Tank McNamara by Bill Hinds for August 05, 2024

And back to our sponsor, Fart and Sminal.

Of course, start the retrospective with the classic Norts Spews line. Also a nice way to bring back the late great original partner Jeff Millar to the strip.

With all the Norts that’s fit to Spew.

If you click on the left side double arrow, you will start at the strips from 1998 (if I’m not mistaken) or click on the little calendar in the middle box with today’s date and manually select the month and year. I found that quite by accident.

What sold me was the Sunday strip, where Tank was looking for post-season sports on TV, saw this guy he didn’t know on all the channels, then said, “What did they do to Dick Nixon and who’s this Gerald Ford?”

Back in high school, my friend Mike equated me with the NASCAR driver who had Tank so terrified that he dug his fingers into the dashboard…and then told him that a little nail polish remover would get the dash paint out from under his fingernails. I resembled that strip…. About the same time period, Tank could be surreal. I remember the assistant football coach introducing the Hulk to the head coach, who rejects him for being a comic book character. The next scene is the assistant coach telling Spiderman, Thor, and Iron Man to try the Colts.

I used to teach a class on television. I remember the first day I had to broadcast and get his discomfort. I took all of the keys and change out of my pockets so nobody could hear my legs shaking.

Great when it started, and still great! Thanks.

I lived in Nashville 50 years ago and we had a local newscaster – the then-unknown John Tesh – who bore some physical resemblance to the new Tank McNamara comic, and by all reports he was not amused.

I thin Norts Spews is very appropriate for today’s news coverage.

I’m waiting to see Tommy get his gig on tv.

Congrats on 50 years, Bill!

Congratulations on 50 years! Here is a toast to many more.

It still have the first Tank collection. It’s still hilarious.

That was Tank’s first newsman strip.

Fumble Mouth!

The time he was doing the play by play and messed up introducing his color commentator. The strip would never get published today, but his partner’s response was brilliant!

Still better than Howard Cosell on his best day

thanks for the 50 years

When did his jaw grow so much?

One story arc back in the ‘70s had Tank get fired because of his “fumblemouth.” But then the station’s director discovered there was a lot of viewer love for Tank. As one of the viewers’ signs read, “Norts Spews Forever.”

Happy 50th, Tank.

I’ve been around for most of those years. Tank started out as a former defensive lineman. (In one strip he told a reporter why he played football: “I got to hurt people and it was legal.”) Years later Mr. Hinds turned him into a former offensive lineman (more of a gentle giant thing), but the satire continued to be scathing. Congrats for 50 excellent years!

Tank hasn’t dove onto a fumble for many years. C’mon, one last time.

I remember when it first started running in the Boston Globe. They put it in the sports section, and not with the other comics.

Chicago White Sox losing streak is now 20

When I first became aware of Tank McNamara, he was no longer a player but was trying to be the next Country-Western singing great. He suggested to his agent that he release his music under an alias as a “true test” of his talent, instead of relying on his gridiron fame to highlight it (that idea didn’t go over well). Does anyone remember this? It was in the 1970’s, as I recall.

Legend has it that Tank was modeled (slightly) after Dick Stockton.

My favorite series was when the football player didn’t want to celebrate a TD at old Meadowlands Stadium because Jimmy Hoffa was rumored to be buried there.

Hmmmm…. Chins aren’t supposed to sag. Must be an implant.

Yes, I remember reading that back when newspapers were a thing. My parents subscribed and I read the funnies every dang day, And today I still do, sans ink stains on fingers.

Belated – Happy 50th. anniversary, Tank M.! Hope you keep on doing the Norts Spews, I mean Sports News for the next couple of years.