Today in Comics History, June 21, 1952: Willie Mays performs such awesome baseball feats that mere artwork cannot portray it

from "Say Hey Kid in Action" in The Amazing Willie Mays one-shot (Eastern Color, September 1954), creators uncredited and unknown
Rest in peace, Willie Mays.

(Don't worry fans, there's many more panels to come from this same comic!)

Today in Comics History, August 14, 1951: Either that baseball has shrunk down from 18 feet tall or Willie Mays is now 70 feet tall

from The Amazing Willie Mays one-shot (Eastern Color, September 1954), creators uncredited and unknown

Today in Comics History, July 13, 1951: There were Giants in those days

from The Amazing Willie Mays one-shot (Eastern Color, September 1954), creators uncredited and unknown

Today in Comics History, July 8, 1954: Giants lift Willie up where he belongs

from The Amazing Willie Mays one-shot (Eastern Color, September 1954), creators uncredited and unknown

Today in Comics History, July 6, 1954: I feel like I'm knockin' on Dodgers' door

from The Amazing Willie Mays one-shot (Eastern Color, September 1954), creators uncredited and unknown

Today in Comics History, July 3, 1951: Willie Mays's baseball skill is foolishly mocked by Leatherface

from "Say Hey Kid in Action" in The Amazing Willie Mays one-shot (Eastern Color, September 1954), creators uncredited and unknown

Today in Comics History, June 27, 1954: Willie Mays raises such a cloud of dust sliding that it threatens to overcome the entire stadium

from The Amazing Willie Mays one-shot (Eastern Color, September 1954), creators uncredited and unknown

Today in Comics History, June 23, 1954: Baseball artist accurately draws baseball diamond

from The Amazing Willie Mays one-shot (Eastern Color, September 1954), creators uncredited and unknown

Today in Comics History, May 28, 1952: And that's why they only came second in the National League

from The Amazing Willie Mays one-shot (Eastern Color, September 1954), creators uncredited and unknown

Today in Comics History, May 6, 1954: Baseballs that stream the date and city invented

from The Amazing Willie Mays one-shot (Eastern Color, September 1954), creators uncredited and unknown
Don't worry, I'll only be using this panel just this once despite the excellent later opportunities for posting it provides.

Say hey, it's also Willie Mays's birthday today; born in 1931! Happy birthday, Willie!

Today in Comics History, April 30, 1954: He hates this scoreboard!

from The Amazing Willie Mays one-shot (Eastern Color, September 1954), creators unknown

Today in Comics History, April 22, 1954: Willie Mays steals third; Pittsburgh is convinced not to press changes

from The Amazing Willie Mays one-shot (Eastern Color, September 1954), creators unknown

Today in Comics History, March 2: Happy birthday, Mel Ott!

Mel Ott, professional Major League Baseball player, was born today in 1909. His nickname "Master Melvin" is about as cool as you can get without being Iron Man, and he's a National Baseball Hall of Famer who played for the New York Giants from 1926 through 1947.

Was he in comic books? Well, that's a silly question to ask this blog!


"Mel Ott" from The Amazing Willie Mays one-shot (Eastern Color, September 1954), pencils and inks by Frank Fogarty
Hey, he won a breakfast food poll! Hmm, wonder what that breakfast food mighta been?


from Parents' Magazine Institute comics indicia-dated May 1946
Here's a barely legible scan from a microfiche from a comic feature, which only goes to prove: I'll put anything in this space for completeness!


from "Sportettes" in More Fun Comics #35 (DC, September 1938); text, pencils, and inks by Sheldon Moldoff
And here's Mel being challenged by Tiny Captain Lou Albano!


from "Sporting Facts" in Funny Picture Stories v.2 #7 (Centaur, April 1938); text, pencils, and inks by Gill Fox
Now, let's have a guessing game. Riddle me this: what is the least likely cast of comic book characters you'd expect Mel Ott to crossover with? The Marvel Universe? Watchmen? Herbie the Fat Fury? No, it's Richie Rich and the Harvey Freaks of Nature!


from Richie Rich, Casper and Wendy: National League one-shot (Harvey, July 1976), script, pencils, and inks by Warren Kremer
I do hope Willie Mays told Richie "Do it yourself, rich white boy!"

Happy birthday, Mel! I'm sorry I had to associate your birthday with Richie Rich.