Bill Gallo (December 28, 1922 – May 10, 2011) was an American

cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comics illustrators/artists in that they produce both the litera ...

and newspaper columnist, known for his cartoons about

sports Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in ...

, for the New York '' Daily News''.

Biography

Gallo was born in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

, the son of a

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

father who died when Gallo was 11 years old. Gallo's mother and father were natives of Spain. When Gallo graduated from high school in 1941, he landed a copy boy job on the ''Daily News''. He worked there for seven months until he was called to serve in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Gallo joined the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

on December 8, 1942. He completed his

recruit training Military recruit training, commonly known as basic training or boot camp, refers to the initial instruction of new military personnel. It is a physically and psychologically intensive process, which Resocialization, resocializes its subjects for ...

at Parris Island, South Carolina. Gallo served in combat in the Pacific theater, fighting at

Saipan Saipan () is the largest island and capital of the Northern Mariana Islands, an unincorporated Territories of the United States, territory of the United States in the western Pacific Ocean. According to 2020 estimates by the United States Cens ...

Tinian Tinian () is one of the three principal islands of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). Together with uninhabited neighboring Aguiguan, it forms Tinian Municipality, one of the four constituent municipalities of the Northern ...

and on

Iwo Jima is one of the Japanese Volcano Islands, which lie south of the Bonin Islands and together with them make up the Ogasawara Subprefecture, Ogasawara Archipelago. Together with the Izu Islands, they make up Japan's Nanpō Islands. Although sout ...

. After the war, he returned to the ''Daily News''. Gallo also attended

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

and later the Cartoonists and Illustrators School (now known as the

School of Visual Arts The School of Visual Arts New York City (SVA NYC) is a private for-profit art school in New York City. It was founded in 1947 and is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design. History This school was started by Silas ...

), under the GI Bill of Rights. In 1960, Gallo was transferred to the Sports Department of the newspaper, where he began doing sports cartoons following the death of cartoonist Leo O'Melia.Bill Gallo Papers
at Syracuse University Gallo developed the characters Basement Bertha and Yuchie. One of Gallo's more famous works was his 1979 tribute sketch after the death of Yankees baseball great, Thurman Munson. Gallo's work can also be found on the walls of the Overlook in Midtown Manhattan which is owned by Patrick Evangelista, Mark Evangelista and Jeff Perzan, as well as in the permanent collections of the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. On the night of Tuesday, May 10, 2011, Gallo died from complications stemming from pneumonia. He was 88.

Awards

;Columnist–writer: Gallo received the James J. Walker Award (now the Barney Nagler Award) from the

Boxing Writers Association of America Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing punches at each other for a ...

and the Champions Award from the Downtown Athletic Club. He was also inducted into the

International Boxing Hall of Fame The International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF), located in Canastota, New York, right next to exit 34 of the New York State Thruway, honors boxers, trainers and other contributors to the sport worldwide. Inductees are selected on ballots cre ...

. ;Cartoonist: He also received the

National Cartoonists Society The National Cartoonists Society (NCS) is an organization of professional cartoonists in the United States. It presents the National Cartoonists Society Awards. The Society was born in 1946 when groups of cartoonists got together to entertain the ...

Milton Caniff Lifetime Achievement Award in 1998. Gallo was also awarded the Page One Journalism Award from the New York Newspaper Guild 20 times, the Power of Printing Award, the Elzie Segar Award (as outstanding Cartoonist in 1975), and the Achievement Award for Alumni from the School of Visual Arts. He also received the National Cartoonist Society Sports Cartoon Award for 1968, 1969, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, and 1988. In January 2010, Gallo was among the honorees, accepting an award for his boxing writing at the Ring 8 benefit in Howard Beach, New York. The Ring 8 organization awards Bill Gallo college and vocational scholarships annually based on need to aspiring male and female scholars with a boxing background. On May 7, 2011, he received the

Ellis Island Medal of Honor The Ellis Island Medal of Honor is an American award founded by the Ellis Island Honors Society (EIHS) (formerly known as the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations (NECO)), which is presented annually to American citizens, both native-born ...

. Due to his health, he was unable to attend the ceremony on Ellis Island. The Daily News honored his medal with a two-page spread that weekend.

Notes

External links

Bill Gallo Papers 1960-1970
at Syracuse University (primary source material) {{DEFAULTSORT:Gallo, Bill 1922 births 2011 deaths American sports cartoonists American humorists American columnists Sportswriters from New York (state) United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II American people of Spanish descent Burials at Gate of Heaven Cemetery (Hawthorne, New York) Columbia University alumni International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees School of Visual Arts alumni United States Marines Artists from New York City Writers from Manhattan