Willard Mullin - 1939 Bum Cartoon - Brooklyn Dodgers

When it comes to the world of sports cartooning, there was no greater practitioner than Willard Mullin. Mullin had it all: beautiful, fluid line work and an absolutely wonderful use of the figure. He might have been best when drawing boxers, with their exaggerated postures, but Willard Mullin is most widely known for one creation: the Brooklyn Bum. Mullin came up with the character of the Bum in 1937, after allegedly talking with a cab driver about how the Dodgers were doing. The cab driver referred to the Dodgers as "dem bums" and Mullin went with it. This cartoon is a very early one with the depiction of the Bum, dating from 1939. The cartoon refers to the Dodgers' collecting managers in '37, catchers in '38 and this year, outfielders. Pretty sweet stuff.