New York reacquired quarterback Gary Wood from New Orleans on…
New York reacquired quarterback Gary Wood from New Orleans on August 14, 1968 for the Giants' 1969 fifth-round draft choice. The Saints used that transferred selection at No. 117 overall on Kansas tackle Keith Christensen. Wood then appeared in all 14 games for New York in 1968 and 12 more in 1969 as Fran Tarkenton's backup, giving the Giants two seasons of reserve-quarterback value.
New Orleans Saints Received
- pick 1969 fifth round pick (#117-Keith Christensen)
New York Giants Received
- player Gary Wood
Trade Analysis
The legacy row overstates the uncertainty in the compensation. Pro Sports Transactions lists the August 14, 1968 Gary Wood transaction and connects the Saints' 1969 fifth-round selection at No. 117 to the Giants. The transaction page labels the linkage cautiously, but the underlying team records are much stronger: the Giants' historical draft ledger says their 1969 fifth-round choice went to New Orleans, while the Saints' own media guide says pick No. 117, Keith Christensen, was a choice acquired from New York for Gary Wood. Contemporary draft accounting also identifies New Orleans as receiving the Giants' fifth-round slot. Taken together, those sources support a one-player-for-one-confirmed-pick reconstruction without the duplicate undisclosed-consideration fields or an extra unidentified pick.
Wood's path explains why the reunion made sense. The Saints had selected him from the Giants in the 1967 expansion draft. NFL records show him appearing in only two games for New Orleans that season, completing five of 11 passes for 62 yards. By 1968 the Saints had Billy Kilmer and Gary Cuozzo in their quarterback picture, while New York already knew Wood from his earlier tenure. The August 1968 trade returned him to the Giants as a veteran reserve behind Fran Tarkenton.
New York received modest but real on-field value. NFL records show Wood appearing in all 14 Giants games in 1968 and 12 more in 1969. His passing volume was small because Tarkenton was the established starter, but Wood still provided two full seasons of backup availability. In 1968 he completed nine of 24 passes for 123 yards; in 1969 he completed 10 of 16 for 106 yards and one touchdown. For a fifth-round pick, that is a defensible reserve-quarterback return even though he never became a long-term starter in the second Giants stint.
New Orleans' draft return is fully identifiable. The Saints' 1969 draft history lists Keith Christensen, a Kansas tackle, at No. 117 overall in the fifth round. The team's historical media guide specifically marks that choice as coming from New York for Gary Wood. Pro Football Reference also lists Christensen at No. 117 among the Saints' selections, but shows no NFL regular-season career totals for him. That means the Saints did successfully convert Wood into a draft asset, yet the player chosen with it produced no measurable NFL playing return.
In hindsight, the Giants receive a narrow advantage. Wood was not a high-impact acquisition, but he gave New York two seasons of reserve quarterback service after the trade. New Orleans obtained a legitimate fifth-round pick, but Christensen never produced an NFL regular-season career. A B- for New York and C for New Orleans reflects that modest realized-value difference without overstating the importance of a backup quarterback or a fifth-round selection.