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Merry Christmas To All!
Was Willie Mays the Inspiration for the Charlie Brown Christmas Special?
Over the years, on each holiday it’s been my custom to try to find a connection between the holiday and baseball. So as we celebrate Christmas today whoever thought I’d be able to find a connection between the perennial TV favorite, Charlie Brown’s Christmas Special and baseball!
But find it I did…
Willie’s Connection to the Charlie Brown Christmas Special
At first glance, you’re probably wondering why I chose to run a photo of Willie Mays and Charlie Brown together in this Christmas post. Well, I read an interesting article explaining how the Charlie Brown Christmas Special came about. 
I discovered that none other than the great Willie Mays was the inspiration — at least in an indirect way — for the classic Christmas special. It remains one of the most popular animations since its debut nearly six decades ago on December 9, 1965. I’m not sure if Willie was ever aware of it, but if it wasn’t for him, the special may never have existed.
Here’s the short version of how it happened:
It turns out Peanuts creator Charlie Schultz was a lifelong Giants fan and Willie Mays was his idol. His Peanuts strip after the Giants lost the 1962 World Series is a classic (see below). After television producer Les Mendelson created a successful special on Willie Mays in 1963 called, “A Man named Mays,” he had an inspiration.
“If Mays was the best baseball player on Earth, surely Charlie Brown was the worst. So why not make a documentary on his creator, Charles Schulz?”
At first, Schultz was hesitant to give his consent to the project, but after thinking about it and having learned that Mendelson had produced the Mays special, he soon warmed up to the idea. According to the Charles Schultz Museum, he is reported to have replied to Mendelson’s suggestion: “If Willie can trust you with his life, maybe I can do the same.”
The rest, as they say, is history. A Boy Named Charlie Brown was the result of their collaboration. Soon after, Time magazine ran a cover on Peanuts as the popularity of the comic strip grew. After their initial success working together, another special was soon in the works. This one grew to become The Charlie Brown’s Christmas Special.
And all because Charles Schultz was a big fan of Willie Mays!
It’s interesting to note that Peanuts first appeared on October 2, 1950 and ran in just seven newspapers. By the time of Charles Schultz’s death in 2000, it was appearing in 2,600 newspapers.
Anyway, I thought you might enjoy this little story on Christmas 2024. So on behalf of all of our great contributors here on Baseball History Comes Alive, I like to wish you all a Merry Christmas…and to all our Jewish friends, a very happy Hanukkah season!
Gary Livacari
Information: How Baseball Great Willie Mays Became the Catalyst for the Charlie Brown Christmas Special, by Mike Mancini
Photo Credits: All from Google search
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