Judge, 1908-10-31 · page 16 of 16
Judge — October 31, 1908 — page 16: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a comic strip satirizing "Little Johnny," a popular mischievous character of the era, and "Teddy Bears"—toys named after President Theodore Roosevelt, who famously spared a bear's life in 1902, making them a national craze. The joke: Little Johnny coaches his teddy bears like a football team, teaching them to kick a ball. The ball flies over a fence and strikes a woman on the head. She chases the children in revenge with characteristic early-1900s slapstick humor. The satire targets the obsession with football (Yale and Harvard are mentioned) and the "Teddy Bear" fad simultaneously—mocking both adult enthusiasm for college sports and the commercialized toy craze. The woman's exaggerated reaction ("lightning struck her dead") amplifies the comedic violence typical of Judge magazine's satirical approach. This appears to be promotional material advertising the strip's book collection.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Auage- LITTLE JOHNNY AND THE TEDDY BEARS. A FOOTBALL CAUSES GREAT REPROACH TO JOHN, THE LITTLE FOOTBALL COACH. I season now has come ; 0 ball begins to hum. How Yale and Harvard play the game. 2s the fence it swiftly The ‘Teddies quite mistrust their eyes. ‘They know that such a wondrous play Was never made hefore that day the bears, midst great acclaim, 2. He teaches them a little trick, And lines them up and starts to kick. ‘The flying ball ascends toward heaven, Fast followed by the ‘* Bear eleven.” 4. High, high the ball flies o'er the fence, But swift and hard descends from thence. * Ithits a woman on her head, Who thinks that lightning’s struck her dead. 6. She sees the boy, the bears, the ball, ‘And quickly comprehends it all. Right up she springs—wrath lends her wings— And like a rock that ball she flings 5, Bot in a jiff she ascertains lots of her beside ** re upset, and she is we will live revenge to get COPYRIGHT, 190K BY JUDGE COMPANY, FUMISHERS, FIFTH. AVENUE AND MADISON SQUARE, NEW YORK. The First Series of the adventures of “Little Johnny and the Teddy Beare” is now ready in handsome book torm. Price, 60 cents. For sale y book dealers everywhere, or sent postpaid upon receipt of price by Judge Company, Filth Avenue and Madison Square, New York. comicbooks.com