Ziraldo, the creator of the famous character “The Nutty Boy,” died at the age of 91 this Saturday (6).
He was also a cartoonist, caricaturist, and journalist. Ziraldo was one of the founders in the 1960s of the newspaper “O Pasquim.” His books sold more than 10 million copies and were published in several languages.
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Ziraldo was a football fanatic. Born on October 24, 1932, in Caratinga (MG), he enjoyed following the Brazilian national team. He witnessed the defeat to Uruguay in the final of the 1950 World Cup at the Maracanã.
“In 1950, I was shocked. I was at the Maracanã, it was the saddest day in Brazil’s life. When we went down the ramp, we only heard sobs. An absolute silence and a crying that seemed like a funeral. It was a funeral. I worked for a newspaper and had even drawn Brazil as the champion,” the journalist recalled in 2018 while following the arrival of the national team at Granja Comary, in Teresópolis.
In the 1960s, he worked at the Jornal dos Sports. In 1987, he was hired by the Clube dos 13, which organized the Brazilian Championship that year. The cartoonist was tasked with drawing the mascots of the 16 clubs involved in the competition.
A Flamengo supporter, Ziraldo participated in some initiatives driven by the club. The journalist wrote the book “The Dearest in Comics” and designed the logo for the “I Love Fla” shirt in 2004 to raise funds for the construction of two fields at Ninho do Urubu.
Ziraldo was also responsible for designing the emblem for the Rio club’s 100 years of football, which was celebrated in 2012.
