Peanuts by Charles Schulz for November 14, 1951

And thus the tradition is born…

And thus the tradition is born…

Strange how Violet first pulls the prank, and not Lucy

Wow! I wondered where it started. But is that Lucy? It looks more like Violet.

Yep, it’s Violet. Lucy hasn’t been introduced yet. The cast in November 1951 consists of Charlie Brown (not yet “the loser”, more an impish Puck), Patty (not “Peppermint” Patty), Shermy (who more or less disappeared later in the strip), Violet and Schroeder, who is still a baby but already plays a wicked piano. And Snoopy, who hasn’t yet stood on his hind legs or had a thought balloon.

Love it.

guess it didn´t start as a prank…

Lucy must come WAYYYYYY after

but Lucy does the same thing the first time

I see some confusion:

It is Violet Grey. She pulls away because she fears that Charlie Brown might accidentally kick her hand.

After this it became well now that Charlie Brown crashes if he tries to kick football and it gets pulled away at the last minute. Lucy Van Pelt will take advantage of this:

Lucy Van Pelt maliciously pulls the football at the last .1 second just to make him wipeout. Lucy Van Pelt will not debut for quite some time.

Charlie Brown gets his kicks alright.

Lucy won’t appear until March 3rd, 1952 (4 months after this).

Did she teach this to Lucy? Why would she pass that on?

So it was Violet that first pulled the ball away from Chuck and NOT on purpose!

And so it begins…

Lucy does it on purpose Violet did it on accident.

Episode One: The Saga Begins

football gag.

The original football gag. And note, this is the second time that Lucy has taken over something originated by Violet. The first time was when Violet called Charlie Brown a blockhead, which is the first time Charlie Brown was ever called that. It happened on August 15, 1951.

And so it begins…

So the first time was an accident? Interesting