The National Pastime offers baseball history available nowhere else. Each fall this publication from the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) explores baseball history with fresh and often surprising views of past players, teams, and events. Drawn from the research efforts of more than 6,700 SABR members, The National Pastime establishes an accurate, lively, and entertaining historical record of baseball.

Cricket's Strangest Tales is a fascinating collection of cricketing weirdness - and there's a lot of it to choose from! Within these pages you'll find a game that was played on ice, meet a plague of flying ants who failed to dampen players' enthusiasm, and examples of the grand old tradition of one-armed teams versus one-legged teams. The stories in this book are bizarre, fascinating, hilarious, and, most importantly, true. Fully revised, redesigned and updated with a selection of new material for 2016, this book is the perfect gift for the cricket fanatic in your life. Word count: 45,000 words

From the perspective of 2007, the unintentional irony of Chance's boast is manifest-- these days, the question is when will the Cubs ever win a game they have to have. In October 1908, though, no one would have laughed: The Cubs were, without doubt, baseball's greatest team-- the first dynasty of the 20th century. Crazy '08 recounts the 1908 season-- the year when Peerless Leader Frank Chance's men went toe to toe to toe with John McGraw and Christy Mathewson's New York Giants and Honus Wagner's Pittsburgh Pirates in the greatest pennant race the National League has ever seen. The American League has its own three-cornered pennant fight, and players like Cy Young, Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, and the egregiously crooked Hal Chase ensured that the junior circuit had its moments. But it was the National League's-- and the Cubs'-- year. Crazy '08, however, is not just the exciting story of a great season. It is also about the forces that created modern baseball, and the America that produced it. In 1908, crooked pols run Chicago's First Ward, and gambling magnates control the Yankees. Fans regularly invade the field to do handstands or argue with the umps; others shoot guns from rickety grandstands prone to burning. There are anarchists on the loose and racial killings in the town that made Lincoln. On the flimsiest of pretexts, General Abner Doubleday becomes a symbol of Americanism, and baseball's own anthem, Take Me Out to the Ballgame, is a hit. Picaresque and dramatic, 1908 is a season in which so many weird and wonderful things happen that it is somehow unsurprising that a hairpiece, a swarm of gnats, a sudden bout of lumbago, and a disasterdown in the mines all play a role in its outcome. And sometimes the events are not so wonderful at all. There are several deaths by baseball, and the shadow of corruption creeps closer to the heart of baseball-- the honesty of the game itself. Simply put, 1908 is the year that baseball grew up. Oh, and it was the last time the Cubs won the World Series. Destined to be as memorable as the season it documents, Crazy '08 sets a new standard for what a book about baseball can be.

"The National Pastime" offers baseball history available nowhere else. Each fall this publication from the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) explores baseball history with fresh and often surprising views of past players, teams, and events. Drawn from the research efforts of more than 6,700 SABR members, T"he National Pastime" establishes an accurate, lively, and entertaining historical record of baseball. "A Note from the Editor, Jim Charlton: " This is the first issue of "The National Pastime" devoted to articles on "individuals in the game." An all-biographical issue, if you will, though this is a leaky umbrella over the subject: there are interviews, slices of players' lives, and write-ups of big games by players. One SABR wag commented to me that he "thought every issue of "TNP" was all biographical," but that has not been the case. The journal has always published a wide variety of articles on pennant races, pitching tandems, umpire uniforms, Cuban baseball, fair-foul hitting, integration, stadiums, women's baseball, and dozens of other topics. Whew! It is not, of course, the first dedicated issue of the journal. John Thorn and Mark Rucker put together delightful all-pictorial issues in the 1980s that were on particular topcis, such as 19th-century ball. In 1992, the estimable Peter Bjarkman edited an issue of "TNP" devoted to baseball around the world. These are among my most cherished issues of the journal, and for newer members, these are well worth seeking out and acquiring. This issue of "TNP" has some wonderful pieces on some surprising subjects. One is Jeff Obermeyer's profile of major leaguer Jim Riley, who also played in the NHL. Dick Thompson's article onCannonball Bill Jackman is an illuminating piece on this little-known New England star. James Smith provides a warm portrait of longtime PCL personality Lester Cook, while Pete Bjarkman persuasively speaks to Roberto Clemente's groundbreaking impact on Latin players and baseball. The late Smoky Joe Wood proves to be as outspoken and interesting an observer as he was a pitcher and hitter. The cover article, by Steve Bennett, introduces us to one of the game's great characters, George Kromer. One of my favorite pieces is by one of my favorite musicians, jazz pianist and lyricist Dave Frishberg, whose albums have been nominated four times for Grammy Awards. Dave is the composer and singer of the wry and amusing "My Attorney Bernie," Schoolhouse Rock favorites such as "I'm Just a Bill," and the iconic "Van Lingle Mungo." He shares with us the creative steps on the writing of that tribute. You'll be humming by the end.

Golf . . . is a sport in which the whole American family can participate--fathers and mothers, sons and daughters alike. It offers healthy respite from daily toil, refreshment of body and mind.
. --President Dwight D. Eisenhower. .

On January 24, 1953, four days after his inauguration, the "New York Times" reported that President Dwight D. Eisenhower had been spotted on the White House lawn practicing his short irons in the direction of the Washington Monument. This image of The Golfing General was one that the American public quickly became accustomed to, as Eisenhower is said to have played nearly 800 rounds during the course of his two-term presidency. He befriended the game's most beloved players, including Arnold Palmer, Ben Hogan, and Byron Nelson, and was the subject of hundreds of golf jokes and cartoons..

The public's awareness of Eisenhower's obsession with golf led directly to the sport's mid-century surge in popularity. In "Don't Ask What I Shot," noted historian Catherine M. Lewis offers a unique alternate portrait of Ike and this watershed period in American history.. .

Any time you have a person in the position of President Eisenhower, who was so enthusiastic about golf and had the press paying attention to his many excursions on the golf course, it was going to make people aware of the game and how much he enjoyed playing it.
. --Arnold Palmer. .

""Don't Ask What I Shot" is a fascinating examination of one of golf's pivotal decades, and the remarkable president who did more to popularize the game than any other in history."
-Mark Frost, award-winning author of "Grand Slam" and "The Greatest Game Ever Played," .

"Whatever remained to be doneto remove the last traces of the average man's carefully nurtured prejudice against a game originally linked with the wealthy and aloof was done by President Eisenhower."
--Herbert Warren Wind, renowned golf writer. . . .

Titletown USA is the proud moniker of Green Bay, Wisconsin, and this book examines how the Green Bay Packers, led by head coach Vince Lombardi, became the championship prototype by which other teams measured their success in the NFL's formative years. In the 1960s, Lombardi's Packers turned the smallest national market in the NFL into the home of the most successful football team in league history. The first team to win five titles in a seven-year span, the Green Bay Packers became synonymous with championships as the NFL emerged on the forefront of the national sports scene. "Magnificent Seven" gathers anecdotes and strategy from the squads that won the three NFL Championships in 1961, 1962, and 1965, Super Bowls I and II, as well as the NFC Championships in 1966 and 1967.

Surprisingly, perhaps, cricket is a game rich in international history, sporting characters and, on occasions, controversy. Over his long career as a cricket commentator and journalist Ralph Dellor has met some of the greatest exponents of the "summer" game. In the 1990s he conducted a series of face-to-face taped interviews with famous cricketers past and present. Along with Stephen Lamb, his fellow sports journalist and business partner, he has edited and annotated the interviews so they are put into context of time and place. Each chapter is a classic piece of cricketing history and insight into the legends and lore of the game. Featuring such names as Denis Compton, Brian Statham and Cyril Washbrook.

While Jackie Robinson is justly famous for breaking the color line in major league baseball in 1947, other young African American players, among them Hank Aaron, continued to struggle for acceptance on southern farm teams well into the 1960s. As Bruce Adelson writes, their presence in the South Atlantic, Carolina, and other minor leagues represented not only a quest for individual athletic achievement; simply by hitting, fielding, and signing autographs alongside their white teammates, African-American ballplayers helped to end segregation in the Jim Crow South.

In writing this book, Adelson interviewed dozens of athletes, managers, and sportswriters who witnessed this important but largely unrecognized front in the ongoing civil rights movement. When nineteen-year-old Percy Miller took the field for the Danville (Virginia) Leafs in 1951, his presence on the roster was not the result of altruism: the team's white owners saw attendance flagging and recognized the need for more African-American fans. Two years later, Hank Aaron and his two black teammates for the Milwaukee Braves' Jacksonville (Florida) farm team were regularly greeted by racial invective, even bottles and stones, on the road. And Ed Charles endured nine years of discrimination in the southern minor leagues before breaking into the majors and finally winning the World Series with the Mets in 1969.

Slowly, through the vehicle of baseball, these African Americans shattered Jim Crow restrictions and met the backlash against Brown v. Board of Education while simultaneously challenging long-held perceptions of racial inadequacy by performing on the field. Brushing Back Jim Crow weaves their firsthand accounts into a narrative that spans the long season of racism in the United States, gripping fans of history and baseball as surely as a pennantor a home run--race.

Footballers are often maligned for their intelligence but no-one can dispute that they have provided some of the funniest quotes (intentionally or not) in the history of sport - and "Pulled Off at Half-Time" is the ultimate collection of these hilarious comic offerings. The title, inspired by a famous Rodney Marsh quote too risque to repeat here, sets the standard for the 1000 quotes from and about the most famous names in football.

Are you ready for some football? New stadiums have been built, new stars have been born, and records have been broken since the last edition of Football For Dummies. This new edition is the fan's ultimate, up-to-date guide to all things pigskin. Perfect for new and veteran fans of the sport alike, it covers everything you need to be the most knowledgeable spectator in the stadium. With deep explanations of every position, analysis of offense and defense, and detailed strategies for play, football legend Howie Long and established analyst John Czarnecki present the nuts and bolts of football for fans of all ages and experiences. Tackle football basics and enjoy America's favorite sport Grasp the rules and regulations, positions, plays, and penalties Appreciate the different aspects of the game at the professional and college levels Learn about the latest NFL stadium technologies Football For Dummies has something to offer fans of all ages, from peewees to the pros and everything between.

Essential writings about cricket by the essential cricket commentator. `"Essential" is a big word in terms of ambition, but the contents of this book were essential in their time to the writer - but, while he cannot claim that they will be that to a reader, he wishes everyone who does read them something of the pleasure he had from writing them.' John Arlott, from the Preface Across a broadcasting career of some thirty-four years, the late John Arlott's commentating on cricket, above all on `Test Match Special', earned him a popularity and affection unmatched by any who followed him. As Ian Botham noted, `He was Cricket, there has never been a commentator like him and there never will be.' This book collects together his writings on cricket and cricketers across forty years. It contains pen portraits of the game's famous and not so famous figures, as well as jottings, diary entries and articles written for, among others, `The Cricketer', `Wisden Cricket Monthly' and the `Guardian'. The qualities of his commentary that endeared him to listeners - articulate, leisurely, unfussy, but with a turn of phrase that was almost poetic - are all to be found here. For admirers of Arlott himself, and for anyone who cares about cricket, THE ESSENTIAL ARLOTT is essential reading.

With incredible skill, passion, and insight, Pulitzer Prize-winning author David Halberstam returns us to a glorious time when the dreams of a now almost forgotten America rested on the crack of a bat.

The year was 1949, and a war-weary nation turned from the battlefields to the ball fields in search of new heroes. It was a summer that marked the beginning of a sports rivalry unequaled in the annals of athletic competition. The awesome New York Yankees and the indomitable Boston Red Sox were fighting for supremacy of baseball's American League, and an aging Joe DiMaggio and a brash, headstrong hitting phenomenon named Ted Williams led their respective teams in a classic pennant duel of almost mythic proportions--one that would be decided in an explosive head-to-head confrontation on the last day of the season.

"The players today are much better than we were.... But there is one thing that we could do better. We could pass the ball better than they can now. Man, we used to pass that basketball around like it was a hot potato."--Sam "Buck" Covington, former member of the Washington Bruins

n a nation distinguished by a great black athletic heritage, there is perhaps no sport that has felt the impact of African American culture more than basketball. Most people assume that the rise of black basketball was a fortuitous accident of the inner-city playgrounds. In "Hot Potato, " Bob Kuska shows that it was in fact a consciously organized movement with very specific goals.

When Edwin Henderson introduced the game to Washington, D.C., in 1907, he envisioned basketball not as an end in itself but as a public-health and civil-rights tool. Henderson believed that, by organizing black athletics, including basketball, it would be possible to send more outstanding black student athletes to excel at northern white colleges and debunk negative stereotypes of the race. He reasoned that in sports, unlike politics and business, the black race would get a fair chance to succeed. Henderson chose basketball as his marquee sport, and he soon found that the game was a big hit on Washington's segregated U Street. Almost simultaneously, black basketball was catching on quickly in New York, and the book establishes that these two cities served as the birthplace of the black game.

"Hot Potato" chronicles the many successes and failures of the early years of black amateur basketball. It also recounts the emergence of black college basketball in America, documenting the origins of the Colored Intercollegiate Athletic Association, or CIAA, which would become the Big Ten of black collegiate sports.

The book also details for the first time the rise of black professional basketball in America, with a particular emphasis on the New York Renaissance, a team considered by experts to be as important in the development of black basketball as the Harlem Globetrotters. Kuska recounts the Renaissance's first victory over the white world champion Original Celtics in 1925, and he evaluates the significance of this win in advancing equality in American sports. By the late 1920s, the Renaissance became one of the sport's top draws in white and black America alike, setting the stage for the team's undisputed world championship in 1939. As Edwin Henderson had hoped--and as any fan of the modern-day game can tell you--the triumphs certainly did not end there.

A lot of rucking and mauling has gone on since William Webb Ellis first picked up the ball and ran, but this doughty little book heroically manages to capture the true essence of the daddy of all oval ball games in just 80 minutes (plus 20 minutes of overtime). This is the story of rugby as never been told before: a jinking, weaving compilation of surreal match reports, spoof correspondence and quirky cartoons. From the playing fields of Edwardian England's public schools to the canopied splendour of Cardiff's Millennium Stadium, the game's towering achievements, hilarious happenings and ludicrous coincidences are entertainingly recalled.

The definitive account of golf's founding father and son, Old and Young Tom Morris. For the first time, the two are portrayed as men of flesh and blood - heroic but also ambitious, loving but sometimes confused and angry. Two men from one household, with ambitions that made them devoted partners as well as ardent foes. Tommy's Honour is a compelling story of the two Tom Morrises, father and son, both supremely talented golfers but utterly different, constituting a record-breaking golfing dynasty that has never been known before or since. Father, Old Tom Morris, grew up a stone's throw away from golf's ancestral home at St Andrews, a whisky-fuelled caddie, a wonderful 19th century character who became an Open Champion three times before running the Royal & Ancient, then sole governing body of the game. His son, Young Tom, arguably an even more prodigious talent than his father, was a golfing genius, the Tiger Woods of his era, who at 17 became the youngest player, to this day, to win the Open Championship. He then went on to win it four times in a row, an unprecedented achievement. On one occasion, father and son fought it out at the last hole of the Championship before the son finally triumphed. But then came the pivotal day that would change their lives forever, the death of Young Tom's wife and unborn child. The cataclysmic events of that day eventually lead to Young Tom's tragic death, aged 24, with his father living on for another 20 years in deep remorse. So on the one hand, you have the story of one of the most influential figures in the history of golf, a pioneer in the birth of the modern game and of Scottish and Open Championship golf. And on the other hand - you have an extraordinary father-and-son story. It's for every son who ever competed with his father, and every father who has guided his son towards manhood, then found it hard to let go.

The first definitive oral history of the ever popular L.A. Lakers

The L.A. Lakers have long been one of the NBA's most exciting teams. In "The Show," critically acclaimed sportswriter Roland Lazenby brings the story of this charismatic team to life in an unprecedented oral history, featuring such legendary players as Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West, Kareem Abdul- Jabbar, and Magic Johnson, along with current stars like Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant.

Through in-depth interviews with players, coaches, and many other key figures, Lazenby follows the Lakers from their birthplace in 1946 Minneapolis to their eventual successes and failures in Los Angeles, using his flair for storytelling and eye for detail to show you exactly why the 14-time NBA champion Lakers are a celebrated favorite for sports fans all over America.

Details about coaching instruction and lessons from 79 Hall of Fame coaches are gathered together with contributions from a Who's Who list of basketball legends including Mike Krzyzewski, Phog Allen, John Wooden, Dean Smith and 75 other championship coaches.

The team that ranks third in the National Football League with eight NFL titles and 15 players in the NFL Hall of Fame is featured in this one-of-a-kind handbook for fans. Essential information on the New York Giants is compiled in a direct and accessible format, including pep talks, statistics, critical moments, and important facts about past and present players, coaches, and teams. Answers to questions such as "Why was Ahmad Bradshaw trying not to score a touchdown at the end of Super Bowl XLIX?"" What were the Giants thinking when Tom Brady laughed at Plaxico Burress' prediction before Super Bowl XLII?" and "Why did Bill Parcells quit his dream job as a Giants assistant coach to become a realtor in 1979?" are also included. Fans that bleed blue, red, white, and gray will enjoy reading about some of the more colorful and unique personalities that include Eli Manning, Mario Manningham, Jeff Hostetler, Joe Morris, Jeremy Shockey, and Brad Van Pelt. This updated edition includes entries about the Giants' surprising 2011 championship season and their Super Bowl XLIX triumph over the Patriots.

With 40 years of coaching experience at the high school level and 8 state championships, Hall of Famer Bill Kuchar lends his battle-tested philosophies and principles that made his teams unbeatable, and offers his advice on how you can start to build a dynasty of your own. Using easy to read drill diagrams and concepts, Coach Kuchar breaks down the game of basketball into a science. Offensively, it focuses on dynamic zone play such as the 1-2-2, the 1-3-1 and the box and one--concepts that will help your team score at will against the stingiest of defenses. Kuchar also introduces his double motion offense, where you utilize your three best scorers by screening away from the ball and making back cuts. He shows you how to locate zones and how to infiltrate them using proper jump shooting angles, zone cutters, screeners and producing man to man situations. He demonstrates how this will open up gaps for your players that will overwhelm the opponent with deadeye shots. He also gives his 15 best out-of-bounds plays as well as three sure fire last second desperation plays when the game is on the line. Defensively, Coach Kuchar provides a complete breakdown of the man for man pressure defense from half-court and full-court sets, as well as the zone defense with bases from a 1-3-1 set to a 2-1-2. He not only teaches you how to defend a particular offense, but what to defend it with and why. He shows you the individual and team techniques to build a tenacious defense that uses both these man-to-man and zone styles of play. In Coaching High School Basketball, you'll also find new, cutting edge ideas on how to defend against the ever-popular fast break, stunting defenses and powerful post players. You'll learn the right way to create mismatches, slow down your opponents, and utilize your best shooters all while shutting down their best scorer. And through dozens of easy to follow drills you'll also learn the fundamentals of shooting the proper jump shot, boxing out for a rebound, setting picks, screening away from the ball, and making the right decisions on the floor.

UPDATED TO INCLUDE HIS CONTROVERSIAL TRANSFER TO BARCELONA

Quick, incisive and versatile, Antoine Griezmann is the ultimate modern forward.

But did you know that he had to leave France in order to find a professional club willing to take a chance on him?

Or that he wears the number 7 shirt as a tribute to his idol, David Beckham?

Or that Real Sociedad fans came to affectionately refer to him as ‘The Little Devil’?

Find our about all this and more in Luca Caioli and Cyril Collot’s tirelessly researched biography, featuring exclusive interviews with those who know him best.

Includes all the action from the 2018/19 season

The latest collection of littleknown baseball stories from the acclaimed author of Tales from the Dugout.

Mike Shannon, top-selling author of the critically acclaimed baseball classics Tales from the Dugout and Tales from the Ballpark, returns for a third success to deliver a brand-new collection of more than 100 true stories and never-beforetold anecdotes that come straight from the insiders circle. Entertaining and masterfully told, More Tales from the Dugout brings together delightful stories from the great and the not-so-great, both on and off the field, including baseball personalities from the past and present such as:

• Roger Maris
  
• Ken Griffey Jr.
  
• Pete Rose
  
• Phil Rizzuto
  
• Gaylord Perry
  

At turns hilarious and heartwarming, this compilation is sure to join Shannons previous books as a baseball classic.

World Football Records is the ultimate, official recognition of all the outstanding players, coaches, fans and teams from the beautiful game. With features on the leading nations, men's and women's teams, tournaments and award-winners this book is a must-have for all football fans. The section on the FIFA World Cup has been completely updated to include the events of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia. There is also a section on the man and woman selected as the world's best player in 2017, plus the other award-winners in various categories, presented by FIFA at their 'The Best' Gala. The book ends with the definitive FIFA World Rankings so that you can find where exactly your country is placed in the world order.