GREEN BAY, Wis. (CH) — “B.D.,” the quarterback in Garry Trudeau’s famed Doonesbury cartoon strip is now playing for the Green Bay Packers. The cartoon character is based on real life football player Brian Dowling, who was recently signed by the Packers when their regular signal caller broke his leg.
Dowling went to Yale with Trudeau, and first appeared as “B.D.” in Trudeau’s “Bull Tales” strip in the Yale Daily News. Trudeau went on to fame and fortune, using Dowling as well as the other well-known characters, but Dowling hasn’t fared quite as well. In fact, he was selling life insurance when the Packers beckoned.