The storyline centered on likable
Irish-American police officer Michael Aloysius "Mickey" Finn in
suburban Port Chester, New York. Leonard based the character on Port Chester policeman Mickey Brennan after watching Brennan helping children cross the street. Like other police strips, it surfaced in the wake of the blockbuster
Dick Tracy, but
Mickey Finn was more analogous to the popular 1970s television program
Barney Miller, focusing on humor and character rather than on action or
mystery. Historian Tom Whissen found it "one of the few comic strips ever to portray a city policeman in a manner that avoided either sentimentality or
sensationalism." When the strip began, Mickey worked at the Schultz Soap Company, but after he caught a runaway steer, he was given a chance to take a police physical exam. Mickey lived with his widowed mother and her cigar-smoking,
derby-wearing, blarney-spieling brother, Uncle Phil, a member of the Goat Hill Lodge of the Ancient Order of American Grenadiers. Uncle Phil became a breakout character. Comics historian
Don Markstein noted: With Mickey promoted to become a detective, Uncle Phil became an alderman and sheriff. Supporting characters included Mickey's girlfriend Kitty Kelly, Sergeant Halligan, baseball player Red Fedder and bartender Clancy. Leonard occasionally brought into the strip real-life sports figures, such as
Joe Louis and
Lou Gehrig. ==Reprints==