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This is a site where people of the Colorado Springs area - young and old - can share their thoughts on sports teams, sports figures, sports coaches and sports happenings. This blog is designed to help the community draw closer together. The pulse of the community is often related to sports. A high school football game brings people together for a night of celebration. A Little League baseball game brings out the child in all of us. Sports and athletics are a part of almost everybody's life. Please feel free to share your thoughts and experiences.

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Johnny Bench is still as great as ever

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Contributed by: Danny Summers on 10/5/2006

Johnny Bench stood outside the glass doors leading to Penrose Main Hospital on Nevada Ave. Thursday morning wearing slacks, a golf shirt and 2006 Baseball Hall of Fame cap.
The former World Series star had just finished visiting with three patients who had recently undergone hip replacement surgery -- the same surgery Bench went through two years ago.
"I talked with a 93-year-old lady (Doris Johnson) and she was very alert," said Bench, who was sipping on a bottle of Coca-Cola. "She was all grins and giggles. I gave her a signed baseball and she asked if I signed it. She wanted to make sure it wasn't someone else who signed it."
Bench was in Colorado Springs as a spokesman for the Stryker Corporation, a worldwide leader in medical devices. Bench underwent total hip replacement in April of 2004 after suffering for years from chronic joint pain. He researched his options and chose to receive the Accolade®/Trident® Ceramic Hip from Stryker.
After his 45-minute visit with patients, he returned to his room at The Broadmoor and prepared for a round of golf. He is a 5 handicap.
"I'm going to play golf with him," said Dr. Denny Phelps, a member of the Colorado Springs Orthopedic Group.
Dr. Phelps accompanied Bench on his hospital tour. In addition to visiting with Johnson, Bench met with Charles Mallory, 61, and Lis Guptill, 67. All three live in Colorado Springs.
"Johnny was just wonderful," Dr. Phelps said. "He's helping us gain exposure for the product. It's great to have such a recognizable figure like Johnny standing behind the product."
Bench lives in Cincinnati and flies nearly 100,000 miles a year as a motivational speaker, representative for various firms, and an ambassador for baseball. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1989 after a stellar career with Reds.
Bench said he developed osteo-arthritis in his hips from years of catching.
"You squat down 400,000 times and you're going to develop some problems," Bench said. "Prior to my surgery, it felt like I had the biggest groin pull in the world all the time."
It was an honor for me to speak with Bench. He was the greatest catcher of his time. As a child growing up in the 1970s, Bench was one of the players we all wanted to be when we gathered for our neighborhood games.
Write in and tell us about your experiences with Bench, or any other hall of fame player.
Until next time, Hub on!

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