Sam was born in 1926 and joined the Navy in World War II which qualifies him in my mind as a Real American Hero but in fact for most of us we wouldn't ever really know him from being a World War II veteran although being a veteran in that war definitely prepared him for what his claim to fame would eventually become.
Sam was an artist and an illustrator you're probably familiar with although you may have never recognized any of his artwork. And the chances are that you will probably never see his work in any art museum. I'm pretty sure that the art critics are never going to recognize his work and the Louvre in Paris will not be requesting his artwork to go on display even though the collection of his work has certainly touched two generations and countless numbers of men and mothers just as much as a Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa, Van Gogh's Starry Night or Renoir's Luncheon of the Boating Party.
So where do you know Sam Petrucci from and why is it important for me to mention him in this blog about toys? Well if you ever played with G.I. Joe as a kid than you saw his artwork in the past. In fact at one time you could walk into any toy store or toy aisle and see a gallery of his artwork. Yes Sam is credited with designing the G.I. Joe logo of the 1960s and also worked for Hasbro designing a lot of the artwork that was part of the packaging to help sell G.I. Joe, our greatest american toy hero.
Most people don't pay too much attention to boxart on the consumer goods that we buy, yet that artwork certainly impacts are buying decision. Sam's boxart brought thrilling adventure and excitement to the packages of pieces that made us boys from the 60s and 70s want to continue to buy and get more of G.I. Joe's equipment of all types. Guys growing up in the 60s were thrilled with the art of the action soldier, marine, sailor and pilot. The images on the box captured our attention and had us ready to take our GI Joes on any type of military adventure that we wanted to create in the backyard. My generation in the 70s were thrilled with the Secret of the Mummy's Tomb or finding out the Fate of the Troubleshooter and lots of other packages that had captivating art that helped feed my mind full of more adventures. It was Sam's G.I. Joe box art that inspired us boys to go on many backyard adventures.
Now I'm sure that nobody at the time thought much more about that artwork that was being commissioned other than would it sell the product in the box. I'm pretty sure that no one at Hasbro really thought much about the impact that it would have on influencing two generations of children. But it did! Sam's box art not only helped in encouraging us boys to talk our mothers into allowance money to buy our favorite action figure but it also encouraged our imagination and helped to take us to worlds that this small town central Illinois boy never dreamed were possible in the confines of his space and reality. While my natural world was filled with corn stalks,soybeans and hay bales, with G.I. Joe when I looked at the package art I could instantly go to the tropical Sierra desert or down the river Congo and to any other place that my imagination could take me when I got home and opened the package.
Sam's artwork helped to fuel ones imagination to even greater heights and even off world as seen through a toy Astronaut Figure and his Space Capsule. So I want to say thank you to Sam who I consider a great American icon in and of himself. I only had the privilege to meet Sam once in person at a convention. I just shook his hand and told him that I liked his art. Today I want to thank him for more than just his art. I want to thank him for helping to inspire and feed my imagination with art that helped to transport me beyond the cornfields in the farms of my youth and propel me forward into the amazon jungles and space-age missions to mars and all the other jet setting adventures that only exist in the active imagination of a 10-year-old boy.
Many people don't understand why so many grown adults flock to G.I. Joe conventions and have vast collections of our favorite poseable action figure, but it's because you and your artwork helped to inspire so many of these boys imaginations and their growth and development as they turned from boys into men. Many people don't realize the impact that a toy has on children and future generations. Sam's life work made an impact and touched many lives even though many probably will never know it. Thank you Sam, you have been a part of inspiring the imaginations of many generations and I wanted to give you this tribute. Rest in peace Sam.
