David Cooper

BONUS! Baseball Player, Kid, Organ Player and Bill McCloskey

Added 2024-01-19 09:00:04 +0000 UTC

SKIP THE INTRODUCTION WE HAVE A LOT TO COVER TODAY.

There are a lot of random baseball players in this episode and I'm going to level with you: the earlier they appear, the more likely they are going to get a coveted "bonus" slot. Here's the first:

In a similar vein, this kid from the baseball crowd really stood out to me, he's a good example of that hideous charm that early Simpsons designs often have. Where else is he gonna get his time to shine?

But those two are small potatoes; here's where we get to the real meat.

I'm trying to determine if this organ player is the same organ player at the church, who appears several times, most memorably playing "In The Garden Of Eden" in season 6's "Bart Sells His Soul"

From the colouring alone it seems likely that this was the intent, and her name is established as "Mrs Feesh" in season 5's "Bart's Inner Child":

In the scene we are covering, Homer calls her Helen. Season 15's "Bart-Mangled Banner" has Lovejoy call her Martha:

But in season 31's "Todd, Todd, Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me?" he calls her Gertie, so I don't know WHAT to think.

I'm not sure if she ever gets an actual spoken line - if she does, I suppose we'll determine her true name then.

I almost missed Bill McCloskey on my first run though, as he doesn't have any lines:

But he is named and even described as a "mediocre slugger" by commentator Don Horde, and we've included characters for less in this project (see: "kid", above), so I decided to include him, especially when I discovered he also makes an appearance in Simpsons Comics #4:

and even another appearance in Simpsons Summer Shindig #7 - way later in 2013!

How canon these stories are is debatable - how canon anything is in The Simpsons is debatable - but this makes Big Bill more of a recurring character than Flash Baylor, and he doesn't even have a voice!

This post is part of my "Every Simpsons Character Ever" series. For a list of my rules in this project, click here.