Harry B. "Dickie" Martin (26 May 1873– 15 April 1959 ) was an American cartoonist and golf writer, one of the founding members of the Professional Golfers' Association of America (PGA).

Early life and cartooning

Martin was born on May 26, 1873, in

Salem, Illinois Salem is a city in and the county seat of Marion County, Illinois, United States. The population was 7,485 at the 2010 census. Geography Salem is located at (38.6282, -88.9482). According to the 2010 census, Salem has a total area of , of w ...

. His given name was Horace. He was the third of four children of Thompson and Jennie Martin; Thompson Martin was a laborer. Martin studied at

Vincennes University Vincennes University (VU) is a public college with its main campus in Vincennes, Indiana. Founded in 1801 as Jefferson Academy, VU is the oldest public institution of higher learning in Indiana. VU was chartered in 1806 as the Indiana Terri ...

and began working in newspapers in

Vincennes, Indiana Vincennes is a city in and the county seat of Knox County, Indiana, United States. It is located on the lower Wabash River in the southwestern part of the state, nearly halfway between Evansville and Terre Haute. Founded in 1732 by French fur ...

in 1893. In 1894, Martin was living in

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

and working as a cartoonist, and was hired by Chris von der Ahe as the secretary and official scorer for the

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they p ...

. Martin originated the Weatherbird character and single-panel comic strip for the

St. Louis Post-Dispatch The ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' is a major regional newspaper based in St. Louis, Missouri, serving the St. Louis metropolitan area. It is the largest daily newspaper in the metropolitan area by circulation, surpassing the ''Belleville News-De ...

on February 11, 1901. Though Martin handed the strip off to Oscar Chopin (1873 – 1932) in 1903, the Weatherbird continues in use to this day and is the oldest continuously-published strip. The bird was first named "Dickie Bird" (" dicky-bird" is a generic slang term for any small bird) and it is from this that Martin got his nickname. Martin moved to New York City in 1904 and worked for the ''

New York World The ''New York World'' was a newspaper published in New York City from 1860 until 1931. The paper played a major role in the history of American newspapers. It was a leading national voice of the Democratic Party. From 1883 to 1911 under pub ...

'', ''

New York American :''Includes coverage of New York Journal-American and its predecessors New York Journal, The Journal, New York American and New York Evening Journal'' The ''New York Journal-American'' was a daily newspaper published in New York City from 1937 t ...

'', and ''

New York Globe ''The New York Globe'', also called ''The New York Evening Globe'', was a daily New York City newspaper published from 1904 to 1923, when it was bought and merged into ''The New York Sun''. It is not related to a New York City-based Saturday fami ...

''. He drew the strips ''It Happened In Birdland'' (April 12, 1907 – January 6, 1908 and February 26, 1909 – September 7, 1909 for the ''

New York Evening Journal :''Includes coverage of New York Journal-American and its predecessors New York Journal, The Journal, New York American and New York Evening Journal'' The ''New York Journal-American'' was a daily newspaper published in New York City from 1937 t ...

'') and ''Inbad The Tailor'' (April 27, 1911 – June 18, 1912, for the ''New York American''). He also drew sports cartoons.

Golf writer

Martin worked as a golf journalist (including covering matches overseas) and was an expert on golf. He wrote fifteen golf books and at one time was the editor of four golf magazines. He organized a number of exhibition golf matches and was a founder of the American PGA.

Personal life and death

Martin married Susan Flanders on December 3, 1900, in St. Louis. They had two children. He died on April 15, 1959, in New York City.

Publications

* *Martin, Harry B. ''Golf for Beginners'' *Martin, Harry B. ''Golf Made Easy'' *Martin, Harry B. ''What’s Wrong With Your Game?'' *Martin, Harry B. ''Pictorial Golf'' *Martin, Harry B. ''Graphic Golf'' *Martin, Harry B. ''Great Golfers in the Making''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Harry B. 1873 births 1959 deaths People from Salem, Illinois Vincennes University alumni St. Louis Post-Dispatch people Writers from New York City Golf writers and broadcasters American comic strip cartoonists American comics artists