Yes, above you see one of Wimpy's earliest appearances in Thimble Theatre, May 1931 as the ref in the Popeye/Batt McGnat fight. Wimpy has since often (always?) acted as referee in Popeye's many boxing matches.

After his first appearance, Wimpy became a fixture in Thimble Theatre as the local moocher. His life is one big free ride, at the expense of his companions.

Wimpy is an embarrassment to overweight people everywhere. Although he's got a perfectly good brain in his head (Popeye at least once mentions that Wimpy went to college), it is his stomach that does most of the thinking. As a cartoon character, his weakness for hamburgers is his trademark. Certainly Garfield's passion for lasagne was patterned after Wimpy and his hamburgers.

Now, I may like Wimpy as a character, but don't get me wrong: if he were a real person living in my town, I'd be disgusted with him. I'd avoid him like the plague. I might even join Geezil in his 'Kill Wimpy' campaign. I can't stand a mooch.

But Wimpy is cool as a cartoon character, because: He's smooth. He can fasttalk his way out of any situation. If Popeye can't punch and sock them out of trouble, there's always Wimpy's silver tongue. But despite his quick wits and elegant speech, Wimpy's got no pride to speak of. He is not above begging, wheedling, and whining when it comes to getting something to eat for nothing.