Detroit’s Opening Day Hero, Charlie Bennett

Charlie Bennett throws out one of his many first pitches on Opening Day in Detroit.

Charlie Bennett probably threw out more ceremonial first pitches than any man in baseball history. Maybe a president did it more, but it’s unlikely.

Every spring, like the arrival of the birds from the south, as sure as the sun came up, Bennett would make his way onto the field at the corner of Michigan and Trumbull in Detroit and rock himself back to fire a first pitch. With this act, baseball season could begin.

But first, let’s discuss Bennett’s playing career, which was remarkable.

When Charlie Bennett began his major league playing career in 1878, the record for games caught in a season was 63 games. There were three reasons for this:

1. Teams preferred to rotate two catchers in those days.
2. Often, the worst players on the team were stuck at catcher.
3. The day-to-day rigors of playing the position were especially grueling in the 19th century. A catcher’s hands would become severely bruised and battered, due to the small gloves, which barely provided padding.

Bennett surpassed the previous record nine times, and caught nearly 1,000 games in a 15-year career that was suddenly and tragically halted prior to the 1894 season when he lost both of his legs in a train accident.