Showing titles in Sports History

No man has affected more runners in more ways than Bill Bowerman. During his 24-year tenure as track coach at the University of Oregon, he won four national team titles and his athletes set 13 world and 22 American records. He also ignited the jogging boom, invented the waffle-sole running shoe that helped establish Nike, and coached the US track and field team at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games.

A little over 100 years ago, East Africa was terra incognita to most whites: a land largely unmapped, sparsely settled by Europeans, and teeming with wildlife. It was the hunter-adventurer's paradise, and by the early 20th century, a small, lionhearted clan of explorers and big-game hunters began leading safaris there for money.

In Sit Down and Cheer, Martin Kelner traces the development of this relationship from its humble origins in the 1960 Olympics, by way of the first-ever Match of the Day in 1964, through to the financial impact of Sky, right up to the high-tech gadgetry of our present-day viewing. Insightful and very funny, this is an entertaining exploration of two major national pastimes and not to be missed.

Putting the games in the context of Rome's rise and dramatic fall, Mannix captures all the history, planning, and savage pageantry that went into creating the first spectator sports. But as Rome begin to fall in the fifth century, so did the games, devolving into nothing more than pointless massacres. In the end, millions of humans and animals were sacrificed in barbaric displays. What were once ceremonies given in honor of gods met an inglorious fate, yet they still captivate the imagination of people today.

Scyld Berry attended his first Test match in a professional capacity in June 1973, as EW Swanton's 'amanuensis'. With his 501st Test now on the horizon – an achievement never reached by any other greats of the cricket-writing world – Berry has watched the sport evolve like no other. Test cricket is a steady stream: England have not had a winter off-season since 1972, some Test series almost overlap with the next, and players span eras.

A celebration of the beautiful game and its 100 greatest players, from the pre–World War II exploits of Dixie Dean to the modern-day genius of Kylian Mbappé and Lionel Messi These players left legacies, redefined the game with trademark skills, and grew into national icons. They have their...

One of the greatest and most beloved golf books ever written is now available on audio—“a cause for celebration” (The Wall Street Journal)—with a new introduction by Golf in the Kingdom author Michael Murphy, and a new afterword. Thirty years (and counting!) after publication, To the...

In the tradition of Seabiscuit, critically acclaimed author Neal Bascomb reaches back to the golden age of sport and crafts an utterly captivating narrative of what may be the most remarkable athletic feat of all time.

When the Detroit Red Wings were rebooting their franchise after more than two decades of relative futility, they knew the best place to find world-class players who could turn things around more quickly were conscripted servants behind the Iron Curtain. All they had to do to get them was make history by drafting them and then figure out how to get them out of the Soviet Union.

Dear England: The Real Story of the Three Lions Rebirth delves into Southgate's turbulent journey to being hired as England manager, to his emergence as a waistcoated cult figure and becoming the country's most successful manager since Sir Alf Ramsey. Award-winning football writers Jonathan Northcroft and Rob Draper have had extraordinary access to the England team during Southgate's tenure and take us behind the scenes as they exclusively interview key backroom staff and players.

In the world of boxing, the script is usually written long before the opening bell. The favourite strides in under the bright lights, wrapped in silk and confidence, carrying the weight of expectation like armour. The opponent? He’s meant to be a footnote, a “tune-up” fight on the road to a bigger payday. But then, the unthinkable happens. A single hook lands. The champion’s legs wobble. The arena freezes in stunned silence, and in that heartbeat, boxing history is rewritten right in front of you.

Bruce Lee remains the gold standard that all martial artists are compared to. But could he actually fight? World Champions in karate competition have gone on record to point out that he never once competed in tournaments. Were his martial abilities merely a trick of the camera? For the first time ever, Bruce Lee authority and bestselling author John Little takes a hard look at Bruce Lee's real-life fights to definitively answer these questions with over thirty years of research that took him thousands of miles.

Loose Balls is, after all these years, the definitive and most widely respected history of the ABA. It's a wild ride through some of the wackiest, funniest, strangest times ever to hit pro sports -- told entirely through the (often incredible) words of those who played, wrote and connived their way through the league's nine seasons.

On 13 July 2014, World Cup Final, the last ten minutes of extra time: Germany forward Mario Götze, receiving a floated pass from his international teammate André Schürrle, jumps slightly to meet the ball and cushion it with his chest. Landing on his left foot, he takes a step with his right, swivels, and in one fluid motion, without the ball touching the ground, volleys it past the onrushing Argentine goalkeeper....

A brilliant, funny and insightful analysis of Paul Gascoigne’s crazy up and downs during his three years at Lazio – a period which shows his entire career in microcosm. 4th July, 1990. Turin, Italy England are on the brink of reaching their first World Cup final in 24 years...

Through most of the Roaring '20s, Jack Dempsey was the heavyweight champion of the world. With his fierce good looks and matchless dedication to the kill, he was a fighter perfectly suited to his time. In A Flame of Pure Fire, renowned sports writer Roger Kahn not only chronicles the thrilling, brutal bouts of the Manassa Mauler, but also illustrates how the tumultuous 1920s shaped Dempsey - and how the champ, in turn, left an indelible mark on sports and American history.

The crazy but true story of how owner George Steinbrenner, followed by his son Hal, have controlled the most famous team in American sports. Since taking over the New York Yankees franchise in 1973, the Steinbrenners have transformed the fabled team from a struggling franchise into a baseball...

From Klopp to Slot, from pressing to precision, Liverpool Football Club: Premier League Winning Formula 2024/25 charts the Reds' triumphant return to the top. A NEW ERA BEGINS WITH ARNE SLOT. Slot didn’t try to replace Jurgen Klopp’s legacy. He refined it. His first season brought a transformed team—controlled, tactical, yet fiercely Liverpool at heart. APRIL 27, 2025 – A NIGHT TO REMEMBER.

With over 30 years' experience, there is perhaps no one better qualified in the art of carp fishing than angling legend John Wilson. In this essential carp fishing guide, John covers everything you need to know, providing beginners and experts alike with invaluable hints and tips. Along the way John offers advice on the best equipment for each scenario as he passes on a wealth of knowledge that can come only from a lifetime of fishing.

Emma Gatewood told her family she was going on a walk and left her small Ohio hometown with a change of clothes and less than $200. The next anybody heard from her, this genteel, farm-reared, 67-year-old great-grandmother had walked 800 miles along the 2,050-mile Appalachian Trail. And in September 1955, atop Maine's Mount Katahdin, she sang the first verse of "America, the Beautiful" and proclaimed, "I said I'll do it, and I've done it."