R.I.P. Bill Gallo (NY Daily News Cartoonist)

I’ve put this in the Game Room because, although he covered other subjects, Bill Gallo was most famous for the sports cartoons he drew for the NY Daily News for many years. If it’s better suited to Cafe Society, that’s fine with me.

He was 88 and ill for awhile. I met him once on 14th St. in NYC, outside the Con Ed building, with my father. He was very gracious and spent 10 minutes talking to us about NY sports teams.

If you’re unfamiliar with his work, here’s alink to the News with some of his famous cartoons.

His drawing after Thurman Munson died was my favorite.

His most enduring creation was Basement Bertha, the original symbol of the hapless Mets of the early Sixties.

I never met him, but heard a lot of nice things about him- he used to visit a lot of veterans’ hospitals and spend time talking sports or drawing caricatures on the spot for patients.

Absolutely. I can’t hear his name without thinking “…I just don’t feel like playing ball today”.