Willard Mullin was essential to the Brooklyn Dodger experience, his memorable image of the Brooklyn "Bum" in the New York World telegram's sports pages became the team's quasi-mascot and nickname for the last two decades of its life at Ebbets Field. This great original drawing by the "Dean of Sports Cartooning" ran in The Sporting News on December 9, 1953. It shows the Bum welcoming new Dodger manager Walter Alston, who looks a tad overwhelmed by the big busker's attention -- a typically warm and playful Mullin scenario. The dimensions of the drawing (13 3/4 x 15") are also typical of a Mullin drawing, as he worked on large surfaces employing pen and ink, brushwork, and conte crayon on coquille board. His signature in itself is a work of art comprised of 26 primarily vertical pen slashes. Drawing is in NRMT condition and mounted against a black background in a 19 x 21" black frame. Any original Mullin is a real prize, and this is one of the best we've handled. Includes original copy of The Sporting News page with the cartoon.