A unique collaborative effort from the worldwide leader in sports, this beautifully illustrated volume featuring original essays by some of North America's most renowned writers shows what sports means to North America and why it continues to matter. Beginning with an introduction by Pulitzer Prize-winning author David Halberstam, the book includes ten chapters, each with an essay on the athlete(s) who best defined a particular decade, as well as sidebar essays on each of the other athletes named by ESPN's sports experts as the 100 Greatest Athletes of the Century. Each chapter concludes with a Playbook that provides memorable stories and much more.