there until the 1880 season began. In 1880, Worcester was admitted to the National League, replacing the Syracuse Stars, and attaining major league status. That season, Bennett appeared in 51 games, 45 of them as the team's catcher. Bennett caught for Lee Richmond, baseball's first left-handed pitching star. Richmond compiled a 32–32 record in 1880, and also pitched the first perfect game in major league history, with Bennnett catching. Bennett had a .228 batting average with 20 runs scored and 18 RBIs during the 1880 season. Defensively, he ranked second among the National League's catchers with a .913 fielding percentage and fifth in putouts and range factor. Detroit Wolverines At the end of the 1880 season, Bancroft, who had been Bennett's manager in Worcester, signed as the manager of a new Detroit baseball club that was admitted to play in the National League starting in 1881. Bancroft brought several Worcester players with him, including Bennett, George Wood, and Lon Knight. Bennett played eight seasons with the Detroit Wolverines. He was one of only two players, the other being Ned Hanlon, to play for the Wolverines during every season that the franchise existed. In his first season with Detroit, Bennett established himself as one of the best players in the National League. With a .301 batting average and a .478 slugging percentage, Bennett's overall Wins Above Replacement (WAR) rating of 4.2 was the second highest among all of the league's position players, trailing only Cap Anson (5.8 WAR). He also finished among the league leaders with seven home runs (2nd), 64 RBIs (2nd), .478 slugging percentage (4th), and 32 extra base hits (4th). Bennett also excelled defensively in 1881, leading the league's catchers in putouts (418) and range factor (7.19), compiling the second highest Defensive WAR rating in the league, and setting a major league record for catchers with a .962 fielding percentage (.962). With his strong performance on both offense and defense, Bennett helped lead the Wolverines to a respectable 41–43 record in the first season of the franchise's existence. According to baseball historian Peter Morris, Bennett took the first recorded "curtain call" in baseball during the 1881 season. After hitting a home run in May 1881, Bennett was "loudly applauded, and the crowd would not desist until he bowed in acknowledgment." In 1882, Bennett had another strong season, batting .301 and compiling a 4.1 WAR rating that ranked sixth