Peanuts by Charles Schulz for April 08, 2023

take a hint Patty, get caps!

Well if I had a cap I could.

And if she did get some caps, what would they say on the front?

Franklin could run to first base like Pete Rose and lose his cap.

Franklin could run to first base like Pete Rose on a walk and lose his cap in the process.

It looks like the cap movement is spreading, PP!

Franklin, a hat would really suit you.

And now we resume the arc dealing with Peppermint Patty’s baseball team wishing they would get baseball caps.

And when was the last time you….oh, forget it. Is Franklin an up and coming Hank ’Aaron, or just an Aaron wannabe?

It sounds like PP’s team isn’t much better than Charlie’s.

According to the small print in the copyright, it was published in 1976. This strip might have still made some people uneasy. But today we don’t think much about girls and boys playing sports together and even less about white and black kids playing on the same teams.

You don’t see this in Schultz’s earlier work, but he evolved with the times.

Sports was one of the first places to break down race barriers. I also contend rock and roll had its place too. I remember the outrage of white kids dancing to black music!

Willie Mays!!!

Sounds like a good name for a team. The “Flying Caps”

Now I want a cap too

I played the game for many years. It seems the cap kept the sun out of your eyes and made it easier to follow and/or catch the ball. It’s a practical piece of equipment.

You can throw it in the air when your team wins. Charlie can throw it on the ground and stomp it when his team loses. A use for every occasion.

When I was young everyone played in the community ball games in the park, black, white, boy, girl, kids and adults. We had fun and nobody really cared who won.

That’s not very encouraging, Peppermint Patty!

I didn’t know Franklin played baseball.

I still don’t get what Peppermint Patty has against baseball caps. She probably prefers playing (American) football without helmets. Or ice hockey without pads.

maybe if we had caps, i could steal 3rd.

Oddly enough, in newspapers that run comic strips in old-fashioned black and white (like the Boston Herald) Franklin is white. That’s because in the original strip Schulz used diagonal lines to represent skin color, but today those lines have been eliminated in favor of an actual color. Unless it’s in black and white, in which case Franklin’s skin color is the same as all the other kid’s.

When was the last time he had a cap when playing on your team, Peppermint Patty? He just might steal home (yes, I know I just skipped third altogether) if he had a cap. Could be he’s too self concious about stealing any base because he looks like he’s playing a pick up game out in the school playground at recess

Actually he’d be wearing a helmet instead of a cap when he would be stealing third…

Maybe if he had a cap he would feel more motivated to steal 3rd base