10 Peanuts Comics That Will Make You Want to Hit the Ice

Sports of all ilk are a Peanuts mainstay, be it the winter, spring, summer, or fall, and ice skating is commonly included in the strip. There have been numerous stories featuring ice skating throughout Peanuts' history. Just two of many storylines are Snoopy's short-lived romance with an ice skating beagle and Peppermint Patty joining a skating competition with help from Snoopy as her coach.

Much like how football and baseball are entwined in Peanuts lore, ice skating plays an important role in the gang's lives, as numerous comic strips can demonstrate. Snoopy even has multiple personas tied to ice skating, with a notable one being his World Famous Crabby Skating Pro alter ego. Even without counting the various hockey comic strips of Peanuts, there are still countless ice-skating comics of the beloved property that one can't help but laugh at with that classic Peanuts humor on full display.

10 "The World Figure Skating Championship"

February 8th, 1970

Snoopy practices for the World Figure Skating championship in Yugoslavia, planning his travel accommodations to the smallest detail. Tired of hearing Snoopy's fantasies and of him taking up the ice, Lucy yells at him to get off the ice with some very choice words. After the verbal beat down from Lucy, Snoopy decides to take it easy and goes back to his doghouse, contemplating just staying home and watching the World Figure Skating championship on TV.

That the championship takes place in Yogiosalvia tells readers how old this particular Peanuts strip is, as Yugoslavia has not been considered a country since 2003.

Lucy knows how to be a bummer when she wants to be, as seen by her putting a damper on all of Snoopy's skating fun. Snoopy is not typically one to take any sort of rudeness without a fight, so his adherence to Lucy's wishes is a little out of character for the usually irreverent pup.

9 "I'll Never Forget Her"

December 21st, 1965

As Snoopy skates, he reminisces about him skating at the same rink where he met the Ice Skating Girl Beagle a year ago, who he would later become engaged to before her father forbade the engagement because Snoopy was an obedience school drop out. All the memories of the short-lived romance come flooding back to him, resulting in him wanting to skate her out of his system before eventually relenting, knowing that he will never forget her.

This comic strip was not the first time that the Ice Skating Girl Beagle was brought up since the break-up, with him seeing her at the beach when he tried to surf in a strip from August 1965. As much as Snoopy tries to forget his ex-fiancée, it is easier said than done, with her popping up at different times, which makes it all the harder for Snoopy to forget about the ill-fated relationship, especially when he is ice skating at night alone.

8 "How About a Skate, Sweetie?"

January 10th, 1975

Skating at the rink, Snoopy sees Lucy and decides to jump at the chance to skate with her, propositioning her in a very Snoopy way. Lucy answers his question by pulling his hat over him and skating away, which cannot help Snoop'y's self-esteem in any way. A running gag from Peanuts' ice skating comic strips, Snoopy asks to skate with Lucy and Violet - among other Peanuts girls - and gets rejected, complete with getting pushed around by the girls on top of it.

Lucy and Snoopy do not always get along swimmingly, with a slew of comic strips, even Christmas and winter-themed ones, that show the pair not just arguing but actually coming to blows as well. Given their history, it is not all that surprising that their disagreements even extend to the ice skating rink.

7 "Cold Feet"

January 11th, 1969

Peppermint Patty strikes Snoopy as a good skating partner, and she surprisingly accepts his invitation after many bouts of rejection from Lucy and Violet. Maybe part of the reason she accepts is that she thinks Snoopy is a funny-looking kid. Regardless, Snoopy skates with Peppermint Patty and envisions all the figure skating championships they will attend all over the United States and all the trophies as well as acclaim they will garner.

An unintended consequence of the figure skating for Snoopy turns out to be cold feet... literally. The poor dog is skating with his paws, not skates, on the freezing cold ice. However, cold feet will not hold back the brazen beagle from entering the North American championship in Oakland. Unfortunately, Peppermint Patty can't go with him to Oakland, so Snoopy is left partnerless and returns home empty-handed.

6 "It Sounds Like a Great Game"

December 5th, 1971

In his big furry coat and hat, Charlie Brown makes his way onto the ice and slips onto his back. At a very inopportune time, Lucy and a friend are discussing the game of Spin the Bottle, which Lucy demonstrates by spinning Charlie Brown on the ice. Excited to be part of the game for once, Charlie Brown wonders who he is pointing towards, as he is the bottle.

A class Peanuts winter gag, Charlie Brown's big furry coat and hat tend to be an obstacle for him as well as sometimes an all-out hazard. Whether it be preventing Charlie Brown from being recognized at the bus stop or making him fall over on the ice, his coat and hat should come with a warning. An upside of him slipping on the ice rink is that he was included in Lucy's Spin the Bottle game... well, in his own way.

5 "I'm Cute"

December 20th, 1975

When Snoopy is counting on skating in the Olympics in Austria, he daydreams about his plans and thinks of his past mix-up one year when he thought that the Olympics were in Nashville. Lucy is not about to entertain Snoopy's sports greatness delusions, taking some action herself. Lucy confronts Snoopy with the harsh information that she has called the Olympic committee, who relayed the message that Snoopy can't compete in the Olympics because he does not have any of the qualifications to do so.

Snoopy is at a loss as to how it could be that he would not be qualified, since him being cute should count as being qualified enough - in his mind at least. It would not be the first hole that Lucy has poked into Snoopy's fantasy of skating in the Olympics with her also pointing out that he has no reputation.

4 "I Can't See a Thing"

January 9th, 1978

Being a good buddy as usual, Marcie spends time with Peppermint Patty while she practices her ice skating with hopes of one day entering the Olympics. However, trouble brews when a bunch of jerky hockey players demand that she get off the ice despite her being there first. Peppermint Patty is ready to square up with these rude hockey players, but Snoopy, as her skating coach, leaves her in the dust out of fear, leaving Marcie to come to the rescue, running to defend her.

One of the very few times that Marcie is seen without her glasses occurs in this comic strip, with the other one being a comic strip from February 16th, 1980.

Unfortunately, on her way to help her friend, she slips on the ice. After Marcie has fallen on the ice, her glasses are nowhere to be found, flying off the moment she hit the ice. Little do the two girls know that the glasses are in an unexpected place: on Snoopy's face, as he embodies the World Famous Crabby Skating Coach person - but he cannot see anything with Marcie's coke bottle glasses on.

3 "I'm Lifting! I'm Lifting!"

December 9th, 1971

Lucy sets her sight on being in her skating club’s Christmas show, but she needs a partner to do so. When Schroeder passes up on her offer, the only option left is Snoopy, which is a joy for him - for about five seconds. He then learns that he has to wake up at five in the morning for practice with her, and then some other complications arise. Snoopy and Sally's skating practice gets off to a smooth start, with Snoopy being a very agreeable and capable skating partner.

Things take a turn, however, when it is time for the big lift. Trying to lift Lucy, Snoopy struggles despite Lucy's orders to lift her, prompting Snoopy to let Lucy know that he is trying his best. While they eventually end up crafting a good skating routine (that doesn't require lifting), all the practice is for naught because Snoopy gets stage fright right before the show and ditches Lucy, leaving her with his skating understudy, Woodstock.

2 "The Best One in the Business"

November 7th, 1974

Deciding to get a jump start on her desired future career as an ice show skater in the winter, Peppermint Patty decides to sign up for a skating competition. Peppermint Patty calls her good buddy Charlie Brown about getting lessons from the skating pro in "Chuck's" house to prepare for the competition. This question is a shock to him, as Charlie Brown had no idea that he had a skating pro living with him, much less a skating pro that is "the best in the business."

Much to Chuck's surprise, the skating pro turns out to be the World Famous Crabby Skating Pro - or in other words, Snoopy. Much of Snoopy's coaching involves just making random noises at Peppermint Patty or barking at her, frequently telling her "bleah!" Consequently, he has a reputation as a tough coach.

1 "I Have Something Else That I Can Give You"

December 7th, 1974

After much practice and constructive criticism from Snoopy, a lot ends up going wrong for Peppermint Patty when preparing for the skating competition that she entered. First, the haircut she gets from Charlie Brown's dad, a barber, for the competition ends up butchering her hair. As a result, she starts wearing a wig to cover up her rough haircut. Then, it turns out that what Peppemrint Patty thought was an ice skating competition was actually a roller skating competition, and all the work she put in ends up being for nothing.

The Peppermint Patty skating competition with Snoopy as her coach plot point was the longest running storyline of Peanuts, with the duration clocking in at over 6 weeks long.

Remembering that she still owes Snoopy money for the skating lessons he helped her with in his skating coach persona, Peppermint Patty explains that she doesn't have any money, but she has something else that she can give him: her curly red wig, which Snoopy seems quite happy with. After all the trouble that Peppermint Patty went through, at least her wig was able to make someone happy in the world of Peanuts.