Comic Title: Action Comics #4
Publisher: DC (Detective Comics, Inc.)
Address: 480 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY
Cover Date: September 1938
Approx. On Sale Date: August 2, 1938 Copyright Date July 25, 1938
Source: Library of Congress, Periodicals 1938
Until 1958 DC did not report actual on sale dates to the copyright office
The publication dates listed in LoC records are NOT release dates.

Frequency: Monthly
Cover Price: $0.10
Page Count: 64
Editor: Vincent A. Sullivan

Title: (Superman, Gridiron Hero)
Pages: 13

Feature(s):
Superman (of Earth-2)

Writer: Jerry Siegel
Artist: Joe Shuster

Reprinted In:
Superman #1 (1939)
Famous First Edition C-61 (1979)
Famous First Edition C-61 [Whitman Exclusive] (1979)
Superman Archives Vol. 1 HC (1989)
Millennium Edition:Superman 1 (#51) (2000)
Millennium Edition:Superman 1 (#51) [Variant] (2000)
Superman Chronicles Vol. 1 TPB (2006)
Superman:The Golden Age Omnibus Vol. 1 HC (2013)
Superman:The Golden Age Vol. 1 TPB (2016)
Superman (Facsimile Edition) #1 (2022)
Superman (Facsimile Edition) #1 [MB Artist Exclusive] (2022)
Superman (Facsimile Edition) #1 [MB Artist Exclusive] (2022)

Feature Character(s)

• Superman (last appearance in Action Comics #3; next appearance in Action Comics #5)

Villain(s)

• A hit-and-run driver (dies in this story; no further appearances)
• Coach Randall (Dale University football coach; no further appearances)
• Two hired thugs (no further appearances)

Other Character(s)

• Two train engineers (no further appearances)
• Tommy Burke and Mary (a football player and his girlfriend; no further appearances)
• The Cordell University football team and Oliver Stanley (the coach; no further appearances)

Comments:
This story originally was not titled; the title shown here was given on a text page of Action Comics Archives Vol. 1 in which this story is summarized.

Synopsis:
Overhearing, the crooked college football coach of Dale University plotting to stock his team with thugs to defeat Dale’s major rival, Cordell University, Superman decides to take action. He imprisons and takes the place of a member of Cordell’s team whom he closely resembles: Tommy Burke, the team’s "champion bench-warmer." With his powers, Superman quickly impresses Cordell’s coach and is put on the roster for the championship game against Dale. Prior to taking the field, Superman (as Burke) confronts Dale’s coach and threatens to expose the coach’s scheme. The coach instructs his hired thugs to take down "Burke," but Superman proves to be more than a match for Dale’s ringers. Shamed, Dale’s coach resigns his position and Burke resumes his identity to enjoy his newfound fame and an early retirement from football.