Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel created the iconic character Superman in 1938. Robert "Bob" Westerfield, a Metropolis businessman, observed that his hometown and Superman's hometown shared the name Metropolis, and after discovering that Metropolis, Illinois, was the only town with that name, he sparked the relationship between the Massac County Chamber of Commerce and DC Comics. O.D. Troutman envisioned a larger-than-life Man of Steel and chaired the original Superman Statue committee, while Troutman and committee members Mary Castleman Horman, Jenny Walters, and Don Salisbury raised over $100,000 to have the fifteen-foot bronze statue designed, sculpted, and cast. The statue traveled from Utah to Metropolis, where it was placed on a shield-shaped base and unveiled in June 1993. Jim Hambrick, a lifelong collector of Superman memorabilia, moved from California to Metropolis in 1993 and brought his immense collection with him, opening the award-winning Super Museum, where visitors could see toys, movie props, costumes, and rare collectibles from film, TV, and comics, and he continued to promote Metropolis and its Superman connection through TV interviews and magazine articles.