December 3, 2020:
1987 Topps Traded #30T Mike Dunne
I know your type. You're probably sitting there, comfortable with the knowledge that facial transplant surgery only became possible in the 21st century. You are undoubtedly confident that medical technology has only recently begun to allow for radical reconstruction following severe trauma, whether at the hands of man, ape, or Labrador retriever.
Think again.
Some called it a "prank." Others considered it to be deliberate. Everyone, however, agreed that in a case of rookie hazing gone terribly wrong, Mike Dunne's face was horribly mutilated by the careless actions of teammate R.J. Reynolds. Dunne was fortunate that the Pirates' clubhouse was as close as it was to Carnegie Mellon Medical School, whose pioneering procedure transplanted the face of a fresh cadaver onto the area where Mike's fell off.
Mike Dunne, we salute your bravery.
Mike Dunne made me realize just how hard it is to have fans. In 1989, I was part of the University of Pittsburgh marching band. We played halftime of a Steelers game. Before halftime we were in a locker room area and there were two gigantic cardboard boxes of fan mail to Mike Dunne who had been traded in April of that year. Blew my mind.
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