Did you know?

Did you know that the first time Charlie Brown tried and failed to kick the football it wasn't Lucy who was holding the ball?

In the November, 14, 1951 Peanuts strip, the character Violet is holding the football for Charlie Brown to kick, but doesn't actually pull it away on purpose. She was afraid that Brown would kick her hand, so she let's go of the ball early and looks away. In the next panel, after Brown swung and missed the ball, she turns back around and asks why he didn't kick it.

The first time Lucy holds the ball for Chuck is in the November 16, 1952 strip. She pulls the ball away because she didn't want Brown to get her new ball dirty by kicking it with his dirty shoes. Angrily, Charlie tells her not to do that again and to hold the ball tight. He tries to kick again, and she doesn't pull the ball away but holds it so tight that he can't kick it out of her hand. She says that she held it tight, just like he said to do.

As you can see, I just finished reading The Complete Peanuts (1950 - 1952).