The Lasting Impact of Reds’ Cartoons

The first American sports cartoons appeared in newspapers in the early 1900’s. Through the 1920’s, no newspaper of any size was without a regular sports cartoonist until they began to be displaced by photography. Nevertheless, they flourished until the demise of afternoon papers, like Providence’s Evening Bulletin, in the late 1970’s.

Just as the mid-century was the golden age of hockey, so it was for the sports cartoonists. Up until then and over the years, the works of James Henderson, John Fawcett, Allan Halladay, Ed Igoe, Emile Trahan and Howard Maier graced the Journal-Bulletin sports pages. Even the sports cartoonists in the markets of other AHL teams, like Cleveland’s Lou Darvas, sometimes regaled the talents of incoming Reds, like Zellio Toppazzini, to spark attendance.

However, the most prolific sports cartoonist in Rhode Island was the Providence Journal’s Frank Lanning. In addition to creating the Reds’ famous “Raging Rooster”, which appeared on the team’s logo, his caricatures and depictions of Reds players and the team’s exploits over 47 years was a journalistic catalyst for the passion Rhode Islanders had for the game and continues to this day.