Presented is a Johnny Bench endorsed check from 1968, the Hall of Famer's rookie season when the Cincinnati Reds catcher was the National League Rookie of the Year. The check is from the Topps Chewing Gum Corporation, and it is in the amount of one hundred twenty-five dollars ($125.00) in payment for Bench's appearing on Topps baseball cards. Bench appeared in 26 MLB games for Cincinnati in 1967 when he was only 19 years old, but his official rookie season was 1968, when he appeared in 154 games. That year he batted .275, with 15 home runs and 82 RBIs. Bench would go on to become a 14-time All-Star, a 2-time NL MVP, a 10-time Gold Glove winner as a catcher, and a key member of two World Championship Cincinnati Reds teams as part of the Big Red Machine dynasty. Bench had 384 home runs and 1,376 RBIs in his 17-year career, all with Cincinnati. The check, written on the Manufacturers Hanover Trust Company, 774 Broadway, in Brooklyn, New York City, measures 3x8.25". The check is dated Sept. 18, 1968. On the back, Bench signed his endorsement in blue ink from a ballpoint pen, and the Bench signature is neatly written in bold script. Signing the check on the front is Sy Berger. He was a long-time employee of Topps. In 1951, Berger and Woody Gelman designed the iconic Topps 1952 Baseball Set on Berger's kitchen table in Brooklyn, and that '52 set would become the prototype for baseball sets in the future. Berger was an engaging personality, and the face of Topps Cards to the players, and Berger's being headquartered in Brooklyn in the 1950s enabled Berger to become a regular visitor to three Major League New York City clubhouses: Brooklyn Dodgers, New York Giants, and New York Yankees, in order to meet with players to obtain a signed contract of the player with Topps. Berger's long baseball card expertise makes him a celebrity on his own, and his signature on the check, written in blue ink from a fountain pen, makes this Bench/Berger combination a real 2-in-1 offering. The signed check is in excellent condition. It has been encapsulated and both the Bench and Berger signatures have been PSA/DNA certified as AUTHENTIC AUTO.