As an addendum, the first "official" short as The Three Stooges was Men in Black, the third one that they actually made for Columbia. As Baggie pointed out, the first Columbia short that they appeared in was Woman Haters, but it was one of a series of "musical novelties" and wasn't written for the Stooges in particular. (They do a good job of making it their own, though.) Punch Drunks, their second short for Columbia (and the only one giving the boys writing credits), was basically the "pilot vehicle" that made Columbia decide to sign the Stooges, and the boys debuted as "The Three Stooges" in Men in Black.