'All I wanted to do was go to sleep. And I was certain that if I did drift off, it would be for the last time.' In 1998, Paul Pritchard was struck on the head by a falling rock as he climbed a sea stack in Tasmania called the Totem Pole. Close to death, waiting for hours for rescue, Pritchard kept himself going with a promise that given the chance, he would 'at least attempt to live'. Left hemiplegic by his injury, Pritchard has spent the last two decades attempting to live, taking on adventures that seemed impossible for someone so badly injured while plumbing the depths of a mind almost snuffed out by his passion for climbing. Not content to simply survive, Pritchard finds ways to return to his old life, cycling across Tibet and expanding his mind on gruelling meditation courses, revisiting the past and understanding his compulsion for risk. Finally, he returns to climb the Totem Pole, the place where his life was almost extinguished. The Mountain Path is an adventure book like no other, an exploration of a healing brain, a journey into philosophy and psychology, a test of will and a triumph of hope.

*SHORTLISTED FOR THE WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD 2022* 'How doping killed cycling's 'golden boy'. A shocking, clear-sighted and sympathetic account of a talent destroyed by drugs.' The Times 'Sensitive yet compelling.' The Observer They called him God. For his grace on a bicycle, for his divine talent, for his heavenly looks. Frank Vandenbroucke had it all, and in the late nineties he raced with dazzling speed and lived even faster. The Belgian won most of cycling's most prestigious races, including Liege-Bastogne-Liege and Paris-Nice, enthralling a generation of cycling fans. Off the bike, he only had one enemy - himself. His rise to prominence coincided with a rampant period of doping and Vandenbroucke had a wayward streak. He regularly fell out with team managers and had all-night party sessions mixing sleeping pills and alcohol. A drugs scandal started a long fall from grace, leading to addiction, car crashes, court appearances, marital problems and suicide bids, punctuated by sporting comebacks. His life was like a soap opera and its premature ending shocked many. In October 2009, aged thirty-four, Vandenbroucke was found dead in a Senegalese hotel room - in mysterious circumstances. Led by candid contributions from his closest family, friends and associates, William Hill award-winning author Andy McGrath lays bare Vandenbroucke's turbulent life story. God is Dead is the compelling biography of this mercurial cycling prodigy. - 'With his talent, Frank is the Johan Cruyff of cycling. He could win anything.' Eddy Merckx, FIVE TIMES WINNER OF THE TOUR DE FRANCE 'Captures the charisma and chaos of Vandenbroucke's short life perfectly.' Cyclist 'A cautionary tale. Gripping yet harrowing.' Bikeradar

Lou Gorman is best known for having assembled the great but star-crossed Red Sox team of 1986. Few, perhaps, know that he also laid the foundation for the Mets club that clawed past them. Or that he is the only baseball executive involved in the start-up of two teams (the expansion Mariners and Royals), that he won a World Series with the Orioles, or that he has drafted Roger Clemens, signed George Brett, developed Jim Palmer, and traded away Jeff Bagwell. In all, Gorman has spent parts of five decades in the front offices of five major league franchises, directly involved in the development of clubs that won three World Series, five pennants and eight division titles. The stories behind those teams and Gorman's dealings with players, managers, and other of baseball's higher-ups are shared here for the first time.

This biography contains the life and times of August ""Garry"" Herrmann which is a true Horatio Alger story. Born in 1895 and rising up from humble beginnings in Cincinnati, he entered the murky waters of 19th century machine politics in the city serving as a trusted lieutenant to George B. Cox, one of the most powerful political bosses in the country. Herrmann was a gifted man who introduced modern management principles to municipal government and oversaw the committee that built Cincinnati's modern water works system. Hermann also loved baseball and in 1902 he along with George B. Cox and Cincinnati mayor Juluis Fleischmann bought the Cincinnati Reds from John T. Brush. It was Herrmann in early 1903 who chaired the peace conference between the leagues that ushered in the modern game and two years later implemented the World Series as a lasting annual event. With the leagues united, Herrmann was selected to head up the National Commission to a three-person ruling body that governed major league baseball. Although financially successful, Herrmann acquired a reputation along the way, as a lavish entertainer and when he died in 1931, he left an estate valued at ten dollars. A reporter said in his obituary, published in a Cincinnati newspaper, that his political partners, George B. Cox and Rud Hynicka made millions of dollars, but August ""Garry"" Herrmann had more fun.

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.

Nile Wilson is known to many as a Great Britain Gymnast who won a Bronze Medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics and who is England's most successful ever gymnast at a Commonwealth Games following his 5 medals in 2018\. Yet, Nile is so much more than just a gymnast. A YouTuber with over a million subscribers, a social media influencer, a successful businessman and entrepeneur, Nile is also an advocate for mental health awareness, and who has been very open about his own personal struggles. Nile Wilson - My Story gives an unprecedented look into Nile's true battle to be fit and ready for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics - throughout the Games and the aftermath. The public perception of Nile Wilson is his humour, openness and how down to earth he is, all of which is true. Due to this perception however, people presume they know everything about him. This book will shatter that perception, and reveal the struggles behind the smiles, from the brutal reality of performing at an elite sporting level, to the mental health battles Nile has had to fight - and continues to fight - every day.

Has any sport executive had as many words written about him as Branch Rickey? A one-time catcher, Rickey managed the St. Louis Browns and Cardinals at the end of the deadball era before serving as vice president of the Dodgers and general manager of the Pirates. Possessed of one of the most creative minds in the game's long history, Rickey made early use of statistical analysis, pioneered the farm system, and pressed for the expansion of major league baseball. But he is best known for integrating organized baseball, signing Jackie Robinson to a contract at a time when the U.S. armed forces were still segregated and the Civil Rights movement was years away. A courageous move, the signing also stands as proof of Rickey's foresight; by tapping the Negro Leagues, he enlarged the pool of exploitable talent. Soon after, major league ties to the talent-rich Caribbean were cinched up, and years later scouts sign players from Asia and all over the globe. Based on hundreds of interviews and vast amounts of research, including exclusive access to Rickey's own papers, ""Branch Rickey"" was originally published in 1982. It still stands as the definitive biography of the legendary executive. The McFarland edition includes updates and revisions, new photographs, a foreword by Branch B. Rickey, and a new preface.

Brian Kinchen was a thirty-eight-year-old father of four and seventh-grade Bible teacher whose professional football career had been over for three years when he received the call of a lifetime. The New England Patriots needed him to fill in for their injured long snapper for the remainder of the 2003 season and the playoffs. In the hands of Pulitzer Prize-winner Jeffrey Marx, Brian's remarkable true story becomes a celebration of the resilience of the human spirit. For all lovers of the game of football, "The Long Snapper" reveals the grit and glory of America's favorite sport.

For 39 seasons at four schools, Dr. Edward N. Anderson spent autumn afternoons roaming the sidelines of college and university gridirons across America. Throughout his career, dignity, composure and a penetrating focus were hallmarks of his sideline decorum. This biography catalogues the life of that ""good doctor"" who became dean of America's college football coaches and was enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame for lasting influence. Beginning with his young life as a star player, the book relates how Anderson mastered the game as an All-American end under Notre Dame's legendary Knute Rockne. Then, armed with a firm command of the so-called Notre Dame system of football, Anderson entered the collegiate coaching ranks in 1922 and served as a head coach for all but four of the next 43 years. Simultaneously, he devoted himself to the practice of medicine and guided his teams to hundreds of victories. Dr. Anderson is a football icon not only for the indelible impression he made on hundreds of young men who had played for him but also for his role as one of the last of an era of gentlemen coaches who had cut their teeth on football during the Rockne era. On the eve of his retirement from college football in 1964, Dr. Anderson was the game's elder statesman, revered by players, fellow coaches, fans and members of the press. His football odyssey, during which he crossed paths with the most influential and colorful personalities of the game, is chronicled in depth.

Six-time world surfing champion, actor, and US heart-throb Kelly Slater tells of the struggles and triumphs he's experienced throughout his life and how they have helped him to become one of the world's most loved sports figures. From beach blanket bingo to Baywatch, surfing has fascinated people for years, and Kelly Slater is the sport's newest star. He's one of the world's most popular surfers; his radical moves have revolutionised the sport. Born in Cocoa Beach, Florida, in 1972, he found surfing to be a great way to escape problems at home. When he was 11, his parents divorced. Slater and his brother, Sean, were raised by their suddenly single mother, who struggled to support two young sons. After Slater's surfing career took off, he made the transition into acting and modelling. He spent a season starring on the popular television show Baywatch, where he won the hearts of women young and old, including Pamela Anderson, whom he dated for about a year. He has also been featured in Versace ads. In Pipe Dreams, he shares the stories that have influenced his life and have inspired him to overcome both personal and professional hurdles and achieve his dreams.

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Inspiring Story of How Brokenness Leads to Bold Faith Jesus promises peace and trouble for his followers. But most of us accept the peace and are confused and angry when adversity comes our way. All-American soccer star Mo Isom knows the struggle firsthand. While her life seemed like a success, she was battling an eating disorder, the suicide of her father, and a horrific car accident. It wasn't until God wrecked her life that she discovered the glory of renewal through Jesus Christ and that wreckage can be sacred rather than scarring. Readers take the journey from broken to bold with her and learn to surrender their lives to the King who was wrecked on their behalf. Endorsements "Mo reminds us that brokenness is actually the very place God meets us the most, and the place where we can find Jesus like never before."--Jefferson Bethke, New York Times bestselling author of Jesus > Religion "Every person who picks up this book will be challenged, entertained, and more connected with God by reading it."--Annie Downs, author of Let's All Be Brave

When Leigh Perkins bought the Orvis Company in 1965, the fly-fishing and bird-hunting outfitter was a sleepy business with annual sales that had leveled off at $500,000. Over the next thirty years Perkins built Orvis's annual sales to $100 million by revolutionizing the catalog retail industry and reshaping the company's tradition-bound culture. He achieved this by blending his love of nature with his business acumen and bringing the commonsense approach he learned in the streams and on his hunts to his boardroom decision making. The basic principles he used to run his business include: The Customer Is Always Right. . . Even When You Know Damned Well He's Wrong: Perkins put such a high priority on customer service that he would personally man the phones at the height of the holiday season each year to keep in touch with his customers. Product Excellence: Perkins made sure that everything Orvis sold was of the highest quality--even if that meant he had to fight the US government to get access to embargoed Chinese bamboo for fly rods. Empower Your Employees: By promoting from within, and by empowering his employees to solve problems without manager involvement, Perkins built a loyal and talented team. Living the outdoor life his catalog popularized, Perkins traveled all over the world to fish and hunt, from Argentina to New Zealand, while devoting his resources to conservation causes worldwide.

All My Own Words is the remarkable story of a kid with a paper round who dreamed of a career in Fleet Street, the historic fulcrum of the British press. In just a few short years, he achieved that ambition and held two of the most prestigious posts in sports writing, only to be sacked for plagiarism when collating material for a tennis annual. Neil Harman didn't have the proper qualifications when he got his first job on a local paper in Southend, but he passed his O-level retakes and set off on a journey packed with incident and controversy. Harman rose to become the leading football voice on the Daily Mail and later the man they called 'Mr Tennis' on The Times. All My Own Words charts the extraordinary twists and turns of a special sports-writing voyage, as Harman recounts colourful tales and brings us exclusive insight into characters such as Sir Alex Ferguson, Brian Clough, Graham Taylor, David Beckham, Laurie Cunningham, Sir Andy Murray, Tim Henman, John McEnroe, Pete Sampras, Rafael Nadal, Steffi Graf and Martina Navratilova.

When in 1911 Phillies pitcher Grover Cleveland Alexander set the National League record for wins by a rookie (28), it was a sign of things to come. Alexander went on to win 373 games over his 20?year career, the third highest total in major league history, and he would lead the league in ERA four times, shutouts seven times, complete games six times, and wins six times. But he also became a deeply troubled man. After the Shell-Shocked pitcher returned from World War I, he would battle alcoholism, epilepsy, and personal demons that damaged his reputation and proved disastrous for his life outside of baseball. This biography sheds new light on the pitcher and the man, focusing on Alexander's personal life, especially his complex relationship with his wife, Aimee, as well as their marriages and divorces. His Hall of Fame career, wartime service, and long decline are also documented.

This is the story of 'Cockney' Cliff Lines and his memories of 70 years spent in horseracing. Knowing nothing about racing or even how to ride, Cliff started as a 14-year-old apprentice to Noel Murless, and the book details his life, from riding a winner for the Queen, trying to make it as a jockey, through being a work rider/head lad to Michael Stoute, pre-training and eventually training himself. It covers the trials and tribulations he endured: apprentice accommodation, bullying, doping scandals, the stable lads' strike and his own health issues including a brain tumour. The stories of famous horses he worked with, such as JO TOBIN, SHERGAR and SONIC LADY, and those he nurtured in their early years, including PILSUDSKI and FUJIYAMA CREST, the last runner in Frankie Dettori's Magnificent Seven, are all covered, as are his travels with horses around the world by boat and plane from 1954 to the present day. And despite all the ups and downs, Cliff genuinely has no regrets about his lifetime in the Thoroughbred racing industry.

Byron Nelson was one of golf's greatest legends. He was one of the finest golfers ever to pick up a putter, and the man who had the most magnificent year any golfer has ever had-1945, when he won an incredible eighteen PGA tournaments, including eleven in a row, and finished second in seven others. How I Played the Game is the beautifully told tale, in his own words, of a man determined to be the best ever: his hardscrabble rural Texas upbringing and his near-death experience with typhoid fever; his early years as a caddie at Fort Worth's Glen Garden Country Club (where as a 15-year-old he beat another young caddie named Ben Hogan in the Caddie Championship); the lean years as an amateur and as a young pro during the Depression; and the golden years of the 1940s, when he invented the modern golf swing and forged the legend of "Lord Byron." Even after his sudden retirement (the real reason for which is finally revealed here) his impact on the game never lessened. Besides his many years as an insightful TV golf commentator, he was mentor to several future golf champions, Ken Venturi and Tom Watson among them. And he continued to play top-caliber golf with the greats of the game, like Hogan, Jack Nicklaus, and Arnold Palmer, and some who were less than great-President Eisenhower, Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, and a host of others. Laced throughout with scores of priceless stories, anecdotes, opinions, and even golf tips, and with an in-depth, event-by-event recreation of his golden year, 1945, How I Played the Game is golf writing and remembrance of the highest order-irresistible reading for every golfer and fan.

In October 1972, Nando Parrado and his rugby club teammates were on a flight from Uruguay to Chile when their plane crashed into a mountain. Miraculously, many of the passengers survived but Nando's mother and sister died and he was unconscious for three days. Stranded more than 11,000 feet up in the wilderness of the Andes, the survivors soon heard that the search for them had been called off - and realise the only food for miles around was the bodies of their dead friends ... In a last desperate bid for safety, Nando and a teammate set off in search of help. They climbed 17,000-foot-high mountains, facing death at every step, but inspired by his love for his family Nando drove them on until, finally, 72 days after the crash, they found rescue.

The true story of an incredible journey and the master-apprentice relationship. Moving and inspiring. This is the extraordinary account of a "magical" but also very real encounter between a young boy and a martial arts teacher. Their meeting becomes the starting point of a life studded with dramatic fights, spiritual enlightenment, friendship and betrayal, victories and defeats. At the end of the sixties in old Genoa an Italian child meets an old Chinese man working as a carpenter. Behind his craft, the man hides a life of conflict, escapes and mystery. Sensing little Paolo's determination and talent, he subjects him to arduous training to temper his character and teach him the path to inner balance. Still a young man, Paolo travels to China, a country then still very much closed off to Westerners. There he will overcome demanding trials, face battles in which he will risk his life, and overcome tough physical and spiritual tests. Young Paolo will also gain amazing experiences, forge invaluable friendships, and eventually become one of the best-known martial arts teachers today.

The greatest relief pitcher of all time shares his extraordinary story of survival, love, and baseball.
Mariano Rivera, the man who intimidated thousands of batters merely by opening a bullpen door, began his incredible journey as the son of a poor Panamanian fisherman. When first scouted by the Yankees, he didn't even own his own glove. He thought he might make a good mechanic. When discovered, he had never flown in an airplane, had never heard of Babe Ruth, spoke no English, and couldn't imagine Tampa, the city where he was headed to begin a career that would become one of baseball's most iconic. What he did know: that he loved his family and his then girlfriend, Clara, that he could trust in the Lord to guide him, and that he could throw a baseball exactly where he wanted to, every time.
With astonishing candor, Rivera tells the story of the championships, the bosses (including The Boss), the rivalries, and the struggles of being a Latino baseball player in the United States and of maintaining Christian values in professional athletics. The thirteen-time All-Star discusses his drive to win; the secrets behind his legendary composure; the story of how he discovered his cut fastball; the untold, pitch-by-pitch account of the ninth inning of Game 7 in the 2001 World Series; and why the lowest moment of his career became one of his greatest blessings.
In "The Closer, "Rivera takes readers into the Yankee clubhouse, where his teammates are his brothers. But he also takes us on that jog from the bullpen to the mound, where the game -- or the season -- rests squarely on his shoulders. We come to understand the laserlike focus that is his hallmark, and how his faith and his family kept his feet firmly on the pitching rubber. Many of the tools he used so consistently and gracefully came from what was inside him for a very long time -- his deep passion for life; his enduring commitment to Clara, whom he met in kindergarten; and his innate sense for getting out of a jam.
When Rivera retired, the whole world watched -- and cheered. In "The Closer, "we come to an even greater appreciation of a legend built from the ground up.

On 6th May 1954, in what is regarded as one of the key moments in the history of modern sport, Roger Bannister became the first person to run a mile in under four minutes. Fifty years on, Bannister's status, not just as a champion athlete but also as a true British hero, a gentleman and an amateur from a "golden era" in sport, retains its unblemished appeal.
Until now there has been little critical and even less close historical study of Bannister and his achievement. This book redresses the balance, and in doing so provides fresh insights into the making of this British champion.
"Roger Bannister and the Four-Minute Mile" does more than detail the history of a sports star. It is a testimonial to the legend of Roger Bannister but it also invites the reader to reconsider the very words often used to describe him - notably "hero" and "gentleman amateur." Informed by contemporary sports science, the text also questions the significance of the four-minute mile per se.
Thoroughly researched, this book gives fascinating insights into the history of track racing as well as early athletic training methods and the beginnings of sports science.
The first rigorous historical study of Bannister's sporting life and the man behind the legend reveals an ambivalent athlete - highly achievement-orientated and scientific in his approach but also in love with the freedom of running sensuously in nature, in contrast to the constraints of modern sport.

"The Red Rose Crew is in fact a classic and it belongs on any number of lists: a list of sports thrillers (it's a great read, almost impossible to put down); a list of the changes wrought by the women's sports movement that began in the sixties; and finally a list of good books on American history-for it is a book that tells how things really happened and describes the formidable forces aligned against the women who led the way.
"from the Foreword by David Halberstam
"The Red Rose Crew is a terrific book. It's not just for rowers-it's as universally appealing as The Horse Whisperer."
"John Casey, author of Spartina
In 1975, a group of amazing women rowed their way to international success and glory, battling sexual prejudice, bureaucracy, and male domination in one of the most grueling and competitive sports around. Among the members of the first international women's crew team-and one of the first women's teams anywhere-were Gail Pearson, the soft-spoken MIT professor who fought equally hard off the water to win the political battles necessary for her team to succeed; lead rower Carie Graves, a statuesque bohemian from rural Wisconsin who dropped out of college and later became the most intense rower of the crew; and Lynn Stillman, a tiny sixteen-year-old coxswain from California.
On hand to guide them was Harry Parker, the legendary Harvard men's crew coach who overcame his doubts about the ability of women to withstand the rigors of hard training. From their first dramatic bid at the 1975 World Championships to their preparations for their first Olympic Games in 1976, this gripping story of bravery, determination, and indomitable spirit captures a compelling momentin the history of sports and of America.

Joe McCarthy was headed towards a career as a plumber - until the parish priest intervened, and convinced McCarthy's mother that he could make more of himself in baseball. She relented, and Joseph Vincent McCarthy embarked on a career that ranks him among the greatest managers ever. In 24 years his teams took nine pennants, seven World Series titles, and never finished lower than fourth. This biography of Joe McCarthy details the 90-year life of one of the greatest managers in baseball's history. Baseball was McCarthy's ticket out of a working-class existence in Germantown, Pennsylvania, taking him to college, the minor leagues, managerial stints in baseball's backwaters, and on to remarkable years with the Yankees, Cubs and Red Sox - years filled with triumph and heartbreak. Seven championships and the highest managerial winning percentage ever earned him entry to the Hall of Fame, but McCarthy will always be remembered for his deft handling of his players. McCarthy's ability to handle even ""unmanageable"" players won him the respect of all. His effect on the lives of his young charges was, in his mind, his greatest legacy.

James Gordon Bennett was born in 1841, a spoilt only son who took over as publisher of the New York Herald from his millionaire father. Bennett tirelessly supported pioneering fields of technology and sport, always with speed in mind. In 1899, fascinated by the new motor cars, he instigated the International Gordon Bennett Cup. The inaugural race took place in 1900 between Paris and Lyon. Three countries entered, but this was just the beginning of a massive phenomenon that, thanks to Bennett, saw spectators grow from less than a hundred to eighty-thousand. The widespread anti-car sentiment, endless bureaucracy, speed limits, safety and design challenges were all obstacles to overcome. Each Gordon Bennett Cup Race is documented here with an account of the drivers, the cars, the courses and the thrilling highs and lows of the events. The 1903 Cup, which was held in Ireland, was crucial since for the very first time a closed-circuit course was used. It was also the first international race in the British Isles. His dedicated promotion of early motor-car racing gave a boost to the global auto-industry and was a firm basis to the international racing that is still a thrilling part of our lives over 100 years later.

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.