As per Frederick Frommer, author of several baseball titles either on his own or with his father, Harvey, comes this appreciation of “Baseball Bugs,” a Looney Tunes favorite that made its debut in 1946.
Frommer notes, “The 1946 cartoon is so packed with funny gags, clever puns, imaginative imagery and lively music that it’s still recognized as one of the best produced by Looney Tunes. Set at the Polo Grounds in New York, the cartoon also presaged a golden age of baseball in which the city’s three teams dominated the national pastime.”
Fans of a certain age will certainly get the writer’s references. But what they might not have seen is another Looney Tunes offering I had not heretofore heard of: “Porky’s Baseball Broadcast,” which came out in 1940. Set at the World Series at “Yankem Stadium,” this one has some troubles in that, for one thing, it has the Chicago Cubs facing the New York Giants (and pitcher Carl “Bubble.” But is that supposed to be Babe Ruth in this image?).
Just for fun (and what else could it be when you’re talking about cartoons), we have another clever but more irreverent analysis of “Baseball Bugs” from USSMariner.com — a site dedicated to the team from Seattle — from 2006.
Here’s a breakdown of “Baseball Bugs” from Anthony’s Animation Talk, a YouTube channel devoted to that medium. I found it a bit quizzical that Anthony is from Australia and more of a cartoon fan than a baseball fan! You will notice there are a few similarities between Bugs’ and Porky’s versions.