THANKS ARE DUE to a number of people who helped make this book a reality. Ian Heads, a lifelong friend since we started work at the Daily Telegraph in the early ’60s, was instrumental in its conception and a great support in its gestation, and also provided some of the photographs. John Fordham, also a friend of more than 40 years, gave of his celebrated managerial skills to help get it off the ground. The written works of notable Rugby League historians, especially Gary Lester, David Middleton, Alan Whiticker, Larry Writer and the aforementioned Ian Heads, provided detail to support the recall of the authors. The folks at publishers Allen & Unwin, notably Rebecca Kaiser, Kathryn Knight and Elizabeth Keenan, have my gratitude for their professional attention and assistance.
Special thanks, of course, are due to two great champions, Norm Provan and Arthur Summons, with whom long conversations have been a fascination and a delight. Finally, I hope that this project provides worthy remembrance for the inimitable John O’Gready, whose consummate skill was its fundamental trigger.