African Americans and Latino Americans have played an increasingly significant role in the ongoing saga of American sports-and not just in popular sports like basketball and baseball. This is the first comprehensive, multisport biographical resource to concentrate exclusively on the accomplishments, achievements, and personal struggles of notable African American and Latino American athletes of the last quarter century. A total of 175 important contemporary athletes-113 African Americans and 62 Latino Americans-are profiled. Most made significant contributions to their sport since 1990. Athletes include Roberto Alomar, Oscar De La Hoya, Forence Griffith Joyner, Evander Holyfield, Michael Johnson, Michael Jordan, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Ray Lewis, Sammy Sosa, Serena and Venus Williams, Tiger Woods, and many more. Eighteen sports, from baseball to bobsledding, are covered. The profiles of the men and women include personal background information and athletic career achievements through 2002. Each athletic career is traced, including entrance into sport, major accomplishments, records set, awards and honors, and overall impact. Quotations from the athletes enrich each profile. Bibliographies and photos complement the entries.

After fifteen years at the very pinnacle of test rugby, leading the most successful squad in Welsh history, Dan Biggar tells his story.

‘When I reflect on it all, I can say without any doubt that I gave it everything.’

Dan Biggar has never fitted the mould. Throughout his long and decorated career, he has had to confront the critics, to silence the cynics. His playing style has been described as brash, aggressive and forthright, and it has earned him a reputation he has never been able to shake. But to anyone who knows him off the pitch, he is one of the most grounded ambassadors the game could ask for.

Honest and self-critical, Dan offers a rare insight into his personal and professional life. He talks candidly of his place within rugby, from the Premiership through to the Lions, and of the power dynamics within Wales’ most successful squad ever. He also opens the changing room doors and explores his relationships with past team mates, coaches and managers, from Warren Gatland and Shaun Edwards to Alun Wyn Jones and Wayne Pivac.

The Biggar Picture is the story of a man who has taken in the joy, the graft and despair to become one of the sport’s most compelling figures – and Wales’ most capped fly-half.

The story of NASCAR's preeminent family and the multibillion dollar sport they helped create. From mid-century dirt tracks to today's super speedways, The Earnhardts: A Biography tells the remarkable story of a racing family-Dale, his father Ralph, and son Dale Jr.-whose careers span the full history of NASCAR and whose accomplishments define this unique American motorsport. Drawing on extensive research, including interviews with friends, family, and sports writers covering the NASCAR scene, Gerry Souter follows the Earnhardts' story from Ralph's short track racing in cars he built himself to Dale's record-setting career and shocking death to Dale Jr.'s emergence as one of the sport's most popular figures today. Through the lives of the Earnhardts, and their unmatched legacy of hard work and victory, readers see American stock car racing evolve from its rural Southern roots into a nationwide phenomenon. A chronology putting high points in the Earnhardts' careers in the context of pivotal moments in the rise of NASCAR and American motorsports A rich bibliography of resources for further reading including books, journalism, archives, and websites

They all excited and inspired me by how they fought their corners [...] So I want to place them all round a fantasy dinner-table, not just to dine, but to relive how I saw them in action and how much they had in common. Who would be on your dream dinner party guest list? Over his 50 years in broadcasting, Archie Macpherson has seen many sports personalities come and go; in Touching the Heights he collects the 13 who have inspired him most around his fantasy dinner table. Some are well-known, others less so, but all shaped both their sport and those, like Macpherson, who watched their careers unfold. Tommy Docherty * Jackie Paterson * Jim Baxter Eric Brown * Jimmy Johnstone * Sandra Whittaker Dr Richard Budgett * Ally MacLeod * Jock Stein * Sir Alex Ferguson * Bill McLaren * Jim MacLean * Graeme Souness From football to golf, boxing to athletics, Touching the Heights celebrates the breadth of Scottish sporting achievement. Whether telling the tale of a boy who acquired new shoes by stealing them from the local baths, or that of a distinguished medical scientist at the centre of sporting transgender debates, one thing unites them all: Without them life would have been much poorer.

This is an excellent reference book that will be a valuable addition to any sports reference collection. "Choice"

With the recent growth of interest in the historical role of American sports in the nation's development, a need has arisen for a scholarly, yet accessible biographical dictionary of notable American sports figures. Designed to meet that need, this definitive new reference will be welcomed by historians, sports scholars, educators, and sports fans. The fourth of four companion volumes, it provides biographies and bibliographic data for over 550 athletes, coaches, officials, administrators, and other men and women who have played an active role in American indoor sports or helped to promote them. The sports considered include basketball, boxing, swimming and diving, wrestling, ice hockey, gymnastics, figure skating, bowling, and weightlifting.

Biographical essays have been contributed by some ninety sports historians, educators, and journalists. Each entry presents full biographical data, career records, accomplishments, and honors, a discussion of the significance of the subject's achievements, and bibliographic information on pertinent manuscripts, oral history and audio-visual materials, books, monographs, and articles. In eleven appendices, the editor provides extensive cross-referencing and listings covering sports halls of fame, sports associations, organizations, and leagues, indoor sporting events, sites of Olympic games, indoor sports periodicals, and other topics. This comprehensive biographical dictionary will be a useful addition to the reference section of libraries with collection in sports, sports history, or physical education.

Billy Hamilton, whose major league career spanned 1888-1901, holds the all-time record for runs scored in a season (196 in 129 games), number of consecutive games scoring a run (24), and career runs scored per game (1.06); he shares records for most triples in a game (4) and sacrifices in a game (4); and his average of one steal every 1.74 games bests Ricky Henderson's. Despite these records, and his 1961 induction into the Hall of Fame, little has been written about his life and career. This biography covers Hamilton's entire life, including his major league career with the Kansas City Cowboys, Philadelphia Phillies, and Boston Nationals, as well as his later career as a minor league player-manager and bench-manager, team owner, major league scout, and plant foreman. The author exclusively uses primary sources for all information dealing with Hamilton's career and personal life.

We are finite beings in an infinite existence on a neverending exploration called life, notes this teenage author. Struggling with the basic questions we all encounter along the journey yet guided by his father's often overused but subtly comforting adage Life Is Not A Dress Rehearsal, Anthony Orlando takes us through his unique adventures in the hope that we might all find the answer to life's queries. With the pioneer attitude that man was meant to explore, Anthony combines the stories of his interesting travels with insights from a teenage soul to write Life Is Not a Dress Rehearsal: The Spiritual Journey of a Teenage Traveler. From a near hole-in-one on the cliffs of Pebble Beach to a historic journey through Colonial Williamsburg, Anthony's trek is a refreshingly original parable that allows us to explore our own existence and the underlying spiritual thread. insights into the beauty of the human condition, and a distressing search into life and death at their worst, Anthony tells the saga of human nature in prose so down-to-earth and inviting that we cannot help but join him on his reflective journey.

William Harrison Dillard was born July 8, 1923, in Cleveland, Ohio, and was given the nickname Bones for his slender build while in grade school. He would later go on to become one of the nation s most notable track-and-field athletes. Now, in this biography, he shares his life story. The eventual winner of four Olympic medals, he attended the same high school as his friend and hometown hero, Jesse Owens. He was a successful athlete in college and served in the Ninety-Second Infantry (the Buffalo Soldiers) during World War II, where he distinguished himself in the service of his country. After the war, Bones continued his athletic career, winning eighty-two consecutive races over a span of eleven months, during 1947 and 1948. He then qualified to represent his country at the 1948 Olympics in London and again in 1952 in Helsinki, matching and setting records at both. Following his historic Olympic career, he met and married Joy Clemetson, a prominent member of the Jamaican National Softball Team; together, they built a family. Bones went on to careers in public relations, sportscasting, and education. Considered to be one of the greatest male sprinters and hurdlers in history, he was inducted into the USA Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1974 and received numerous other honors. Even so, he was and still is a gracious, courteous, humble, generous, and courageous athlete a genuine American hero. Harrison Dillard is an amazing man. He is admirable not only for his athletic accomplishments, but also for his character, showing a unique awareness of how the choices we make define ourselves. He has faced crucial and challenging decisions and issues throughout this life and never turned away, not one time. Bill Cosby

'Modern Heroes' is a series of modern and colourful books about the lives of eight remarkable people whose influence has shaped how we live today. This book looks at the life of Anne Frank.

With 363 victories, Warren Spahn is the winningest lefty in baseball history. Over 21 years, he won 20 or more games 13 times, was a 17-time All Star, won a Cy Young-award, then, of course, was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Spahn was also a war hero, serving in World War II and awarded the Purple Heart. To say Spahn lived a storied life is an understatement. In Warren Spahn, author Lew Freedman tells the story of this incredible lefty. Known for his supremely high leg kick, Spahn became one of the greatest pitchers in baseball history. However, the road wasn't as easy as it would seem. Struggling in his major-league debut at age twenty, manager Casey Stengel demoted the young left. It would be four years before Spahn would return to the diamond, as he received a calling of a different kind--one from his country. Enlisting in the Army, Spahn would serve with distinction, seeing action in the Battle of the Bulge and the Ludendorff Bridge, and was awarded a battlefield commission, along with a Purple Heart. Upon his return to the game, he would take the league by storm. Spahn dominated for over two decades, spending twenty years with the Braves (both Boston and Milwaukee), as well as a season with the New York Mets and San Francisco Giants. Pitching into his mid-forties, he would throw two no-hitters at the advanced ages of thirty-nine and forty. From his early days in Buffalo and young career, through his time and the military and all the way to the 1948 Braves and "Spahn and Sain and Pray for Rain," author Lew Freedman leaves no stone unturned in sharing the incredible life of this pitching icon, who is still considered the greatest left-handed pitcher to ever play the game.

In 1961 Roger Maris made Baseball history by hitting 61 home runs...and beating the great Babe Ruth's record. Yet he's still on the outside of the Baseball Hall of Fame. Has his time finally come? Did Maris earn his "title to fame?"

Until the "Arnold Palmer Era of Golf," the Game of Golf was played by the affluent and often called "a rich man's game." So it was in the decades of the 1930's through the 1950's that golf's popularity rose to the point where scores of golf courses were being built annually. Almost anyone could afford to play golf on some type of golf course.

From a depression era background Gene Burress rose to one of the top Golf Administrators and voices in the golf industry. Outspoken and controversial, his insight to public golf vs. the private sector and other aspects in the industry was to be heard. Golf became his god, affecting marriages and many relationships until he accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord. There are many valley circumstances along with mountaintops. It is a unique worldwide golf journey playing golf in over 22 countries, 38 States and almost 600 golf courses documented in the last chapter.

The Bowdens are the First Family of college football. Bobby, the father, built the winningest program of the decade at Florida State. Son Terry took over an Auburn team on probation and led it back into the top tier of the sport. Son Tommy is Auburn's offensive coordinator and will likely get his own program in the next few seasons. Son Jeff, now coaching Florida State receivers, will earn his own head coaching opportunity one day. So will the boys' brother-in-law Jack Hines - who played for Bobby, married his oldest daughter, Robyn, and now coaches with Terry at Auburn. Reading this book is like accepting an exclusive invitation to a Bowden family gathering, where discussions range from informal debates about the best winning strategy to disarmingly candid appraisals of the racial undercurrents of college athletics. Listen to inside stories of key moments in Games of the Century, of the recruiting and coaching of famous athletes such as Deion Sanders and Charlie Ward. Hear how it feels to be trapped inside a locker room with angry fans pounding on the door, to be the son of a coach hanged in effigy, to have to choose between the interests of a troubled young athlete and the image of a football program. Learn, with the Bowdens, the lessons of careers measured in clock ticks and place-kicks.

At 710 pages, In the Ring With Jack Johnson - Part I: The Rise is the most detailed and thorough book ever written on Jack Johnson. This book alone (the first of two on Johnson) covers the start of Jack Johnson's career up to his winning the world heavyweight championship. It is chock-full of detailed descriptions of each bout from multiple local next-day primary sources. The book also contains plenty of context and background, details and perspectives about race from both white and black-owned newspapers, as well as approximately 225 rare photographs, cartoons, and advertisements. Boxing fans will obtain knowledge and insight into Jack Johnson's career like never before. This is the seventh book in Adam J. Pollack's series on the heavyweight champions of the gloved era, which include: John L. Sullivan: The Career of the First Gloved Heavyweight Champion, In the Ring With James J. Corbett, In the Ring With Bob Fitzsimmons, In the Ring With James J. Jeffries, In the Ring With Marvin Hart, and In the Ring With Tommy Burns. Adam J. Pollack is a boxing judge, referee, and coach, and member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He is also an attorney practicing law in Iowa City, Iowa.

NOMINATED FOR AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THE YEAR, SPORTS BOOK AWARDS Michael Carrick was the heartbeat of Manchester United. For more than a decade he was the player that made them tick. In his book, he reveals how to win relentlessly while playing under legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson, invites us to experience the camaraderie and clashes inside the United dressing room, and lets us feels what it's like to walk out on the Old Trafford pitch alongside some of the biggest names in the game - from Ronaldo to Scholes to Giggs, Rooney and the rest. In his seventeen-year professional career, Michael has won twelve major trophies at United, winning the Premier League five times, as well as three League Cups, the FA Cup, the Europa League, the Club World Cup and the Champions League. In Between the Lines, Michael honestly reveals for the first time his battles with mental health, growing up in the north-east, his struggles with the national side, as well as the redemption he has found with his family and his team. *All of Michael Carrick's proceeds from the sale of the book will be donated to the Michael Carrick Foundation, dedicated to providing financial support to community services that will give underprivileged children living in the North and North East better opportunities so that they feel safe, valued and inspired.*