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Dateline: Goodyear, Arizona
Jerry Dowling, 86, passed away on March 7 and Dirty Rat will mourn his friend.
Dowling was the sports cartoonist for the Cincinnati Enquirer, who specialized in caricatures as the one used by this blog to establish recognition.
As this blog was developed it had a name and needed one that was going to be memorable. Dowling showed a caricature and his title read "Full of Schatz", at the risk of non being taking seriously, it was adopted. The use of the caricature establishes recognition.
Dowling was the cartoonist at the Enquirer from 1975 to 1980. Dowling took no prisoners, drawing cartoons and plenty of ire from his subjects, Reds, Bengals, Xavier and Cincinnati University and many, many celebrities. His drawings displayed a caustic wit.
He was banned from dining room privileges for non flattering drawings and comments from his alter ego "Dirty Rat" that appeared in many of his drawings. The Bengals pulled his press pass for a caricature lampooning Mike Brown.
Dowling took pride in the emotional stir his work caused. He was relentless. No one was safe. Not even Elvis Pressley, who at a concert held up a drawing of him. He showed the cartoon on stage and had some choice words about it.
There was a night in Great American Ball Park in which, Rob Reiner, Tom Hanks, Denise Miller and Ron Howard were there. It was a bus tour they put together to visit every Major League ballpark. The night in Cincinnati there was a long rain delay. The Reds brought the quartet to the press box level for an impromptu press conference. These three comedic geniuses were answering questions and telling stories when Dowling revealed a caricature from the back of the room of one of the members of the press. Laughter broke out in the back. The celebrities thought it was in response to something they said but it was Dowling's cartoon that caused the laughter. It was priceless. He upstaged all of them.
Dowling was born in Windsor, Canada. He was a huge hockey fan. He was frequently seen at Cincinnati Stingers game from the WHA days and the various minor league hockey teams in Cincinnati.
Jim McIntyre coined the phrase Big Red Machine on the air in 1969 when the Reds were loaded with proficient bats. The name often gets attached to the 1970 Reds because Dowling drew a cartoon in 1969 and updated it during the Big Red Machine pennant years.
His caustic wit was ever present. Even after he retired he was a regular in the press box at Reds' games. Quick with a comment almost always critical and irreverent.
I am certain the good Lord will even be lampooned by Dowling after all the Supreme being gave him such a marvelous talent
The last of Dowling's daily drivels from January 15 of this year.
Gar, enjoyed this story, I met him when I worked for the Reds and Bengals. My Dad knew him.
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