Johnny Bench is 65 today ... born Dec. 7, 1947

The best catcher in the history of baseball, Johnny Bench, was born 65 years ago in Oklahoma City, OK. He hit .293/45/148 in 1970. I was a kid, and I just remember thinking, wow, there isn't a better player on the planet ... and he plays for the Reds. That '70 season was great all-around.

His 45 dingers led the NL. Only two other players had 40 homers that year - Billy Williams and Tony Perez. Bench's 148 ribbies led the league ... Williams and Perez tied for second with 129. For you geeks out there, Bench was 7.1 wins above replacement, Perez was 6.8. Three players tied at 6.2 for third ... Willie McCovey and Billy Williams being two of them.

The other? ... The legendary Billy Grabarkewitz, who, frankly, your old uncle PK doesn't even remember. Anyway, here's a cool Johnny Bench Topps 1970 poster.