Birmingham Historical Comic Strips -- Birmingham News, Original Page
The first actual comics "page" in the Birmingham News turned out to be on December 20, 1920. Here are the contents of that page:
Bringing Up Father, George McManus, International Feature Service
Polly and Her Pals, Cliff Sterrett, Newspaper Feature Service
Mutt and Jeff, Bud Fisher, H. C. Fisher
The Outa-Luck Club, Dok Willard, King Features Syndicate
Barney Google, DeBeck, King Features Syndicate
"Say, Pop!", C. M. Payne, King Features Syndicate
Elsewhere in the paper was a panel that ran in the sports page (or the page that had the most sports coverage, at least) called Penny Ante, by Jean Knott, which was dedicated primarily to friendly wagers.
Before this time, the paper ran strips scattered throughout the pages on a sort-of-reliable basis. Bringing Up Father, Polly and Her Pals, and Mutt and Jeff had run consistently over the previous five years or so, while the others had been added in the last couple of months.
A quick note on Birmingham newspaper history, as I understand it: Although there is, of course, only one major local paper at this time, there have been, of course, other papers around over the years. The News' major competitor, the Post-Herald, folded in the last couple of years but will certainly be worth a study. Other historical competitors of potential interest would include the Ledger, which was swallowed by the News in early 1920.
Last Updated: June 6, 2007