 He was the older brother of Dave Bennett, a right-handed pitcher who appeared in one MLB game, as Dennis's Phillies teammate.Bennett was born in Oakland, California, and raised in the Shasta Valley town of Yreka, near the Oregon border and attended Yreka High School.He was signed by the Phillies in 1958 after attending Shasta College and played four full seasons in their farm system before being promoted to the Majors from Triple-A in May 1962.