Billy DeBeck

Who was Billy DeBeck?

William Morgan DeBeck, better known as Billy DeBeck, was an American cartoonist. He is most famous as the creator of the comic strip Barney Google. The strip was especially popular in the 1920s and 1930s, and featured a number of well-known characters, including the title character, Bunky, Snuffy Smith and Spark Plug the race horse. Spark Plug was a merchandising phenomenon, and has been called the Snoopy of the 1920s.

DeBeck drew with a scratchy line, and his characters had giant feet and bulbous noses—what is traditionally called a "big-foot" style. His strips often reflected his love of sports. The first awards of the National Cartoonists Society, beginning in 1946, were the Billy DeBeck Memorial Awards.