Annotations of The Complete Peanuts/1969 to 1970

Annotations to The Complete Peanuts: 1969 to 1970 by Charles M. Schulz (Fantagraphics Books, 2008. ISBN 1560978279

p. 2 (January 4, 1969). 1984 refers to the dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell. Linus is presumably comparing Lucy to Big Brother.

p. 4 (January 8, 1969). Peggy Fleming was a famous figure skater, who had won the gold medal for figure skating at the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble, France .

p. 14 (February 1, 1969). Joe Garagioloa was a former baseball player who had become a broadcaster, and at this time was a panelist on The Today Show.

p. 17 (February 6, 1969). The height of the pitcher’s mound in Major League Baseball was lowered by five inches after the 1968 baseball season. As Charlie Brown relates, this was designed to lower the dominance of pitching in baseball by reducing the advantage held by the pitcher. See also March 25, 1969.

p. 22 (February 18, 1969). In Genesis 19:26, Lot’s Wife looks back as they flee the city of Sodom (defying the angels who told them not to look back), and is turned to a pillar of salt. At Luke 17:32 Jesus said: "Remember Lot’s wife!".

p. 29, 31–32 (March 8–15, 1969). Schulz features Snoopy travelling to the moon in his astronaut persona as the genuine Apollo program approached its climax. This series of strips ran during the Apollo 9 mission, with the dress rehearsal Apollo 10 following in May and the first moon landing on Apollo 11 in July. The Lunar Lander from Apollo 10 was nicknamed “Snoopy".

p. 32 (March 13, 1969). Snoopy is alluding to comments made by astronauts Bill Anders and Jim Lovell during the Apollo 8 mission the previous December.

p. 37 (March 24, 1969). Expansion clubs are new teams that have just been added to a sports league, and usually have less experienced players and staff. At this time, Major League Baseball had just undergone significant expansion, with four new teams added in Montreal, San Diego, Kansas City and Seattle for the 1969 season.

p. 37–38 (March 26–29, 1969). Hyponatremia is indeed the term for the condition Linus describes. The special balanced electrolyte solution that Linus prescribes for the condition was already available in commercial form as Gatorade.

p. 58 (May 13, 1969). “Play it again, Sam” is a reference to the classic motion picture Casablanca. This line is not actually in the film: the actual quotation is "If she can stand it, I can! Play it!".

p. 60 (May 18, 1969). Kermit Zarley was a professional golfer on the PGA tour. Also see February 1, 1969 and October 8, 1967.

p. 74 (June 21, 1969). Eddie Rickenbacker was the highest scoring American fighter pilot during World War I, after a previous career as a racing driver.

p. 80 (July 4, 1969). Roller Derby is a sport involving teams of five players roller skating around a track. At this time, Roller Derby was closer to sports entertainment (similar to professional wrestling) than an actual competitive sport, which explains Snoopy’s outfit.

p. 93 (August 3, 1969). Babe Ruth was one of the best known baseball players in history. See also September 28, 1964.

p. 112 (September 15, 1969). At the time of this strip, the United States military still practiced conscription, and the military draft was a concern for all males as their 18th birthday approached. Conscription was subsequently eliminated in favor of an all-volunteer military in 1973.

p. 113 (September 19, 1969). Vince Lombardi was a famous football coach, best known as the coach of the Green Bay Packers between 1959 and 1967. At the time of this strip, he was the coach of the Washington Redskins.

p. 119 (October 3, 1969). Rod McKuen was best known as a poet and songwriter. Sally is confused, as usual.

p. 136 (November 11, 1969). Bill Mauldin was an American soldier and cartoonist, best known for creating the characters Willie and Joe for cartoons that appeared in Stars and Stripes during World War II.

p. 151 (December 16, 1969). Snoopy has confused his terminology somewhat; the usual term for the easy ski hill that beginners use is the “bunny hill”, rather than “rabbit slope”.

p. 153 (December 21, 1969). The quotation on the descent of Jesus that Linus recites is Matthew 1:1–18.

p. 157 (December 31, 1969). Fred Glover was a hockey player and coach (at the time, coach of the Oakland Seals of the NHL. Hank Aaron was a baseball player with the Atlanta Braves. Pancho Gonzales was a famous professional tennis player. See also January 8, 1969, February 1, 1969, December 11, 1968 and October 11, 1968.

p. 190 (March 18, 1970). "I was born one bright spring morning..." Yet Snoopy's birthday was celebrated in the strip of August 10, 1968.

p.196 (April 1, 1970), Ted Williams is regarded as one of the greatest hitters in baseball history. He retired from playing in 1960 and was appointed manager of the Washington Senators in 1969, despite having never coached or managed at any level of baseball.
p. 206 (April 24, 1970). Lucy should have looked up "Arbor Day" instead.

p. 230 (June 19, 1970). Bobby Orr is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, widely acknowledged as one of the greatest of all time. He played 10 seasons with the Boston Bruins and in May 1970 he scored the cup-winning goal, in overtime, in the final match of Boston's Stanley Cup series with the St Louis Blues. It was Boston's first Stanley Cup victory in 29 years.
p.232 (June 22, 1970) Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as "Woodstock", was a legendary music festival held August 15–18, 1969, in Bethel, New York.
p. 246 (July 26, 1970). First mention of "The Six Bunny-wunnies" fictional series of books.

P. 308 (December 17, 1970). Ouija boards enjoyed a bit of popularity among the general population in the late 1960s and early 1970s, after their commercialization as a toy by Parker Brothers in 1966.