Manchester City qualified for the European Cup following their League Championship success in 1967/68. Immediately after winning the title City manager Malcolm Allison said "We'll terrify the cowards of Europe." Inevitably therefore they lost their first-ever European tie against the unfashionable Turkish champions. Since that date the club's supporters have witnessed the highs and lows that European football can produce. Notable victories over the best teams in Europe, Gornik in the European Cup Winners' Cup in Vienna, remains clear in the memory as do those matches we would rather forget, Fenerbahce in 1968, Borussia in 1978, right up to present date, where the club promised so much but left the supporters disillusioned. This is an evocative collection of how the media perceived the games, player's memories, supporters European trips, action shots, programme covers and assorted memorabilia. Illustrating the story of City through the triumph and disappointment of epic struggles against the best teams on the continent. So as we head into the future we recall the past

So You Think You're a New York Mets Fan? tests and expands your knowledge of Mets baseball. Rather than merely posing questions and providing answers, this book will give you the details behind each stories that bring to life players and coaches, games and seasons. This book is divided into multiple parts, with progressively more difficult questions in each new section. Along the way, you'll learn more about the great Mets players and managers of the past and present, from Tom Seaver to Gary Carter, Keith Hernandez, Lee Mazzilli, Davey Johnson, Dave Kingman, Gil Hodges, Jerry Koosman, Jon Matlack, John Stearns, Darryl Strawberry, Mike Piazza, Edgardo Alfonzo, Matt Harvey, David Wright, and so many more. The many questions that this book answers include: Who was drafted number one overall by the Mets in 1984? Who was on deck when Mookie Wilson hit his famous ground ball to Bill Buckner? There are two men enshrined in Cooperstown wearing Mets caps on their plaques, but there are 12 other Hall of Famers who played for the Mets at one point in their career. Name them. What do the Mets' World Series MVPs from 1969 and 1986 have in common? The two pitchers who were on the mound in 1969 and 1986 when the final out of each World Series was made were actually traded for each other. Name them. This book makes the perfect gift for any fan of the Amazin's!

IT'S A ROCKY ROAD! Game Changer is the eighth book in the football-tastic Roy of the Rovers illustrated fiction series, and the second Rocky of the Rovers story. Part of the third season, this exciting series is written by award-winning author Tom Palmer. The newly formed Melchester Women's team are going from strength to strength in their first full season of professional football, lead by the tenacious Rocky Race. But behind the scenes, the morale of the club is low. After a shocking incident in a men's European game, and the recent Race family tragedy, Rocky, her brother Roy, and the whole club is struggling to deal with the aftermath. What's more, she's fighting with Ffion her friend! Can she maintain her match-winning performances? How is she supposed to deal with everything that's happened? And just where does her footballing future lie? Enjoyed this title? Pick up The GBP100 Million Game next to continue the story! Praise for the Roy of the Rovers series: EPIC! - Match of the Day Magazine I love the way that they are about so much more than football: they are about heart, values and family. Both graphic novel and fiction titles are compelling, engaging and a lot of fun. Lace up and get reading. - Jim Sells, Programme manager for Sport & Literacy, National Literacy Trust. Read with my 7 year old who is football mad, really enjoyed it and left us wanting to read the next one in the series! - GoodReads Review

The huge Sunday Times number one bestselling inspirational memoir from rugby league legend Rob Burrow on his extraordinary career and his battle with motor neurone disease. 'A pocket rocket of a player and a giant of a character . . . He is one in a million and his story is truly inspirational' - Clare Balding 'I'm not giving in until my last breath' - Rob Burrow Rob Burrow is one of the greatest rugby league players of all time. And the most inspirational. As a boy, Rob was told he was too small to play the sport. Even when he made his debut for Leeds Rhinos, people wrote him off as a novelty. But Rob never stopped proving people wrong. During his time at Leeds, for whom he played almost 500 games, he won eight Super League Grand Finals, two Challenge Cups and three World Club Challenges. He also played for his country in two World Cups. In December 2019, Rob was diagnosed with motor neurone disease, a rare degenerative condition, and given a couple of years to live. He was only thirty-seven, not long retired and had three young children. When he went public with the devastating news, the outpouring of affection and support was extraordinary. When it became clear that Rob was going to fight it all the way, sympathy turned to awe. This is the story of a tiny kid who adored rugby league but never should have made it - and ended up in the Leeds hall of fame. It's the story of a man who resolved to turn a terrible predicament into something positive - when he could have thrown the towel in. It's about the power of love, between Rob and his childhood sweetheart Lindsey, and of friendship, between Rob and his faithful teammates. Far more than a sports memoir, Too Many Reasons to Live is a story of boundless courage and infinite kindness.

Chris von der Ahe knew next to nothing about base¬ball when he risked his life's savings to found the franchise that would become the St. Louis Cardinals. Yet the German-born beer garden proprietor would become one of the most important--and funniest--figures in the game's history.
Von der Ahe picked up the team for one reason--to sell more beer. Then he helped gather a group of ragtag professional clubs together to create a maverick new league that would fight the haughty National League, reinventing big-league baseball to attract Americans of all classes. Sneered at as "The Beer and Whiskey Circuit" because it was backed by brewers, distillers, and saloon owners, their American Association brought Americans back to enjoying baseball by offering Sunday games, beer at the ballpark, and a dirt-cheap ticket price of 25 cents.
The womanizing, egocentric, wildly generous Von der Ahe and his fellow owners filled their teams' rosters with drunks and renegades, and drew huge crowds of rowdy spectators who screamed at umpires and cheered like mad as the Philadelphia Athletics and St. Louis Browns fought to the bitter end for the 1883 pennant.
In "The Summer of Beer and Whiskey," Edward Achorn re-creates this wondrous and hilarious world of cunning, competition, and boozing, set amidst a rapidly transforming America. It is a classic American story of people with big dreams, no shortage of chutzpah, and love for a brilliant game that they refused to let die.

This is a tale of Ashdon Scriven's life, a professional polo player. It will tell of many of the fantastic polo ponies that helped shape his career. It is also a tale of the many young ladies that passed through it, however long or short their stay and changed it, some for better some for the worse.

The essential guide to North Carolina's NFL team Among the newer teams of the National Football League, the Carolina Panthers have had a rollercoaster history that is documented in entertaining detail in this celebratory guide for fans. The book covers all of the critical moments and important facts of the past and present--from the team's record-setting opening season to the anxious excitement of the 2003 season. Team facts, statistics, lore, and player profiles--including Julius Peppers, Sam Mills, and Cam Newton--are all part of this bundle of Panther pride. The book collects every essential piece of Panthers knowledge and trivia as well as must-do activities, and ranks them all, providing an entertaining and easy-to-follow checklist as readers progress on their way to fan superstardom.

'excellent . . . covers every aspect of wicket keeping clearly and accurately' - Callum Morin, wicketkeeper at Hadleigh Cricket Club Whether a player or a coach, this is the ultimate guide to developing the skills required to make it as a top-level wicket keeper. In the most comprehensive book on wicket keeping on the market, James Knott and Andrew O'Connor provide detailed and easy-to-understand insights into all aspects of wicket keeping, whether you are a player or coach, and no matter your level. With contributions from some of the game's great players and coaches, including Alan Knott, Jack Russell, Peter Moores and David Ripley, this invaluable guide includes over 65 training drills, a unique 'training on your own' section, and provides clear guidance for coaches who aren't wicket keepers themselves. Clear, insightful and easy to follow, this is an essential guide for improving your game or your coaching methods.

From one of India's finest writers, thinkers and commentators, a memoir of a love affair with cricket. As a fan, player, writer, scholar, controversialist and administrator, Ram Guha has spent a life with cricket. In this book, Guha offers both a brilliantly charming memoir and a charter of the life of cricket in India. He traces the game across every level at which it is played: school, college, club, state and country. He offers vivid portraits of local heroes, provincial icons and international stars. Following the narrative of his life intertwined and in love with the sport, Guha captures the magic of bat and ball that has ensnared billions.

'An intriguing study of the minds of some of rugby's greatest leaders' - Tom English, BBC Sport An Official Licensed Product of the British & Irish Lions A British & Irish Lions tour presents one of the greatest challenges in sport. Rugby is a game that rewards creative expression, toil, teamwork and a never-say-die attitude. It can be joyful, vibrant and beautiful. Equally, it can brutally expose human flaws and frailties - even more so in the hugely pressurised environment of a Lions tour. Every team, no matter how talented, will find itself in dark and difficult situations both on and off the field; the successful ones are those with a leadership group that can navigate these challenging moments. In Legacy of the Lions, former Lions captain Gavin Hastings draws on his own experiences in the famous red jersey and interviews other greats of the game - including, among many others, Sam Warburton, Warren Gatland, Paul O'Connell, Brian O'Driscoll, Martin Johnson, Finlay Calder and Sir Ian McGeechan, plus a selection of their illustrious opponents, such as Kieran Read, John Smit and John Eales - to explore how to forge a successful team in this most rarefied of environments, the difficulties they each encountered and what leadership lessons they learned. Inspiring, humorous and illuminating, Legacy of the Lions casts a unique light on leadership, team-building and elite performance and reveals a new perspective on touring with - and playing against - The British & Irish Lions in the modern era.

"The definitive book of the 1970s Pittsburgh Steelers" (Scott Brown, "ESPN"): A unique literary sports book that--through exquisite reportage, love, and honesty--tells the full story of the best team to ever play the game.
The Pittsburgh Steelers of the 1970s won an unprecedented and unmatched four Super Bowls in six years. A dozen of those Steelers players, coaches, and executives have been inducted into the Hall of Fame, and three decades later their names echo in popular memory: "Mean" Joe Greene, Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris, Mike Webster, Jack Lambert, Lynn Swann, and John Stallworth. In ways exhilarating and heartbreaking, they define not only the brotherhood of sports but those elements of the game that engage tens of millions of Americans: its artistry and its brutality.
Drawing on hundreds of interviews, "Their Life's Work" is a richly textured story of a team and a sport, what the game gave these men, and what the game took. It gave fame, wealth, and, above all, a brotherhood of players, twelve of whom died before turning sixty. To a man, they said they'd do it again, all of it. They bared the soul of the game to Gary Pomerantz, and he captured it wondrously. "Here is a book as hard-hitting and powerful as the 'Steel Curtain' dynasty that Pomerantz depicts so deftly. It's the NFL's version of "The Boys of Summer," with equal parts triumph and melancholy. Pomerantz's writing is strong, straightforward, funny, sentimental, and blunt. It's as working class and gritty as the men he writes about" ("The Tampa Tribune," Top 10 Sports Books of 2013).

When the first lockdown came, finding himself without cricket for the first time in his life, Geoffrey Boycott sat down and began to write a retrospective warts-and-all diary of each of his Test match appearances. It is illuminating and unsparing, characterised by Boycott’s astonishing memory, famous forthrightness and unvarnished, sometimes lacerating, honesty. That 100,000 word document forms the basis for Being Geoffrey Boycott, a device that takes the reader inside Geoffrey’s head and back through cricket history, presenting a unique portrait of the internal and external forces that compelled him from a pit village in Yorkshire to the pinnacle of the world game. Now 81 and still one of the most recognisable cricketers England has ever produced, Boycott has teamed up with award-winning author Jon Hotten in this catalogue of his tumultuous time with the national side. Dropped for scoring a slow double hundred, making himself unavailable to play for England for several years, captain for eight seasons of a group of strong, stroppy and extremely talented players at Yorkshire, bringing up his hundredth hundred at Headingley against the Old Enemy, seeing David Gower and Ian Botham emerge as future greats, playing under Mike Brearley in the 1981 Ashes, in this enlightening book Boycott reveals a host of never-before-heard details regarding his peers and his playing days.

The game with the funny name was created in the 1960's and is, today, the fastest growing sport in America. We take you through the hows of the game. In true Dummies fashion, the material is easy to understand and appropriate for newbies as well as advanced players. We cover it all from scoring, serving, dinking, places to play, and getting more involved in the community. No need to be intimidated - you've got Dummies on your side of the court to give you all the best tips and tricks from expert authors. If you're in a pickle because you don't know anything about this popular game, Pickleball For Dummies will teach you everything you need to know. Inside: - Learn the rules and stroke fundamentals - Intro to the fun, social aspects of the game - Advanced strategies that will raise an experienced player to next level - Tips for tournament players and club organizers

The first volume of the popular 101 Youth Football Coaching Sessions, part of the 101 Drills series and accompanied by 101 Youth Football Coaching Sessions Volume 2. The culmination of years of experience, this manual outlines comprehensive training sessions for young footballers, including warm-ups, skills training, games and final practice drills. Fun, educational and challenging, each session contains information on equipment needed, space required and how to organise the players. Ideal for teachers or coaches who are looking for a fully planned session, this contains everything you need to build up the skills of young players and ensure they have fun and remain safe.

In 2013, Alan Hodgkinson marks 60 years spent playing and coaching at clubs including Sheffield United, Manchester United and England. This is the story of his life - and the life of the game - in that time. In 2013, Alan Hodgkinson marks 60 years spent playing and coaching at clubs including Sheffield United, Manchester United and England. In 'Between the Sticks', Alan tells the story of a life in football: from his days as a trainee at Worksopp Town in the 50s, to his big-money move to Sheffield United (where his signing-on fee was a new suit for 'courting'), to England duty, as well as a glittering coaching career at Man United, Rangers, Villa among others. It is a story that features legends of the game such as Matthews, Charlton, Best, and Pele, all of whom Alan has played with or against. 'Between the Sticks' will transport the reader back to a golden age of football, when pig skins were hoofed around with hobnail boots, to the modern day where as a coach at Oxford United Alan sees the realities of 21st century football first-hand. It is a story that no football fan will want to miss.

The City by the Sea boasts an ambitious baseball history dating back to the early days of America's favorite pastime. In 1897, the Newport Colts became the first professional baseball team to ever tie in a playoff series. By the 1900s, baseball was being played daily on open fields and diamonds throughout Newport. The city has sported six major ball fields, including Cardines Field, host to the oldest continuously running amateur baseball team in the country. Discover the humble beginnings of players like Newport native Frank Corridon, who allegedly invented the now outlawed spitball, and the legacy of the great Trojans baseball club. Team up with baseball historian Rick Harris and walk through the history of Newport baseball from amateur games to the major leagues and all the strikes, homers and grand slams in between.

FROM THE WINNINGEST COACH IN NCAA DIVISION I HISTORY, A GUIDE TO PRACTICING PERFECT AND PLAYING FOR FUN
While the statistics speak for themselves, Augie Garrido, the legendary baseball coach, is far from a "win-at-all-costs" leader. Rather, he focuses on building men of quality, teaching that lessons learned on the diamond can be applied to any facet of life. "Life Is Yours to Win "offers a refreshing approach to seizing life's opportunities and understanding that trophies are not the true goal. Garrido's advice includes:
- BE A PLAYER, NOT A PROSPECT--Garrido once used a game of catch with his Labrador retriever to show a team playing without heart the character it takes to be fully engaged as a ballplayer.
- STEP UP, SUPERMAN--Garrido stages a costumed Superhero Scrimmage each Halloween to remind his players that their inner superhero is just waiting to be realized.
- THE FEARLESS FIELD--Master fear and other emotions so that they don't paralyze you. Renting a hearse and placing a casket on the pitcher's mound helped a slumping Cal State team "bury" their fears and put past losses behind them.
- BUDDHA AT BAT--Small ball is not glorified like the home run, but the bunt does advance the runners and puts runs on the board. Small successes add up to big victories on and off the field.
Garrido's coaching methods are often unconventional, but as seen in "Life Is Yours to Win, "his creativity and wry humor always lead to unforgettable lessons.

How much do you really know about the club you love? You can find out by exploring the 1,000 questions set out in 100 categories that make up this Chelsea quiz book. It s not often that books on football make reference to the CIA, Louis Armstrong, Goldfinger, Isaac Newton and David Bowie, but this one does! Call Yourself a Blues Fan? is a quirky, challenging affair for real Chelsea fans who can test themselves or take on each other, with the emphasis on enjoyment and discovery. Try this for size: Which nine Chelsea coaches and managers have scored in an FA Cup Final as a player? You will struggle to find anything as comprehensive as this eclectic collection. It s a must for Chelsea fans of all ages and you might not see anything quite like it again.

Are you ready for the World Cup? It's time to warm up for another roller coaster ride... Calling all footie fanatics! Put your knowledge of the beautiful game to the test with this quiz book, packed full of puzzles, stats and little-known facts. Whether it's chatting to a mate on a pre-match pub trip or to keep calm during a tense half time in front of the TV, every football fan loves a bit of trivia. Use this fact-packed quiz and puzzle book to gen up on World Cup legends such as Ronaldo and Messi and prepare to impress your friends with your fantastic football knowledge. Featuring brain-teasing puzzles, tricky true-or-false questions and hilarious "what happened next?" scenarios, this quiz book is guaranteed to keep you entertained until the final whistle. Have a go at guessing the top ten most expensive football players Discover who scored the worst-ever World Cup own goal Find out which World Cup match saw the same player booked three times Prepare yourself for penalties with stats on perfect shootouts and miserable misses

How much do you really know about the club you love? You can find out by exploring the 1,000 questions set out in 100 categories that make up this Everton quiz book. It s not often that books on football make reference to Bob Dylan, the London Underground, Pink Floyd, The Godfather, the Beatles, Shakespeare, Rising Damp and The Who, but this one does! Call Yourself a Toffees Fan? is a quirky, challenging affair for real Everton fans who can test themselves or take on each other, with the emphasis on enjoyment and discovery. Try these for size: in the 1966 FA Cup Final between Everton and Sheffield Wednesday, which surname appeared on both sides? What was unique about the 1962/63 season at Goodison Park? Who is the only Everton manager to score the winning goal in a European Cup Final? You will struggle to find anything as comprehensive as this eclectic collection. It s a must for Everton fans of all ages and you might not see anything quite like it again.

When most people think about the Netherlands, images of tulips and peaceful pot smoking residents spring to mind. Bring up soccer, and most will think of Johan Cruyuff, the Dutch player thought to rival Pele in preternatural skill, and Ajax, one of the most influential soccer clubs in the world whose academy system for young athletes has been replicated around the globe (and most notably by Barcelona and the 2010 world champions, Spain).
But as international bestselling author Simon Kuper writes in "Ajax, The Dutch, The War: Soccer in Europe During the Second World War," the story of soccer in Holland cannot be understood without investigating what really occurred in this country during WWII. For decades, the Dutch have enjoyed the reputation of having a "good war." The myth is even resonant in Israel where Ajax is celebrated. The fact is, the Jews suffered shocking persecution at the hands of Dutch collaborators. Holland had the second largest Nazi movement in Europe outside Germany, and in no other country except Poland was so high a percentage of Jews deported.
Kuper challenges Holland's historical amnesia and uses soccer--particularly the experience of Ajax, a club long supported by Amsterdam's Jews--as a window on wartime Holland and Europe. Through interviews with Resistance fighters, survivors, wartime soccer players and more, Kuper uncovers this history that has been ignored, and also finds out why the Holocaust had a profound effect on soccer in the country.
Ajax produced Cruyuff but was also built by members of the Dutch resistance and Holocaust survivors. It became a surrogate family for many who survived the war and its method for producing unparalleled talent became the envy of clubs around the world. In this passionate, haunting and moving work of forensic reporting, Kuper tells the breathtaking story of how Dutch Jews survived the unspeakable and came to play a strong role in the rise of the most exciting and revolutionary style of soccer -- "Total Football" -- the world had ever seen.