One of the small pleasures of writing this book has been talking to people all over the country about their passion. Almost everyone I spoke to caught the idea immediately; for those who didn’t, all I had to do was ask, “What exhibit makes people stop and say, ‘That’s cool!’?” Then they got it—and almost all shared my enthusiasm. So I’d like to thank all those who keep America’s many wonderful small museums going and who have been so helpful to me. Ditto, of course, to the professional staffs at various halls of fame, sports organizations, and the Smithsonian.
Christopher Hunt was a helpful reader on an early version, and my brothers Cullen and Finn Murphy read the final draft. Brendan Murphy and Meg Murphy Nash read specific entries and improved them. My brother-in-law, Cary Sleeper, did brilliant photography for many items. My sister Cullene Murphy did the same with her image of Mike Eruzione’s stick. Another sister, Byrne Sleeper, helped keep me sane and reasonably cheerful throughout; yet another, Siobhan Grogan, helped me celebrate the end of it all with a weekend in Mexico City. My mother made a point of not asking about the book with such determination that I almost felt sorry for her, but I know she was always rooting for me, which is all that matters. And my late father, John Cullen Murphy, introduced me to the joy of sports.
My friends were wonderfully patient with how I could find a link between almost any topic of conversation and an item in the book. I consider this a neat party trick (and one, in fact, that I can keep playing). I suspect they might be less enthusiastic. Even so, their interest, even if some of it was feigned, kept me going.
For a variety of boring reasons, this book had to be written relatively quickly. I could never have finished if my colleagues at McKinsey had not supported me to a degree far above any reasonable expectation.
This is my third book. Each time, I have ventured to Thailand near the end of the ordeal for sun, sustenance, and friendship at the home of Gretchen Worth and her four-legged friends. Thanks, yet again.
Finally, thanks to my agent, Rafe Sagalyn, for selling the idea, and then for liking it, and to the staff at Perseus, who turned a jigsaw puzzle of words and pictures into a handsome book.