Bob Colacello:

"The 1977 Athletes series, a vast number of paintings and prints of sports stars commissioned by Richard Weisman, the investment banker son of L.A. collectors Freddy and Marcia Weisman... bombed.

Andy [Warhol] was paid $800,000 for the portraits of Muhammad Ali, Rod Gilbert, Ron Duguay, Vitas Gerulaitis, Dorothy Hamill, Willie Shoemaker, Tom Seaver, Chris Evert, Pele, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Jack Nicklaus. The last, claimed Andy a bit wistfully, 'didn't even know who I was.'

They were shown in New York, London, Toronto, and Cologne, but everywhere the art critics yawned and the sports fans wondered why Andy had painted O.J. Simpson in pistachio and cantaloupe.

Finally eager to to recoup some of his investment, Weisman arranged a joint show with the Peter Max of sports portraiture, LeRoy Neiman. Andy and Fred, feeling guilty about the money they had already banked, had no choice but to agree. Again, such exertions did nothing for Andy's prices or stature." (BC340)