Ah, the childhood tradition of defacing cards. There was a dark, ugly part of our adolescence where we were looking at our cards, and for some unknown reason we shoved a carpet tack through Bert Jones’s crotch or drew a moustache and Wayfarers on Mick Tingelhoff’s pasty white face.
Why? What horribly Freudian act was this an indication of? Were we that angry at the success of others that we defiled their image? Was it a sign of our powerless void that we showed our only power by destroying something we owned? Were we subconsciously mutilating an image because we did not have the courage to mutilate the real person? Or were we just brats with no sense of values and too much Captain Crunch in our system?
In card collecting, defaced cards are a way of life. Too often we find a card that we would LOVE, but a penis or a Fu Manchu drawn in blue Bic ballpoint ruins it. The 1968 Mickey Mantle that was famously covered with graffiti has made the rounds of card websites as an example of, “WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT FOR? WHY NOT BOBBY MURCER, FOR CHRIST’S SAKE!!”
Which leads me to Dick Gordon. During the “Dark Ages” of Bears football, Gordon’s play at wide receiver was a rare shaft of light. In 1970, he led the NFL in total catches and in touchdown receptions when most Bear players were going through the motions of yet another losing season. But when he was not offered a contract he thought worthy of that season, he played out his option in 1971—the year before this card. It was messy, and Gordon burned a lot of bridges before he left…
But did he deserve this? Not only is his right eye totally blacked out, but a paper punch was used to completely eliminate his left eye. No, a cigar or an ink pee-pee wasn’t enough for the card owner’s wrath—his eye WAS GOUGED OUT WITH A PAPER PUNCH. That is pure, “tiki idol on Brady Bunch” evil.
If this was the work of voodoo, it was effective—after playing out his option, Gordon went to the Rams (after this card was released), and he demanded jersey #7—the retired jersey of Bob Waterfield. That did not endear him to fans or the team. In fact, he only played in five games before being traded to Green Bay in ‘73, who traded him back to Los Angeles, and he managed to not catch a single pass for either team. In 1974, he wound up ending his career in San Diego.
And was it because of the bad juju inspired by this card, defiled by an enraged South Dakotan decades ago and purchased by me for ten cents at a Sioux Falls antique store?
Here is some info on the story of Dick Gordon and his jersey issue:
