Two Hundred Eightieth in the Famous People (FP) Series - Barney Google
Barney made his debut on June 17, 1919, in a King Features strip under the title Take Barney Google, F'rinstance. Barney (who was about half as tall as the other characters) enjoyed horse races, prize fights and similar contests, and was nagged by "a wife three times his size" (as the song goes) for it.
On July 17, 1922, Barney happened to be standing on the sidewalk in front of the Pastime Jockey Club, when an argument inside got physical and a man came sailing out the window, knocking Barney to the sidewalk. Convinced this relatively soft landing had saved his life, the grateful victim made Barney a gift of a horse named Spark Plug. That explains why this matchstick container in this small cemetery is hidden close to Barney Gamble. Sparky's first race became one of comics' first national media events, eagerly anticipated by millions of newspaper readers.
When Barney Google's adventures found him riding Sparky into the Appalachia hills to escape the law, he met Snuffy Smith. Snuffy was a bodacious hillbilly who soon eclipsed him in popularity. At one time the premier moonshiner of Hootin' Holler mountain, this card-playin', hammock-swayin', shotgun-sprayin' varmint made the headlines when he vowed to give up his still forever. Snuffy became more and more prominent a character and within a few years, his name was added to the title. In the mid-1950s, Barney and Snuffy parted, and the strip stayed with Snuffy.
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| Snuffy Smith |
Loweezy |
Jughaid |
Tater |
Sheriff Tait |