That was considered cartoon fodder for John Foster, who wrote Mexican Baseball for Terrytoons as a vehicle for that lovable two-some, Gandy Goose and Sourpuss.
And, in his own way, Foster conducted a raid of his own, lifting a joke from Mike Maltese at Warner Bros.
Warners had its own baseball cartoon, Baseball Bugs, released on February 2, 1946. In it, the Gashouse Gorillas smack the ball to the sound of “Ahi Viene La Conga,” then director Friz Freleng cuts to a conga line.
Mexican Baseball was released more than a year later, on March 14, 1947. Foster had loads of time to borrow the gag, with Phil Scheib providing a conga tune as the Mexican bulls bat around.
One thing the Terry cartoon has the Warners’ cartoon doesn’t is Sid Raymond voicing a number of parts.
Fans of the Terry Splash™ will not be disappointed in this cartoon.
I had no idea that "Mexican Baseball" was inspired by real-world events. Sort of gives new meaning to the expression "Give it the ol' pepper!"
ReplyDeleteBeing a baseball fan, I think I mentioned the Mexican League comment in a Facebook discussion some years ago; it's nice to see that someone else, too, has made the historical connection. The Mexican League's saga is quite interesting, in that it almost brought about free agency a quarter century or so before Curt Flood's saga ended up doing so.
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