Ed Murawinski
For nearly five decades, his sharp and witty cartoons defined the visual voice of the New York Daily News sports pages.
Born 1951 (age 75)·American cartoonist·Birthday: November 3·Baby Boomers
Biography
Ed Murawinski didn't just draw cartoons for the New York Daily News; he became a daily institution for New York sports fans. Hired straight out of the School of Visual Arts in 1968, he embedded himself in the city's frenetic sports culture, translating the triumphs and heartbreaks of the Mets, Yankees, Giants, and Knicks into instantly recognizable ink-and-paper commentary. His style was less about ornate illustration and more about immediate, gut-punch humor and clever visual metaphors that captured the mood of the back page. Murawinski weathered the paper's ownership changes and industry shifts, his work remaining a constant until his retirement in 2015. His legacy is a vast archive of drawings that chronicle not just games, but the very personality of New York sports across generations.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Ed was born in 1951, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Ed Was Born
The biggest hits of 1951
#1 Movie
Quo Vadis
Best Picture
An American in Paris
#1 TV Show
Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts
Ed's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1951Born
First color TV broadcast in the US
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,925Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Too Young" — Nat King ColeBest Picture: An American in Paris
1956Started school
Elvis Presley appears on The Ed Sullivan Show
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $10,050Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Heartbreak Hotel" — Elvis PresleyBest Picture: Around the World in 80 Days
1964Became a teenager
Civil Rights Act signed; Beatles arrive in America
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $13,450Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"I Want to Hold Your Hand" — The BeatlesBest Picture: My Fair Lady
1967Could drive
Summer of Love in San Francisco; first Super Bowl
Gas: $0.33/galHome: $14,250Min wage: $1.40/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"To Sir, with Love" — LuluBest Picture: In the Heat of the Night
1969Could vote
Apollo 11: humans walk on the Moon; Woodstock festival
Gas: $0.35/galHome: $15,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Sugar, Sugar" — The ArchiesBest Picture: Midnight Cowboy
1972Turned 21
Watergate break-in; last Apollo Moon mission
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $19,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" — Roberta FlackBest Picture: The Godfather
1981Turned 30
MTV launches; first Space Shuttle flight; AIDS identified
Gas: $1.31/galHome: $52,300Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Bette Davis Eyes" — Kim CarnesBest Picture: Chariots of Fire
1991Turned 40
Soviet Union dissolves; World Wide Web goes public
Gas: $1.14/galHome: $82,400Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" — Bryan AdamsBest Picture: The Silence of the Lambs
2001Turned 50
September 11 attacks transform the world
Gas: $1.46/galHome: $126,400Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Hanging by a Moment" — LifehouseBest Picture: A Beautiful Mind
2011Turned 60
Osama bin Laden killed; Arab Spring sweeps the Middle East
Gas: $3.53/galHome: $138,400Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Rolling in the Deep" — AdeleBest Picture: The Artist
2021Turned 70
January 6 Capitol breach; COVID vaccines roll out globally
Gas: $3.01/galHome: $298,900Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Joe Biden"Levitating" — Dua LipaBest Picture: CODA
2026Age 75 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Served as the primary sports cartoonist for the New York Daily News for 47 years, from 1968 to 2015.
- His work was featured in the Best Editorial Cartoons of the Year anthology multiple times.
- Awarded the National Cartoonists Society's Reuben Award for Best Sports Cartoon in 1990.
Did You Know?
He created the popular "Ink and Incapability" cartoon series for the Daily News.
Murawinski is a member of the Society of Illustrators.
He taught cartooning at the School of Visual Arts, his own alma mater.
“A good sports cartoon hits you like a fastball to the ribs.”
