Via Joseph Ghory of Brooklyn-himself a gentlemen of extraordinary interestingness-a New York Times obituary worthy of mention within the hallowed pages of Document Dump.

Archie Peck, croquet national champion, was a man of  "rugged good looks, effortless athleticism and aggressive style of play, he was widely described as having brought virility to a sport that had long been considered only somewhat less geriatric than shuffleboard," according to the Times. "So passionate was Peck for croquet that he is known to have said only a single negative thing about it in his lifetime."

Perhaps the best line: "This notwithstanding the fact that Peck, in his playing days, was commonly known as Silky Legs. As The Miami Herald explained in 1982, 'Women say he has the silkiest legs around when he wears his Italian-made tennis shorts.'"

As a connoisseur of the game myself--and a man in search of a strong moniker like Silky Legs--the piece made me chuckle. Read the whole thing, although it's not nearly long enough. It perhaps isn't the Best Obituary Ever--a title currently reserved for professional scoundrel John Fairfax, with a close second being The Hitch--but it's still worth it.