Harry B. Martin

Martin was born on May 26, 1873, in Salem, Illinois. 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 and began working in newspapers in Vincennes, Indiana in 1893.

In 1894, Martin was living in St. Louis and working as a cartoonist, and was hired by Chris von der Ahe as the secretary and official scorer for the St. Louis Browns.

Martin originated the Weatherbird character and single-panel comic strip for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on February 11, 1901. Martin handed the strip off to Oscar Chopin 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, New York American, and New York Globe. 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) and Inbad The Tailor (April 27, 1911 – June 18, 1912, for the New York American). He also drew sports cartoons.

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|File:It_Happened_in_Birdland_comic_strip.png

|alt1=Cartoon -- early 20th century comic strip featuring anthropomorphic birds

|It Happened In Birdland

|File:Inbad_the_Tailor_comic_strip.png

|alt2=Cartoon -- early 20th century comic strip featuring anthropomorphic birds

|Inbad The Tailor

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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.

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.

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• {{cite book |last=Martin |first=Harry B. |others=Foreword by Grantland Rice |title=50 Years of American Golf |year=1966 |orig-year=1936 |edition=Reprint |publisher=Argosy Antiquarian Ltd 1966 (Dodd, Mead 1936) |isbn=978-0872660205}}
• 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

{{reflist|refs=

{{cite web |url=http://strippersguide.blogspot.com/2013/01/ink-slinger-profiles-harry-b-martin.html |title=Ink-Slinger Profiles: Harry B. Martin |author=Alex Jay |date=January 17, 2013 |work=Stripper's Guide |accessdate=September 5, 2016}}

{{cite web |url=http://strippersguide.blogspot.com/2009/11/obscurity-of-day-inbad-tailor.html |title=Obscurity of the Day: Inbad the Tailor |author=Allan Holtz |date=November 9, 2009 |work=Stripper's Guide |accessdate=September 7, 2016}}

{{cite web |url=http://strippersguide.blogspot.com/2009/07/obbscurity-of-day-it-happened-in.html |title=Obscurity of the Day: It Happened In Birdland |author=Allan Holtz |date=July 8, 2009 |work=Stripper's Guide |accessdate=September 7, 2016}}

{{cite web |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=DbVGAAAAIBAJ&sjid=j3sMAAAAIBAJ&pg=3695,5160414&dq=dickie-bird+cartoon+comic&hl=en |title=Golf Authority Dead at 85 |date=April 16, 1959 |work=Warsaw [Indiana] Times-Union |accessdate=September 5, 2016 |page=7}}

{{cite web |url=http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/columns/editors-desk/from-the-editor-celebrating-the-weatherbird/article_845d61c8-86d4-5a7d-8f8c-a54b1e4b9346.html |title=From the editor: Celebrating the Weatherbird |author=Gilbert Bailon |date=March 24, 2013 |work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch |accessdate=September 5, 2016}}

{{cite book |last=Hetrick |first=J. Thomas |title=Chris Von der Ahe and the St. Louis Browns |url=https://archive.org/details/chrisvonderahest00jtho |url-access=registration |accessdate=September 7, 2016 |year=1999 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=978-0810834736 |page=[https://archive.org/details/chrisvonderahest00jtho/page/160 160]}}

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Category:1873 births

Category:1959 deaths

Category:People from Salem, Illinois

Category:Vincennes University alumni

Category:St. Louis Post-Dispatch people

Category:Writers from New York City

Category:American golf writers

Category:American comic strip cartoonists

Category:American comics artists