Oceans Never Listen to Us Anyway

Richmond: I got Murray’s number through a mutual friend, called him up, and said, “You want to do this?” And he said, “Sure, I love The National.” He said, “I’ll meet you at Wrigley in two months. They play the Expos in a three-game series starting July 7.” But he never answered another call. So I flew out to Chicago and I got there a day early and tried to put together a Cub feature in case Murray didn’t show, because I didn’t expect him to. So I went to the PR people and said, “Just leave a ticket for Bill Murray at will call.” Then I took my ticket and went down to our seats behind home plate, and during the national anthem, Bill Murray comes down with two bags of popcorn and two beers and sits down, and we spent the next three days together in Chicago.

Deford: Murray liked us so much that he came into the office, into an editorial meeting, posed in a Cubs uniform and everything.

Patterson: I get in late and I look around the room, and all of sudden Bill Murray’s in the meeting. I said, “What are you doing here?” He said, “Oh, shut up and sit down. You’re that asshole Patterson, right?” They had set me up to have him there.

This Oral History of The National is pretty phenomenal.