Cartoon

Title:

Tale of Two Men

Object Name:

Cartoon

Object ID:

2016.038.04

Creator:

Bissell, Phil (b. 1926)

Place of Origin:

Boston, MA

Date:

circa 1970

Description:

Cartoon, Rockingham Park, Salem, NH, by Phil Bissell, c. 1970. Ink on heavy paper. Depicts Kenneth F. Graf, president of the New Hampshire Jockey Club, owners of Rockingham Park, and Lou Smith, former owner, who died in 1969. Jockey riding horse on right. Signed "Phil Bissell" at bottom. Titled at top, "TALE OF TWO MEN - BY PHIL BISSELL".

Material:

Paper

Dimensions:

H-18.6 W-13.5 inches

Provenance:

In 1964 the New Hampshire State Legislature passed bills creating the first state-operated lottery in the United States. Sold only in state liquor stores and a few select other locations, the winning lottery ticket was based upon the outcome of a thoroughbred race at Rockingham Park. Lou Smith then inaugurated the New Hampshire Sweepstakes, patterned on the Irish Sweepstakes. The initial running on September 12, 1964, won by Roman Brother in track record time of 1:55:4 for 1 3/16 mile, was covered by the national media and televised by ABC-TV's Wide World of Sports. The race was discontinued after 1967 and renewed in 1984.

Phil Bissell's (b. 1926) first sports cartoon was published when he was fourteen. After attending the Boston School of Practical Arts, he served in the U.S. Army. He then became an office boy for the Christian Science Monitor, soon graduating to be their sports cartoonist. He was sports cartoonist for the Boston Herald and Boston Globe, 1953-1965. He designed the official logo of the Boston Patriots.

Credit Line:

Gift of Rockingham Park

People:

Smith, Lou ( -1969), Graf, Kenneth F.

Subjects:

Horse racing, Horse racetracks, Horses, Cartoons, Cartoonists, Jockeys