In the often-told story, two old catchers meet on the street. They exchange greetings and shake hands. But their fingers are so twisted and gnarled, a blacksmith must be summoned to pry them apart.

This old saw occurred to me Monday during lunch with Randy Hundley, the Cubs` onetime ironman catcher. Fourteen years in the big leagues, and Hundley still has the hands of a pianist. Never as much as a fractured finger. Only one injury: broken right thumb on a tag play at the plate.

There is a reason, of course. Hundley was a one-handed catcher, possibly the first in big-league history.

When the bases were empty, he kept his bare (throwing) hand behind his back, where it was protected against foul tips. With men on, he brought the bare hand forward near the glove to present a target, but the instant the pitch was thrown, the hand was withdrawn and positioned adjacent to the right shoulder, a foot or more away from where the pitch was received.

Though the bare hand is exposed, there is almost no risk of injury. This is because a foul tip comes off the top or bottom of the bat. Off the bottom, it drops down; off the top (for some reason that a physicist may explain), it bends neither to the right or left but always comes straight back.

There is an another advantage. By keeping the free hand away from the pitch, there is less likelihood of its being hit by the pitch. In the past, many injuries were the result of the catcher`s being too quick covering the ball with his bare hand. When this happens, the pitch nicks the bare hand before it hits the glove.

Or to put it another way: Whereas the old-timers moved their throwing hand into the mitt, the moderns reverse the procedure. They move the mitt to the bare hand.

As often happens, necessity was the mother of invention. Hundley`s late father, Cecil, for many years had been a semipro catcher in and around Martinsville, Va. Said Randy: ''His hand was messed up, mangled, from all those bloomin` foul tips.''

Randy recalled the day he changed positions.

''I was 8 years old, playing Little League. And I told my father: `Dad, I don`t like shortstop. Not enough action.` He didn`t want me to be a pitcher. He was afraid I might hurt my arm.

''And he said, `C`mon, I`ll teach you where the action is.` We started out the house and he pointed his finger between my eyes and said: `I`m going to teach you to be a catcher. But you`re going to be a one-handed catcher. And if I ever see you catching two-handed, I`m going to take you right out of the game myself.` ''

Hundley smiled at the recollection.

''He never took me out. I never forgot. Even when I was in the big leagues, playing on national television, I knew my father was watching. I worried about getting my bare hand too close to where I was catching the ball.''

From the beginning of his professional career, in 1960, Hundley encountered opposition. Catchers caught with two hands, not one. Hundley prevailed. He explained to his managers and coaches that by minimizing the risk of injury, he was of more value. He wasn`t likely to be on the shelf with a broken finger.

Soon, other catchers began picking up Hundley`s style. Foremost among them was Cincinnati`s Johnny Bench, who within a month or so will be voted into the Hall of Fame. Probably because of Bench`s prominence, he is sometimes credited with being the first one-handed catcher.

Bench`s conversion came on September 29, 1967, when he was hit on the thumb by a foul tip in a game against the Cubs. In retrospect, it was a fortuitous injury. Forced to miss the last two games, Bench, hitting .163, finished the season with 86 at-bats. Had Bench had four more at-bats, he would have lost his rookie status. He won National League Rookie of the Year honors the next season, when he batted .275 with 15 home runs and 82 runs batted in. Because of a quirk in the schedule, the Reds, in 1967, played the Cubs in six of their last seven games. It was then that Bench saw Hundley for the first time. When Bench returned for the next season, he was catching one-handed.

''Nobody wanted to get hurt,'' Hundley explained. ''A lot of catchers were changing.''

Some old-timers insist the one-handed catchers are at a disadvantage because they can`t shift their feet to the right (against a right-handed batter) for the outside pitch. Instead of shifting and getting their body in front of the ball, they must back-hand the pitch, moving the glove across their body, snaring the pitch rather than catching it.

The ancients also claim that the two-handed catcher, by keeping the bare hand adjacent to the glove, has better position for the throw. This is because the ball, in effect, is being caught by both hands. With less movement, the throw can be made more quickly.

Hundley, of course, has heard all the arguments, pro and con. But he insists no time is lost because the free hand, when kept at a safe distance, is actually cocked and ready to fire. ''I like to explain it this way: The gun is loaded,'' he said.

Whatever, Hundley, at 46, 11 years after he retired as an active player, is well and thriving. He pioneered and continues to operate the Fantasy Camps in which frustrated jocks pay as much as $3,000 to spend a week playing ball with and against their former heroes.

Better yet, his oldest son, Todd, 19, a graduate of Fremd High School in Palatine, soon will be starting his second season as a professional ballplayer. He was drafted by the Mets last summer, a second-round selection. Todd is a catcher. A one-handed catcher, of course.