Now in paperback! "From the first page to the last, Klein's prose retains its powers of enchantment and illumination. It is one of the best boxing books ever penned." -Boston Globe "[A] muscular, relentlessly detailed book." -Wall Street Journal "I can lick any son-of-a-bitch in the world." So boasted John L. Sullivan, the first modern heavyweight boxing champion of the world, a man who was the gold standard of American sport for more than a decade, and the first athlete to earn more than a million dollars. He had a big ego, big mouth, and bigger appetites. His womanizing, drunken escapades, and chronic police-blotter presence were godsends to a burgeoning newspaper industry. The larger-than-life boxer embodied the American Dream for late nineteenth-century immigrants as he rose from Boston's Irish working class to become the most recognizable man in the nation. In the process, the "Boston Strong Boy" transformed boxing from outlawed bare-knuckle fighting into the gloved spectacle we know today. Strong Boy tells the story of America's first sports superstar, a self-made man who personified the power and excesses of the Gilded Age. Everywhere John L. Sullivan went, his fists backed up his bravado. Sullivan's epic brawls, such as his 75-round bout against Jake Kilrain, and his cross-country barnstorming tour in which he literally challenged all of America to a fight are recounted in vivid detail, as are his battles outside the ring with a troubled marriage, wild weight and fitness fluctuations, and raging alcoholism. Strong Boy gives readers ringside seats to the colorful tale of one of the country's first Irish-American heroes and the birth of the American sports media and the country's celebrity obsession with athletes.

In 1921, Converse hired 20-year-old Chuck Taylor as a salesman, sparking a nearly 50-year career that defined the Converse All Star basketball shoe. Although his name is on the label of the legendary All Stars, which have been worn by hundreds of millions, little is known about the man behind the name. For this biography, Abe Aamidor went on a three-year quest to learn the true story of Chuck Taylor. The search took him across the country, tracking down leads, separating fact from fiction, and discovering that the truth-warts and all-was much more interesting than the myth. Chuck Taylor was a basketball player who also served as a wartime coach with the US Army Air Forces and organized thousands of high school and college basketball clinics. He was a true "ambassador of basketball" in Europe and South America as well as all over the United States. And he was, to be sure, a consummate marketing genius who was inducted into the Sporting Goods Hall of Fame and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Chuck Taylor, All Star is the true story of a man, a company, a sport, and a nation.

The seven-foot Dirk Nowitzki is one of the greatest players in basketball history. The Dallas Maverick's legend revolutionized the sport, redefining the role of the big man in the modern game. Dirk moved differently: flexible and fast, confident and in control. He thought differently, too. On the court, his shots were masterful-none more venerated than his signature one-legged flamingo fadeaway, a move that lives on in the repertoire of today's most skilled NBA players. How did this lanky kid from the German suburbs become an all-time top ten scorer and NBA champion? How can a superstar stay so humble? Award-winning novelist and sportswriter Thomas Pletzinger spent over seven years traveling with Nowitzki. He witnessed Dirk's summer workouts, involving fingertip pushups and the study of the physics, and spent days discussing literature and philosophy with Holger Geschwindner, Dirk's enigmatic mentor and coach. Watching Nowitzki in empty gyms and in packed arenas with 30,000 fans, Pletzinger began to understand how Dirk and Holger's philosophical insights on performance, creativity, and freedom enabled his success and longevity. The Great Nowitzki tells Dirk's dramatic story like never before. Pletzinger describes Dirk's youth in small-town Germany, follows the steep learning curve of Dirk's early seasons, the devastating Finals loss to the Miami Heat, and the triumphant championship five years later. Traveling with Dirk in his final seasons, Pletzinger immerses himself in the community of people impacted by Nowitzki's game, interviewing everyone from average fans in Dallas and security guards at the arena to front office executives and Hall of Fame teammates, who reflect on what Dirk's career means to the next generation of ballplayers. And to the game itself. A masterpiece of sports writing that reads like a novel, The Great Nowitzki brims with a fan's passion. Pletzinger shows how strongly basketball influences our imagination and the extraordinary journey an icon like Dirk Nowitzki must take to reach the pinnacle of the game.

A local boy made good, Kirkstall-born John Holmes was Leeds Rugby League's longest serving player and he will forever be an icon at his beloved Headingley. This is the story of his illustrious career, as told by his brother and his nephew.

Harvey Dorfman rose from a childhood sickbed to his place of world renown in the field of sport psychology. A goalie on a national co-champion college soccer team, the coach of a high school basketball team that won a state championship, and the recipient of four World Series rings (three with Oakland, one with Florida), he here presents his final anecdotal recollections, including those from fourteen years spent in the dugouts of three major league teams. This third and last volume of a trilogy closes in 2010. Cover Photo by Bill Gozansky -- billgozansky.com/contact.asp

On May 30, 1958, thousands of racing fans poured into the infield at dawn to claim the best seats of the Indianapolis 500, unaware that they were going to witness one of the most notorious wrecks in racing history. Seconds after the green flag, a game of chicken spiraled out of control into a fiery 16-car pile-up that claimed the life of 29-year-old Indiana native and rising star Pat O'Connor. The other drivers escaped death, but the tragic 1958 Indy 500 seemed to leave its mark on them: the surviving drivers were hounded by accidents and terrible crashes, and most would die at tracks around the country. But the tragedy also prompted new regulations and safety precautions like roll bars that would ultimately save hundreds of lives. In The Curse of Indy 500: 1958's Tragic Legacy, veteran sportswriter Stan Sutton profiles the ill-fated race and the careers of the drivers involved, highlighting their lives in the dangerous world of auto racing.

A Financial Times Sports book of the Year 2018 pick Who's better: Ronaldo or Messi? Ask any football fan and they'll have an opinion. For the best part of the last decade football has seen a personal rivalry unlike any seen before. Cristiano and Leo. This is their definitive story, from children kicking a ball halfway around the world from each other to their era-defining battle to be number one. One the preening adonis, a precision physical machine who blows teams away with his pace and power. The other a shuffling genius, able to do things with a football that seem other-worldly. Their differences seem to tap into something fundamental about football and indeed life. Between them they have scored over a thousand goals, won the Ballon d'Or nine times and redefined modern football. For the past eight seasons they have shared the accolade of best footballer in the world and arguments rage over which one deserves the title of greatest player of all time. Cristiano and Leo by Spanish and South American football expert and journalist Jimmy Burns is the essential book to understand the defining players of a generation. 'Burns is incapable of writing a boring sentence.' - Irish Times

This is the story of Graham Warner and his plucky London-based dealership/race team, the Chequered Flag, which bested all-comers in most major motorsport disciplines. A former RAF man, Warner competed at international level as a sports car driver, created the Gemini brand of Formula Juniors as a manufacturer, fielded cars on behalf of Lotus, Brabham and McLaren as an entrant, and as a talent spotter, he gave Jim Clark his maiden start in a single-seater, later running drivers such as Jackie Stewart, Jackie Ickx, Piers Courage and many more on motorsport's nursery slope. Having reached the pinnacle of Formula One with a privateer Brabham, Warner changed tack and fielded the fearsome Lancia Stratos with memorable success in rallying, before returning to his first love of aviation. Here for the first time is the full history of one of the unsung heroes of motorsport.

Described as ""the Greatest Batsman in the Country"" by sports writers of his era, Dennis ""Big Dan"" Brouthers compiled a .342 batting average, tying with Babe Ruth for ninth place all-time, and slugged 205 triples, eighth all time, in 16 major league seasons. He won five batting and on-base percentage titles, and seven slugging titles, and was the first player to win batting and slugging crowns in successive years. Although he ranked fourth among nineteenth-century home run hitters, many fair balls he hit into the stands or over the fence were counted only as doubles or triples due to local ground rules. Brouthers was extremely difficult to strike out--in 1889, for example, he did so just six times in 565 plate appearances. He was the first player to be walked intentionally on a regular basis. This comprehensive biography of Dan Brouthers examines his life and career from his youth as an apprentice in a print and dye factory to his final years as an attendant at the Polo Grounds. It corrects numerous errors that have crept into earlier accounts of his life, and clarifies his position as one of the greatest hitters ever to play the game.

The tragic death of hockey star Derek Boogaard at twenty-eight was front-page news across the country in 2011 and helped shatter the silence about violence and concussions in professional sports. Now, in a gripping work of narrative nonfiction, acclaimed reporter John Branch tells the shocking story of Boogaard's life and heartbreaking death. Boy on Ice is the richly told story of a mountain of a man who made it to the absolute pinnacle of his sport. Widely regarded as the toughest man in the NHL, Boogaard was a gentle man off the ice but a merciless fighter on it. With great narrative drive, Branch recounts Boogaard's unlikely journey from lumbering kid playing pond-hockey on the prairies of Saskatchewan, so big his skates would routinely break beneath his feet; to his teenaged junior hockey days, when one brutal outburst of violence brought Boogaard to the attention of professional scouts; to his days and nights as a star enforcer with the Minnesota Wild and the storied New York Rangers, capable of delivering career-ending punches and intimidating entire teams. But, as Branch reveals, behind the scenes Boogaard's injuries and concussions were mounting and his mental state was deteriorating, culminating in his early death from an overdose of alcohol and painkillers. Based on months of investigation and hundreds of interviews with Boogaard's family, friends, teammates, and coaches, Boy on Ice is a brilliant work for fans of Michael Lewis's The Blind Side or Buzz Bissinger's Friday Night Lights. This is a book that raises deep and disturbing questions about the systemic brutality of contact sports-from peewees to professionals-and the damage that reaches far beyond the game.

This insightful study offers a fresh perspective on the life and career of champion boxer Joe Louis. The remarkable success and global popularity of the "Brown Bomber" made him a lightning rod for debate over the role and rights of African Americans in the United States. Historian Marcy S. Sacks traces both Louis's career and the criticism and commentary his fame elicited to reveal the power of sports and popular culture in shaping American social attitudes. Supported by key contemporary documents, Joe Louis: Sports and Race in Twentieth-Century America is both a succinct introduction to a larger-than-life figure and an essential case study of the intersection of popular culture and race in the mid-century United States.

As soon as heavyweight boxer Joe Louis became a public figure in the 1930s, journalists and other social commentators began speculating about the significance of an African American man garnering popularity in a racially segregated society. Both during his lifetime and afterward, Louis noteriety extended beyond the world of sports to American popular culture. Many falsely heralded the boxer 's popularity as a sign that American racism was in sharp decline, Louis heroic status, however, did not fully reflect the complicated racial dynamics either within the sports world or in America, in general.

In Joe Louis: Sports and Race in the Twentieth Century, Marcy Sacks gives an account of the life of a man famous both for his sports career and for his race. With excerpts from newspaper clippings, radio broadcasts, poetry, and interviews, Sacks contextualizes Louis life and the legacy he left behind.

At five out of the last six Olympic Games team GBR has been the top nation in sailing, a result of strong leadership from the Royal Yachting Association and very talented sailors and coaches. But Barry Pickthall, formerly the Yachting Correspondent of The Times observes: "If one man deserves recognition for Britain's remarkable success within the sailing Olympic arena, it is Jim Saltonstall - the coach who has cajoled, encouraged and inspired so many youngsters towards world stardom over the past 3 decades." This is the story of Jim Saltonstall and his contribution to the success of British sailing. It starts in his home county of Yorkshire and the seaside town of Bridlington where he learnt to sail. It goes through his experiences in the Royal Navy, which he joined aged 15, with tours all around the world but, particularly, sailing with the Royal Navy team and becoming the Royal Navy Sailing Coach. This led to his appointment as the first RYA National Yacht Racing Coach, the development of the GBR Race Training Scheme and, in due course, great success at youth, world and Olympic levels. The 24 Olympic medals won by the 14 sailors who give glowing praise to Jim in the Foreword confirms his contribution to this success. Jim retired from his Team GBR role in 2000, after the Sydney Olympics, but it is a testimony to him that two of the gold medallists from Tokyo 2020 (which took place in 2021 - in elite sports a lifetime since Jim retired) credit him in their success, saying he was 'a huge inspiration' and 'couldn't help be motivated' by him. The story is told as modestly as a Yorkshireman can, and is interspaced with tales of cars, car journeys and one or two parties! Jim also takes time out of the story to give his thoughts on all aspects of youth training, competing internationally and coaching. Anyone involved in race training will benefit from the wisdom he provides in these pieces.

Charlie Gehringer was the best second baseman of his era. He is regarded by many as the best two-strike hitter of all time and his seemingly effortless fielding ability earned him the nickname of "The Mechanical Man." Sports writers groused that he was too quiet to be a star. Charlie replied that he didn't hit with his mouth. This work follows Gehringer's career from the day a scout spotted him on the sandlots of Michigan in 1923 to his induction into the Hall of Fame in 1949 and into his life after baseball.

Are there heroes anymore? What role, if any, does faith play in the life of high-paid, famous athletes? Through the words of a wide range of popular athletes, Champions of Faith reveals that heroes still exist and that for many of those who take their role-model status seriously, faith plays a major part in their success and their witness. Over a period of two years, author Tom O'Toole, a devout Catholic and seasoned journalist, interviewed Catholic sports heroes such as Sammy Sosa, Lou Holtz, Mike Ditka, Dave Wannstedt, Suzie McConnell-Serio, Lenny Wilkens, "Rudy" Ruettiger, Alberto Salazar, Bobby Allison, Danny Abramowicz, Tara Lipinski, Ray Meyers, Fr. John Smyth, and Cammi Granto.

From the management of major bands in the 1970s to 1980s like Fleetwood Mac, Queen, The Rolling Stones and ACDC to his swift move across to boxing management and promotion in 1984, this biography brings the late South African-born American boxing promoter Cedric Kushner’s history to life.

Leaving by ship with $400 in his pocket from South Africa to the United States, Cedric Kushner has become one of the most renowned music and boxing promoters and managers of his time. Driven by self-belief and the desire for success, Kushner rose to the very pinnacle of the boxing and music worlds. He was inducted into the Boxing Hall of Fame, with the promotion of over 300 World Title Fights and boxers such as Shane Mosley, Hasim Rahman, Shannon Briggs, Oleg Maskaev, Chris Byrd, Corrie Sanders, Ike Ibeabuchi and David Tua to name a few, under his belt.

With stories of co-promotion alongside Donald Trump, his infamous rivalry with Don King, the legendary heavyweight championship Hasim Rahman vs Lennox Lewis known as “Thunder in Africa”, the late Kushner’s decorated life is told through the eyes of his Muizenberg hometown friend Barry John Cohen.

In all of baseball, one record shines as perhaps the most coveted: four home runs by one player in a single game. If the pinnacle of pitching is the perfect game, then the highpoint of hitting is four home runs, and only eighteen players in the history of the sport can boast this accomplishment. In The Four Home Runs Club: Sluggers Who Achieved Baseball's Rarest Feat, Steven K. Wagner profiles the select group of men who have accomplished the near impossible. Drawing on interviews with dozens of current and former major-league ballplayers, Wagner chronicles the lives of these few who, in the space of a few hours, left an indelible mark on the game. In doing so, the author draws attention to the unique features that distinguished some of these events: one player homered in three consecutive innings; another did it twice in the same inning; a third hit two inside-the-park home runs; one added a double and a single in the same game; and a fifth player drove in a record-tying twelve runs. Among the men in this elite club are legends Lou Gehrig, Willie Mays, and Mike Schmidt, as well as recent "inductees" Shawn Green, Scooter Gennett, and J. D. Martinez. From the sandlots of Coushatta, Louisiana, to the suburbs of New York City, this book examines the special batsmen who parlayed four mighty swings into baseball immortality. A fascinating look into this extraordinary exploit, The Four Home Runs Club will appeal to baseball fans everywhere.

Never Surrender: The Life of Douglas Jardine is the enthralling story of England's most controversial cricket captain, forever associated with bodyline bowling on MCC's tour to Australia in 1932/33. Despite his privileged upbringing and amateur status, Jardine's steely personality and win-at-all-costs ethos was more akin to the professional game. Confronted with the run-making genius of Australia's Don Bradman in 1932/33, Jardine resorted to a form of intimidatory bowling that helped England regain the Ashes, but his tactics shocked Australia and brought relations between the two countries to the point of collapse. To restore harmony, Jardine was disowned by the MCC cricket establishment and shunned thereafter, but now - in a more modern, competitive age - his reputation has undergone a rehabilitation, not least in Australia. Drawing on fresh material, award-winning cricket author Mark Peel reappraises an outstanding leader whose care for those he valued knew no bounds.

UPDATED EDITION Roger Federer's incredible 2017 comeback - which saw him winning Grand Slams in his mid-thirties and reaching new heights most had thought impossible - has confirmed his place in the history books as the greatest male tennis player of all time. In this innovative graphic biography, Federer's tennis is explored like never before: stunning graphics illustrate his serving patterns and superb footwork, detail the spin and speed of his shots, as well as showcase his astonishing records - no man has won more majors, or spent more weeks as the world number one. Drawing on Mark Hodgkinson's conversations with the Swiss and exclusive interviews with those closest to him, this is the ultimate celebration of the genius of Roger Federer.

Nothing evokes the glory days of Negro Leagues baseball like the name of star pitcher Satchel Paige. This collection of essays and papers based on the 9th Annual Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference focuses on Paige and on the Kansas City Monarchs, the team he led to the Negro Leagues World Series in 1942 and 1946. Essays discuss such topics as the people Paige encountered in his career; Paige's effect on the Jim Crow era; and Paige in myth and reality - do we gain or lose by separating the two? Also considered is how the image of the Negro League was shaped in its day by newspaper coverage, and later in the popular film ""Bingo Long and the Traveling All-Stars"". A biography of Paige, highlights of his career, and a history of the Monarchs are all included, along with Kansas City rosters and other team information.

Long-time fans of the National Pastime have known Moyer's name for more than 25 years. That's because he's been pitching in the bigs for all those years. With his trademark three pitches - slow, slower, and slowest - the left-handed Moyer is a pinpoint specialist whose won-lost record actually got better as he got older - from his 20s to his 30s and into 40s. He's only a few wins shy of 300 for his amazing career. But this is where the book takes an unusual turn. Moyer was just about finished as a big leaguer in his mid-20s until he fatefully encountered a gravel-voiced, highly confrontational sports psychologist named Harvey Dorfman. Listening to the 'in-your-face' insights of Dorfman, Moyer began to re-invent himself and reconstruct his approach to his game. Moyer went on to become an All-Star and also a World Series champion. Yogi Berra once observed that 'Half of this game is 90% mental.' And Moyer's memoir proves it.

Tommy Johnston was voted Leyton Orient's greatest ever player by fans of the club in a poll to mark the Millennium, gaining 20 percent of all votes cast. Born in Loanhead, Tommy holds the club record for the most goals scored in a single season, and the most goals scored on aggregate throughout his career. During his long career, Tommy played in every class of football, from juvenile football in Scotland with Loanhead Mayflower and Peebles Rovers, to professional with one Scottish League club (Kilmarnock), one Welsh club (Newport County) and seven English clubs: Darlington, Oldham Athletic, Norwich City, Leyton Orient (twice), Blackburn Rovers and Gillingham. In this new book about his life and times as a footballer, Neilson Kaufman and Alan Ravenhill chart the ups and downs of Tommy Johnston's career, telling his story for the legions of fans up and down the country who remember his special talents. The text is embellished with many previously unpublished photographs from the Johnston family archive, and there are full statistical records to give a complete picture of the career of one of the greatest players ever to pull on a Leyton Orient shirt. The book is an essential addition to the bookshelves of any fan with an interest in the men who shaped the history of our national game, and is sure to have wide appeal.

Harvey Dorfman literally rose from a childhood sickbed to his place of world renown in the field of sports psychology. Here he recounts the early experiences that 'persuaded' his future years. Dorfman takes the reader along this journey to his initial experience as an educator. Writer/theologian Frederick Buechner calls the book, "moving, convincing, alive and true; these chapters are (as) authentic a picture of a boy's finding his way as any I know." This first of two volumes closes on a twenty-seven-year-old readying himself for a career that would take him from high school coaching to his current prominence in the world of professional sports.