by Paul Semendinger
August 2021
***
I always enjoyed Charles Schulz’s famous Peanuts comic strips. Like so many people, those characters were a big part of my childhood.
A number of years ago, a collection of books was produced that chronicle the complete and entire collection of every single Peanuts comic strip. With every single strip available, I decided to set about reading the entire collection. (I just completed reading Volume 4 which cover 1957 and 1958.) It is fascinating seeing how the strip and the characters developed over time.
I thought it would be fun to chronicle here the history of how Charles Schulz used baseball in the Peanuts strips.
I hope you enjoy this historical look back at Charlie Brown and his friends and the wonderful game of baseball…
(Each comic strip comes from the wonderful site: Peanuts Wiki.).
***
THE 1952 “SEASON”
Charlie Brown becomes known for striking out, a lot. But, early on, he wasn’t a bad hitter. Here, in his first appearance in 1952 (March 23), he connects and comes close to circling the bases:
![4.jpg](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/a21131_b7370c9d477546fe90c72eea0e0b432a~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_135,h_90,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/a21131_b7370c9d477546fe90c72eea0e0b432a~mv2.jpg)
As can be seen above, Snoopy seems to be getting into the action as a ball player. On April 6, Charles Schulz uses a play on words in a clever way to tie the cartoon strip to baseball.
![4.jpg](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/a21131_99b9f973d69d4661ba1fc67db2c165b1~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_137,h_91,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/a21131_99b9f973d69d4661ba1fc67db2c165b1~mv2.jpg)
On April 12, 1952, Charlie Brown is seen pitching for the first time of the new season.
![4.jpg](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/a21131_3586b50b8eec4ba88bd72148ccbe70b9~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_137,h_28,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/a21131_3586b50b8eec4ba88bd72148ccbe70b9~mv2.jpg)
On May 19, Charlie Brown is playing in the outfield.
Things don’t go so well.
![4.jpg](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/a21131_a2f1b99fb5eb44648999fc88b0199f0f~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_137,h_28,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/a21131_a2f1b99fb5eb44648999fc88b0199f0f~mv2.jpg)
May 28 and May 29 brought back-to-back strips, with Charlie Brown again as the catcher (the kid played so many positions). These show that Charlie was also not the only poor pitcher on his team.
![4.jpg](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/a21131_f7ab823d41c74943889acd087fb4a7ad~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_137,h_28,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/a21131_f7ab823d41c74943889acd087fb4a7ad~mv2.jpg)
![11.jpg](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/a21131_dcd84e05b23b4d3f99b36311fd481e40~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_138,h_28,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/a21131_dcd84e05b23b4d3f99b36311fd481e40~mv2.jpg)
This strip, from June 3, is a true classic. It is one of my favorite’s ever as it truly shows a true understanding of kids, imagination, and baseball.
![4.jpg](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/a21131_c1b6721ff7d5408bb746731b56364eb3~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_138,h_28,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/a21131_c1b6721ff7d5408bb746731b56364eb3~mv2.jpg)
It is possible that this June 11 strip even signals a victory for ol’ Charlie’s team. If it was a loss, it was a close game at least!
![4.jpg](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/a21131_3749e4eec87649b797b60e1a15570abc~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_138,h_28,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/a21131_3749e4eec87649b797b60e1a15570abc~mv2.jpg)
Any one of us who played baseball as a child can probably relate to poor Schroeder from this July 5, 1952 comic strip:
![4.jpg](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/a21131_b91879f05d014340a07f888f115ad532~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_137,h_28,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/a21131_b91879f05d014340a07f888f115ad532~mv2.jpg)
Girls can also play ball as evidenced in this great strip. (I also like how the characters also refer to the “funnies.”)
![4.jpg](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/a21131_65145a4102af47e0b5bd5d193fbf3878~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_137,h_28,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/a21131_65145a4102af47e0b5bd5d193fbf3878~mv2.jpg)
Charlie Brown’s 1952 season came to a close on August 24. Here we see that Lucy Van Pelt is an up-and-coming star.
![4.jpg](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/a21131_e078f0bf73774e08b0731b4a790018fc~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_137,h_91,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/a21131_e078f0bf73774e08b0731b4a790018fc~mv2.jpg)
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