It’s 1965, a time when seeing your friend on a skateboard is still so exciting that it would make you run after him on the street. This is #43 of the Life With Archie series that started in 1958. November, 1965 was a big month for skateboarding in the Archie Comics Group. There was skateboarding on the cover of Jughead #136 and a cover with a story in Tippy Teen #1, a title drawn by the recently defected former Archie artist Samm Schwartz. Sam is credited with developing the Jughead character into a headliner instead of just a bit character.

Trying to figure out the authenticity of vintage skateboard themed items can be tricky with all digital reproduction methods and relative cheapness in production/reproduction methods compared to yesteryear. These two National Skateboard Championship patches pass the eye test however, and seems date to 1964 and 1965. Theres not really anything out there (online) on these.

You’re looking at a 1965 newspaper ad in the Alhambra Post-Advocate for Liebergs Children’s shop, a store that closed around 1991. – Thanks to Butch Gary Ayala for the pic.

I was doing some speculative snooping around online looking for skateboards advertisements in comic books circa 1965 and found another skateboard story and cover instead. The first issue of Tippy Teen has a publication date of November, 1965. This looks like a second rate copy of Archie and the gang, (not that Archie is first rate…) because it’s drawn by the same Samm Schwartz that drew Archie until he left MLJ to join Tower and spearhead… Tippy Teen.

Peanuts Wikia says this cartoon of sally on roller skates while the rest of the gang rides skateboards, including Linus, Snoopy, and some random kid whose name I can’t figure out even with the help of wikipedia, which has an extensive listing of main and minor characters in Peanuts. Newspapers across the country have been rerunning “Classic Peanuts” strips since Charles Schulz died. The ones you can see on Peanuts.com have all been colorized, and in the case of the Sunday versions, reformatted slightly. Charles always treated skateboarding with respect in his strips. Whenever they appeared they were matter of fact, and not used for a pratfall. Catch the colorized version after the jump. – Thanks to Jodie Taylor for the tip.

I was trying to track down a better picture of some Hanna Barbera saftey cards from 1965 because one of them has the hapless Magilla Gorilla pulling a classic wilson. In the process I found Magilla skating in an uncredited image that looks like a still from a cartoon. Casting the net wider turned up a coloring book with Huckleberry Hound and Quickdraw McGraw doubling up on a longboard.

The Hollywood Theater is showing to 16mm skateboarding films on Monday, February 16 at 7:00 pm in Portland, Oregon. Tickets are only $5 so that’s a no brainer if you’re on the fence. You’ve probably seen Skater Dater before, but you’ve not likely seen the Australian film Ultimate Flex Machine. These prints are owned by Stephen Slappe, and they are only shown every couple of years in order to prevent wear and tear. Both of these films had theatrical releases, Skater Dater in 1965 and Ultimate Flex machine in 1975. Slappe’s print of Ultimate Flex Machine is in especially good condition, and he’s got a newer print of Skater Dater than he had previously shown. Slappe has a couple of short mystery reels that will also be included in the show. You can check out larger versions of the posters for Ultimate Flex Machine as well as some stills after the jump. See you at the Hollywood on Monday!

I couldn’t find out a single thing about who this Tiffany Eubank is. There are too many current day Tiffany Eubanks littering social media for Google to be much help. I believe she must have been an English model or actress. She was featured in a series of ads for Ushers Green Stripe scotch doing things like skydiving and skateboarding. The advertisement on the left ran in 1965, the same year as this Nash Sidewalk Surfboard ad. Actually, It’s unclear what company produced this advert. It appeared in a surfing magazine, and Surfing Heritage lists Ventura International Plastics (in Ventura) as the manufacturer of the Duke Kahanamoku surfboard model, but the Nash name is not on the (at least) 2 different Duke Kahanamoku skateboards, and their address was in Texas even back then. Then there’s the mail away surfing stickers. That address is for a third entity called Program Sales with a Hollywood address. It’s a bit of a head scratcher, but the Cowabunga ad is a pretty cool one.

1965 was a good year for skateboards in catalogs. Here’s a page from a Sears catalog featuring Sears branded skateboards, which are essentially Nash-style copies, some like the Spyder are so similar that the were likely made by Nash. The ad copy has some choice bits like “So sturdily built it supports an adult” and “Professional rink skate wheels of tough plastic.” The 35″ Hang Ten Surfer model has a Mahogany top layer. The Wipe Out Surfer has a walnut core with fiberglass rails (rails in the surfboard sense, not the skateboard, bottom of the deck plastics) Rubber trucks are listed as a selling point. We’ve seen plastic ones before… [Source: Ad – Skateboard]

Apparently frat boys have a long history with skateboarding. This Delta Tau Delta skateboard allegedly came from a pledge dance in 1965. The board style and condition of the skateboard would seem to support that. I have to say, it’s a pretty cool party favor, much better than some stupid paddle. This board was spotted at a Goodwill online auction, and eventually sold for $102. – Thanks to Guy Housewright for the tip.