Wednesday, August 11, 1999
Johnny Bench sued over golf clubs
Raffle winnings denied, man says
BY DAN HORN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
A Loveland man says Johnny Bench owes him a set of golf clubs.
In a lawsuit filed Tuesday, James Matosky claims he won the clubs with a $100 ticket he bought in a raffle to benefit the Hall of Fame catcher's scholarship fund.
Two years later, however, Mr. Matosky says he's still waiting for his clubs.
“I feel like I got jerked around,” Mr. Matosky said Tuesday. “They treated me like a lower-class citizen.”
His lawsuit accuses Mr. Bench, the Greater Cincinnati Foundation and Position Sports Marketing of malice, fraud and deceptive marketing. It seeks $65,327 in damages, including the $5,000 value of the Calloway golf clubs.
Mr. Matosky said the trouble started a few weeks after he learned he had a winning ticket in the raffle, which was held June 16, 1997.
His lawsuit includes a letter from Cal Levy, an event organizer, indicating Mr. Matosky won the Calloway clubs.
The letter, dated two weeks after the raffle, states that the clubs were not immediately available. “Johnny is traveling, so we do not have the golf clubs in hand,” the letter states.
In the months that followed, Mr. Matosky said, the raffle organizers continued to delay delivery. Finally, he said, they told him there had been a mistake and offered him lesser prizes.
“I told them I don't want anything else,” Mr. Matosky said. “I want my prize.”
Mr. Levy was out of town and could not be reached. A spokeswoman for Position Sports declined to comment.
Mr. Bench's attorney, Reuven Katz, also could not be reached.
Mr. Matosky's lawsuit, filed in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court, claims he should be paid triple the value of the clubs plus $50,000 punitive damages.
“A lot of people threaten to sue and never do,” Mr. Matosky said. “They were probably hoping I was just going to go away.”
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