In the 1970’s, Topps was legally required to have one Don Cockroft card in every single pack.
I don’t know if that was a deal they made with the federal government to avoid anti-trust legislation, or if it was due to Sy Berger losing a bet, but every year collectors wound up with multiple copies of Don. They had the same set up with Tom Veryzer in baseball, and probably had to keep the printing press open late just to make enough cards to distribute worldwide.
Now, it wasn’t a BAD thing–Don was a very capable kicker and punter at a time when that was rare, which gave the Browns an added player thanks to his multi-tasking. And he always looked good, and he kept Browns QBs from wearing #12 for a decade. And by all accounts Don was a fine human being.
But, opening the pack, you just KNEW about four cards in there would be Don, with his wavy blonde hair and porn-star ‘stache, staring back at you. And you had to put him in your cigar box with the fifteen other Cockrofts you’d already managed to “collect”, thanks to Topps.
And by that point, you were so sick of him that even his name wasn’t funny anymore, as he was now “Don Effin’ Cockroft”; ala Bucky Dent.
