two years later, told IBD. "He had the greatest flair for the dramatic. He hit that home run off the Pirates; it was an opposite-field home run and he was an extreme pull hitter."

Bench finished that playoff series with a .333 batting average. Then in the World Series he came through with an on-base percentage of almost .400.

Bench and his teammates didn't win that 1972 World Series, but the news was good for him when the cheering died down. He won the National League's Most Valuable Player honor, then found out he was free of cancer.

By then, Bench was one of the greatest players in baseball — and he had come a long way from the playing fields of Binger, Okla.

While growing up, Bench excelled at basketball and was his high school valedictorian. He decided to focus his talents on America's pastime. He and his father, Ted, knew that Johnny's skills were good, and they wanted him to make it to the big leagues fast.

So they turned to catcher. The father-son team figured that since the position lacked dominate players in the major leagues in the mid-1960s, Johnny could stand out there.

Cincinnati's talent people caught on to Bench's potential early. They claimed him in the second round of the 1965 amateur draft.

Then came the minors. Bench's stay was short, but long on accomplishments. His Peninsula farm team considered his contributions so great, it retired his number, an honor rarely given in the 1960s, says John Odell, curator of history and research at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y.

The Reds brought him up to the big leagues for a few games in 1967. He hit just .163, but people who counted knew he was a star waiting to burn.

One who knew was Ted Williams. The former Boston Red Sox slugger signed a ball for Bench that read, "A Hall of Famer for sure!"

Here's how sure:

Taking over the Reds' catching duties in 1968, Bench grabbed National League Rookie of the Year honors. He immediately made his mark behind the plate, winning the first of 10 straight Gold Glove Awards. He also churned out 40 doubles, a record for catchers.

Two years later, he collected the first of his two MVP trophies.

Bench belted 45 home runs and amassed 148 runs batted in that 1970 season — both records among catchers.

All that, and he was just 22.

"He was recognized for being extraordinary because he had so much power with the bat and so much potential as a catcher behind the plate," Odell said.

In 1989, Williams was proved right. The Baseball Writers' Association of America welcomed Bench into the Hall of Fame with 96.42% of the vote. Only nine others have received a higher percentage. Bench even garnered more votes than the soothsaying Teddy Ballgame.

Bench's career lasted through the 1983 season — and he clearly had a Hall of Fame resume.

In 16 full seasons, he was voted an All-Star 14 times. He hammered 389 homers, near the top among catchers. Aside from numbers, he was a winner, helping the Big Red Machine to world championships in 1975 and '76. That mid-decade team is considered one of the finest in history. Bench punctuated the second title by hitting .533 with two homers in the World Series sweep of the New York Yankees.

Then there was Bench's trademark: defense. With his glove, arm and pitch calls, he was considered by many the best who ever donned the mask. "He was a great batting catcher, but also a great defensive catcher . . . an amazing cog of the Big Red Machine," Odell said.

Before Bench switched to the less grinding positions of first and third base, he dominated behind the plate. In 14 years playing primarily catcher, he outperformed the league's average backstop's fielding percentage 13 times.

In 1975, he reached a defensive apex: Through 121 games behind the plate, he allowed no passed balls. Only one other Hall of Fame catcher, Bill Dickey, did that in a full season.

Bench also stood out with his style. He crouched like other catchers, but used only one hand to secure the ball. Soon it became the norm.

This twist played well to Bench's strengths. He had large hands — so large he could hold seven baseballs in one hand.

Thanks to that, Bench could free his noncatching hand and throw out base runners quickly. The older two-handed method added body motions that slowed down the process of throwing out runners.

Bench, now 59, once boasted he could "throw out any runner alive." He trained so that real conditions seemed easy. While he was growing up, his father made him practice throwing out runners at second base. The catch: Johnny had to do so from his knees, and the bag was twice the normal distance away.

Brennaman says Bench's defense and ability to throw out runners made him memorable.

"He was the greatest player in the history of the game at a particular position," said the announcer, who also is in the Hall of Fame. "He could just single-handedly change the approach a team would take. Back then the aspect of speed was so important — especially in the National League."

Said Odell: "You can be good. You can be great. And then there's a whole other level that people like Bench brought."

BY PATRICK CAIN