Otto Graham and the Championship Football Comic Book
This post was released to paid subscribers on February 24, published on Uni Watch on February 25, and released to free subscribers on February 27.
I am continually fascinated by football-related advertising premiums that were once given away at retail locations. Besides the standard single-sheet pocket schedules, retailers gave away booklets with composite schedules of hundreds of college and pro teams, summaries of the previous season, outlooks for the coming year, and other tidbits.
A similar line of premiums was “How To” booklets that taught the "basic fundamentals" of the game. The How To giveaways often had price tags on the covers to let customers know the actual value of the pamphlet handed out by car dealers, gas station owners, or other shopkeepers.
How To football booklets likely reached their zenith in 1954 when Pennsylvania Athletic Products published Championship Football, starring Otto Graham. Pennsylvania Athletic Products is remembered today for Penn brand tennis balls, but the company once made a range of sports balls, including footballs. Most How To booklets read like schoolbooks, but Championship Football is a comic book. Its 1954 publication came at the close of the Golden Age of Comic Books, which ended when Congressional hearings investigating the causes of juvenile delinquency blamed comic book publishers for contributing to the problem. It was also an important year for Otto Graham since he retired after the 1954 season, though he returned a year later to play a final season in 1956.
Championship Football has 36 pages, including 8 cover and ad pages, leaving 22 for storytelling. The comic tells the story of Jimmy Farrell, a grade-schooler who cheers for Fairview High in Ohio and eagerly awaits his chance to play for the varsity. Unfortunately, Jimmy is not a good football player early on and fails to make the school team on his first attempt. You can guess how the story ends, but let's look at parts of this beautiful little publication.
The cover shows a team that looks like the Cleveland Browns. The man directly behind the center wears #60, which Graham wore as a quarterback until the NFL required players to wear position-specific numbers in 1952, after which he switched to 14. Graham was a T-formation quarterback for the Browns, which put him under center when taking the snap, though the image shows him in the Single Wing.
The story opens with Jimmy in the stands with his parents, cheering for Fairview as they score a touchdown to win a game as the gun sounds. As he drives home with his mom and dad, Jimmy tells them he will try out for the team once he gets to junior high. Unfortunately, Jimmy fails to make the team in junior high, but he asks his dad to buy a football so he can practice. His dad buys the best ball, a Pennbilt, which retains its shape and lasts longer.
Jimmy practices with the Penn ball alone at the local park but continues struggling. His last kick bounces near a car whose driver, a stranger, gets out of the vehicle to give Jimmy a few pointers, but Jimmy still struggles.
Jimmy wants to give up, but the stranger tells Jimmy that he visits his parents each weekend, so he will be at the same spot the following Saturday at 10:00 AM to give Jimmy some pointers.
Jimmy tells his parents about the stranger, who Jimmy's Dad thinks is Otto Graham. The following Saturday, Graham teaches Jimmy the basics for backfield men, such as a three-point stance. Then, he demonstrates three different running starts.
The story continues with Graham telling Jimmy that practicing by himself is helpful, but playing the game is the best way to improve. That leads Jimmy and his friends to build a set of goal posts and practice regularly at the park.
In successive pages, Graham demonstrates the proper techniques for stiff arming, forward passing, running pass routes, and catching a pass. The boys begin improving, and Graham provides additional punting, snapping, and place-kicking pointers.
Graham covers various football techniques for another dozen pages before providing his nine rules for How To Be A Champion. As Graham leaves town, he tells Jimmy that he has developed himself into a fine player, and sure enough, when Jimmy next tries out for the team, he so impresses the coach that Jimmy is named the team's quarterback.
Graham comes to the Farrell house for dinner the night before the opening game to check in on Jimmy. The next day, Jimmy plays well, and with the score tied as time is running out, Jimmy tosses a long touchdown for the win. Of course, Jimmy thanks and credits his dad for buying a high-quality Penn football that allowed him to practice and improve.
Jimmy's experience is the classic Horatio Alger or rags to riches story. Jimmy is not impoverished financially, but he has little natural athletic talent. However, his father, who seems to lack the knowledge or inclination to teach Jimmy the secrets of football, gifts him a fine Pennsylvania-brand ball. Jimmy uses the ball as he practices hard and with little success until a kind mentor arrives on the scene. The mentor reveals the secrets of success to Jimmy and his friends, and the combination allows Jimmy to transform himself into a team player, star, and leader of young men. After Jimmy’s metamorphosis, the kind mentor drives off into the retirement sunset, knowing a new generation of star performers is ready to fill the gap he leaves behind.
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When I played flag football after school (fourth grade) in the mid-70s we used a Penn football.
Great change of pace with this fun one