'What makes a great player? He's the one who brings out the best in others. When I am saying that I'm talking about Billy McNeill.' JOCK STEIN A unique tribute to Celtic's greatest ever player to mark the 60th anniversary of his first appearance for the club. Billy McNeill is the greatest Celt of all time. He spent his entire playing career at the Glasgow giants and made 790 appearances between 1958 and 1975, winning the European Cup, nine Scottish League Championships, seven Scottish Cups and six League Cups in a glittering career. And it all started on 23rd August 1958 when Billy McNeill made his Celtic debut. Billy McNeill's breathtaking journey through the beautiful game is charted here from his debut against Clyde through the momentous years as player and manager, the highs, the lows, the triumphs, the tears. Sixty years on from his debut, this unique book celebrates the astonishing life and times of one of world football's best-loved personalities with tributes from many greats of the game. Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell pays his own special tribute to the Parkhead hero along with a Who's Who of the game's royalty. They share their unforgettable experiences and wonderful memories of playing with and against Billy McNeill, one of football's most respected and well-loved men, and talk about him both as a world-renowned footballer and as a genuinely much-admired figure. Packed full of anecdotes and tributes, In Praise of Caesar is a must-read for all Billy McNeill and Celtic fans, and football supporters everywhere. Contributions from: Brendan Rodgers, Sir Alex Ferguson, Sir Kenny Dalglish, Denis Law, Mike Jackson, Steve Archibald, Gordon Strachan, Danny McGrain, Roy Aitken, Paul McStay, Davie Hay, Charlie Nicholas, Frank McAvennie, Pat Bonner, Alex McLeish, Davie Provan, and not forgetting Lisbon Lions Bertie Auld, John Clark, Jim Craig, Bobby Lennox and Willie Wallace.

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.

Wartime and the scholarship to Grammar Schools allowed access to Rugby Union, an amateur game played by gentlemen in Rugby Clubs like Liverpool and Blackheath. Since the schism with Rugby League in 1895 the antipathy between the two codes was stark. Peter Harvey's story opened the door for hundreds of boys from Lancashire to play for England Schools. However, the suggestion that he might go to Rugby League was enough to prevent selection for England. The story of how this happened, and his subsequent success as a semi-professional rugby player, reaches its climax in Championships and Challenge Cups with the great St Helens RL side of the 1960s. Running parallel to this story is the training necessary to become a teacher and head teacher, and those people who helped me on that journey. The final chapters tell of rugby stars of the 1960s who he played with or against and the subsequent joys and fellowships of past players associations. It is a unique view of social history from coalmine to classroom, 1940 to present.

A revealing account of the great Baseball Hall of Famer Joe DiMaggio from the man who knew him best in the last ten years of his life--"a rare, intimate portrait...that pries open Joltin' Joe's perpetually buttoned-up privacy" (The New York Times) with stories about the Yankees, Ted Williams, Lou Gehrig, Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra, and other celebrities.In 1990, Dr. Rock Positano, a thirty-two-year-old foot and ankle specialist, met Joe DiMaggio. Despite the forty years between them, an unlikely friendship developed after the doctor successfully treated the baseball champ's heel spur injury. Joe mentored Rock but came to rely on his young friend to show him a good time in New York, the town that made him a legend. In time, the famously reserved DiMaggio opened up to Dr. Positano and talked about his joys, his disappointments, and his sorrows as he reflected on his extraordinary life. The stories and experiences he shared with Dr. Positano comprise an intimate portrait of one of the great stars of baseball and icon of the twentieth century. "Readers do not have to be baseball fans to be captivated by this memoir, which explores such universal themes as friendship, celebrity, aging, and mortality" (Library Journal, starred review). DiMaggio was a complicated figure--sometimes demanding, sometimes big-hearted, always impeccable, loyal, and a true stand-up guy. This memoir of a decade-long friendship reveals the very private DiMaggio as "a wholly human portrait of an American icon navigating his way through an adoring yet relentlessly demanding public" (Booklist, starred review), while serving up illuminating stories and rare insights about the people in his life, including his teammates, Muhammad Ali, Sandy Koufax, Woody Allen, and many more.

Tendai Mtawarira is known throughout the rugby world simply as Beast. Or, more often than not, ‘Beeeaaassssttt!’, as crowds from Durban to London, Buenos Aires to Auckland cry whenever he gets the ball. In 2018 he became the most capped prop in Springbok history, earning his 100th Test cap for the Springboks, and in 2019 he became the most capped Super Rugby player in South Africa.

Due to play in his third World Cup in September 2019, Beast has been in a winning series against the British and Irish Lions, contested two Super Rugby finals and won three Currie Cups with his beloved Sharks. Along the way, he has been moved from back row to front row, bullied by xenophobic politicians and undergone three bouts of heart surgery.

Beast is the story of how a humble man from Zimbabwe has become a rugby icon.

Two Brothers tells the story of a great sporting family, uncovering new details, exposing myths and placing Jack and Bobby Charlton in their historical context. It's a book about two English footballers but also about English football and England itself. In later life Jack and Bobby didn't get on and barely spoke but the lives of these very different brothers from the coalfield tell the story of late twentieth-century English football: the tensions between flair and industry, between individuality and the collective, between right and left, between middle- and working-classes, between exile and home. Jack was open, charismatic, selfish and pig-headed; Bobby was guarded, shy, polite and reserved to the point of reclusiveness. They were very different footballers: Jack a gangling central defender who developed a profound tactical intelligence; Bobby an athletic attacking midfielder who disdained systems. They played for clubs who embodied two very different approaches, the familial closeness and tactical cohesion of Leeds on the one hand and the individualistic flair and clashing egos of Manchester United on the other. Both enjoyed great success as players: Jack won a league, a Cup and two Fairs Cups with Leeds; Bobby won a league title, survived the terrible disaster of the plane crash in Munich, and then at enormous emotional cost, won a Cup and two more league titles before capping it off with the European Cup. Together, for England, they won the World Cup. Their managerial careers followed predictably diverging paths, Bobby failing at Preston while Jack enjoyed success at Middlesbrough and Sheffield Wednesday before leading Ireland to previously un-imagined heights. Both were financially very successful, but Jack remained staunchly left-wing while Bobby tended to conservatism. In the end, Jack returned to Northumberland; Bobby remained in the North-West. Two Brothers tells a story of social history as well as two of the most famous football players of their generation. Praise for Inverting the Pyramid: A History of Football Tactics 'If Jonathan Wilson's first book Behind the Curtain, marked him as the rising star of Sports literature, Inverting the Pyramid confirms his place among our very best sports writers' 'Simply one of the best books ever written about the world's game' Dominic Sandbrook Praise for Nobody Ever Says Thank You: The Biography of Brian Clough 'In separating the man from the myth, Jonathan Wilson's biography of Brian Clough is the first to do him justice' Barney Ronay The Observer 'Jonathan Wilson's mighty new biography' Harry Pearson When Saturday Comes

Magnus Carlsen: A Life in Pictures tells the story of the reigning World Chess Champion. Magnus Carlsen, born in 1990 in Oslo, Norway, became a Grandmaster by 13. Carlsen was crowned World Champion in 2013, when he defeated Anand and has successfully defended his title three times. He currently plays again for the title in Dubai. Carlsen is a family man, often surrounded by his father, mother and sisters. As a sports fanatic he plays and follows football and basketball. He doesnt shy away from his celebrity status, and was both a G-Star model and a Real Madrid VIPguest. But his most genuine smile breaks through when he talks chess with his youngest fans, the kids in a chess tournament. For this book, publisher New In Chess, part of the Play Magnus Group, had access to pictures of the Carlsen family archive and to all pictures of the best chess photographers.

Ty Cobb called baseball a "red-blooded game for red-blooded men," warning that "molly coddles had better stay out." By this, Cobb meant that baseball was the ultimate expression of the masculine ideal - a game of aggression, rivalry, physical and mental dexterity, self-reliance, and primal honor. For over twenty years, Cobb expressed his fierce brand of manhood in ballparks throughout the American Northeast, gaining for himself a level of celebrity that was unsurpassed in the early twentieth century. Fans idolized Cobb not only because he was the best player in the game, but because his boisterous and combative style of play satisfied their desire for exhibitions of visceral manhood. They found in Cobb an antidote for what they feared were the corrupting influences of over-civilization. With balance, precision, and empathy, Steven Elliott Tripp brings the era to life in a narrative Publisher's Weekly has called "stunning." In contrast to recent biographies of Cobb that have tried to minimize his more brutish behavior and minimize his racial antipathies, Tripp contextualizes Cobb, placing him squarely within the cultural milieu of both the rural South of his birth and the Northern sporting culture of his professional career. Moreover, Tripp's reconstruction of early twentieth-century sporting culture isolates an important source of modern America's culture of hyper-masculinity. Ty Cobb, Baseball, and American Manhood is both an important work of social and cultural history and an absorbing tale of ambition and the quest for dominance. Tripp has written the rare narrative that is as appealing to scholars as it is to general readers and sports enthusiasts.

In this collection of anecdotes from the announcers of pro football, the Voices reminisce about a time before television, when the NFL was just making its floundering start and college ball held all the attraction. With the spread of television broadcasting, the Voices gain faces and the NFL gains an audience. Recall with the broadcasters the excitement of pivotal moments, the glory of the victors, and the great men who coached those champions. With their love of the work and lots of lighthearted memories about everything from the Heidi game to the glory of Green Bay to the birth of "Monday Night Football," these men and women bring football to life.

From Diego Maradona to Lionel Messi, Johan Cruyff to Zinedine Zidane, Soccer Legends Alphabet takes to the field with an unbeatable A to Z lineup of unforgettable legends. Educational, inspiring and boldly illustrated, this book is sure to kick a goal with any fan of 'The Beautiful Game.'

5 September, 1972. 4.30 a.m. The Munich Olympic Village. Black September, a group of Palestinian terrorists, break into the Israeli team's apartments. It is the beginning of the most tragic event in Olympic history and, after twenty hours, the day will end in a massacre, with the deaths of eleven Israelis, five Palestinians and a German policeman. This is the story of the race-walker Shaul Ladany: a survivor. But more than just a member of the Israeli team from those terrible events in Munich, Ladany was a survivor of the darkest period in twentieth century history, having been interred as a child at the Nazi concentration camp at Bergen-Belsen, the camp where Anne Frank died. For the second time in his life, Ladany has survived history. Ladany, the world record holder in the fifty-mile walk and a professor of industrial engineering, is one of Israel's most successful athletes, having won dozens of national championships and competed at both the 1968 and 1972 Olympics; he was a student at Columbia University in New York, a soldier in the Six Days War and the Yom Kippur War. From Eichmann to Sharon, from Bikila to All Blacks, from Nixon to Thatcher: they are all a part of Ladany's walk through the twentieth century. Award-winning author and journalist Andrea Schiavon tells Ladany's extraordinary life and, walking with him, chronicles a whole century of events in this astonishing, touching and epic biography.

STEPHEN HENDRY became the youngest professional snooker player in 1985 aged 16 and, in 1990, he was the youngest ever snooker World Champion, at the age of 21. Widely regarded by fans and pundits alike as one of the greatest players of all time in the sport, over a 27-year career, Hendry went on to win the World Championship seven times, and was snooker's world number one for eight consecutive seasons between 1990 and 1998. Hendry retired in 2012 with a record-breaking seven World Champion titles under his belt, a record that remains to this day. He's now ready to tell his life story for the first time - from a childhood spent climbing the ranks of the sport, through the highs of the '90s and lows of the 2000s, to his life now as a sports pundit and commentator. With an insight into the world of the man behind the cue, and what made him such a top-class player, this is the definitive autobiography of the legend that is Stephen Hendry.

The Legendary Life of Ken Stabler

The first biography of the enigmatic coach who has completely transformed the England rugby team. After Eddie Jones began coaching England's rugby team, they won 22 of their next 23 matches. The side that limped out of the 2015 World Cup was thoroughly revitalised. But who was the unconventional figure responsible for this change of fortune? And, given recent setbacks, will Eddie be able to inspire England to bring their best to the 2019 World Cup? From his school days playing alongside the legendary Ella brothers to his masterminding of Japan's jaw-dropping World Cup victory over South Africa, Eddie Jones has always been a polarising figure, known for his punishing work ethic. Constantly controversial, never complacent, Jones has truly shaken up English rugby. Drawing on over a hundred interviews with former teammates, players, administrators, coaching colleagues and Jones himself, veteran rugby writer Mike Colman brings a rare level of insight to his biography of this singular man.

*THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER* HOW DOES A PIT CREW CHANGE FOUR WHEELS IN 1.9 SECONDS? AND WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR A COMPANY LIKE BLACKBERRY? WHAT IS RON DENNIS' SECRET TO GOOD TIME MANAGEMENT? AND HOW CAN THAT HELP TV PRODUCERS? WHY IS F1 THE PERFECT EXAMPLE FOR LEADERSHIP, MOTIVATION AND STRATEGY? AND WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM IT? In The Winning Formula, driver, commentator and entrepreneur David Coulthard opens the doors to the secretive world of F1 and reveals in simple, entertaining and utterly compelling terms how he has been able to master this mind-boggling variety of disciplines by applying the skills honed from his years at the top of the world's most demanding motorsport. By recounting his own stories, and combining them with first-hand experience of stellar individuals such as Lewis Hamilton, Ron Dennis, Sir Frank Williams, Christian Horner and Sebastian Vettel, Coulthard provides a fascinating fly-on-the-wall insight into F1 but at the same time offers an invaluable guide to the business of sport and the sport of business.

Nearly a century after his final major league appearance, Christy Mathewson is still considered one of the greatest right-handed pitchers in the history of baseball. Mathewson ranks in the top ten among pitchers for wins, shutouts, and ERA, and in 1936 he was honored as one of the inaugural members of the Baseball Hall of Fame. Playing in the early twentieth century, Mathewson was the nation's first All-American hero, a man of Christianity inspiring the values of millions while bringing dignity to a game that had previously been reserved for rougher characters. In Christy Mathewson, the Christian Gentleman: How One Man's Faith and Fastball Forever Changed Baseball, Bob Gaines delivers a close and personal look at the extraordinary life and soul of a gifted man living in a unique time. After growing up in a loving, Christian home and attending Bucknell University under the careful watch of his childhood pastor, Mathewson struggled to find his footing in the unsavory world of professional baseball. Seen as an "intellectual college boy" whose shy personality was misinterpreted as an aloof arrogance, Mathewson's faith and character were put to the test. Through strong will and an unusual partnership with John McGraw-a manager his exact opposite in everything but a desire to succeed and a fervent belief in God-Christy became the most admired and respected man on his team. Christy Mathewson, the Christian Gentleman features details on Christy's childhood and college years not documented by other sports historians-information discovered by the author in Mathewson's hometown, the churches he attended, and college archives. Including timeless images, this book brings to life Mathewson's amazing career, faultless character, and unwavering faith.

Breakout NFL star Deshaun Watson, quarterback for the Houston Texans, shows readers the lessons that have driven him to become a leader and to put others first. Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson is one of the most promising young players in the NFL, but he believes that true success lies in leading his team from a perspective of service. In this inspiring, practical book, Deshaun illustrates how the seven qualities of a servant leader can lead to a more successful life. Deshaun Watson was only eleven when his family qualified for a Habitat for Humanity house, which was furnished by Atlanta Falcons running back Warrick Dunn through Dunn's charity, Homes for the Holidays. But that early gift left a lasting impression, teaching Deshaun that generosity and service to others are important parts of true success. Now a star in his own right, and the most promising young player in the NFL, Deshaun reveals the lessons that have guided him throughout his life. From Deshaun's early days in Gainesville, Georgia, where he supported his mother through cancer, to his years at Clemson University-where he graduated in three years while being nominated for the Heisman twice-to his first few seasons in the NFL, Deshaun has distinguished himself as a leader by putting others first. In Pass It On, Deshaun opens up about the seven core values that have guided him on his own journey. Generosity Empathy Self-Sacrifice Service Commitment Strength Values in Action Interweaving stories from his life with practical advice that every reader can apply, Deshaun demonstrates how true strength lies in putting others first.

When Frankie Dettori stormed to victory on Golden Horn in the 2015 Derby, the effervescent Italian jockey was writing yet another extraordinary chapter in a remarkable sporting story. This tribute to hugely popular sportsman draws on the unique resources of the Racing Post to chronicle the Dettori career as never before. The son of a Milanese Classic-winning jockey has been Champion jockey on three occasions and has ridden such equine superstars as Dubai Millennium, Lochsong, Lammtarra, Daylami and his first Derby winner Authorized. He made worldwide headlines when winning every contest on a seven-race card in September 1996, which made him a household name. The Dettori story has also had its darker side: surviving a plane crash in 2000 in which the pilot was killed; a six-month suspension in December 2012 for contravening racing's drugs rules; losing the lucrative job as first jockey to Sheikh Mohammed's Godolphin operation. But Frankie has always bounced back, and his next flying dismount is never far away.

"Just finished Don Stradley's book on Edwin Valero, "Berserk." Outstanding. Predictably so because 1) Don is a super writer, and 2) the story is chilling and amazing.-Steve Farhood, Showtime boxing analyst, and International Boxing Hall of Fame member "There's no telling what went on during the next few hours, or where his paranoia took him, but in that room something terrible happened. At 5:30 a.m. Valero appeared in the lobby. As calmly as one might order something from room service, he told the staff that he had just killed his wife." Within the dark pages of Berserk: The Shocking Life and Death of Edwin Valero, author Don Stradley uncovers the gritty details of the undefeated (27-0, 27 KO), troubled, boxer Edwin Valero. Edwin Valero's life was like a rocket shot into a wall. With a perfect knockout record in twenty-seven fights, the demonic Venezuelan boxer, known as "El Inca" and "El Dinamita," seemed destined for a clash with all-time great Manny Pacquiao. But the Fates had other ideas. Fueled by cocaine and booze and paranoia, Valero blazed into a mania that derailed his career in the ring and resulted in the brutal death of his young wife Jennifer-and soon afterward, his own. In chilling detail, Don Stradley captures one of the darkest and most sensational boxing stories in recent memory, which, until now, has never been fully told. Filled with firsthand accounts from the men who trained Valero and the reporters who covered him, as well as insights from psychologists and forensic experts, Berserk is a hell-ride of a book. Berserk is the first in the Hamilcar Noir series, from Hamilcar Publications. Hamilcar Noir is "Hard-Hitting True Crime" that blends boxing and true crime, featuring riveting stories captured in high-quality prose, with cover art inspired by classic pulp novels. Perfect Gift For Boxing and True Crime Fans! Berserk, combined with other books in the Hamilcar Noir series, makes a great gift for fans of stories about the darker side of boxing. Books in the Hamilcar Noir series also make for a great gift idea for true crime fans-whether they are a die-hard boxing fan or not, they will devour these quick reads and ask for more!

The phenomenal Sunday Times bestseller Kevin Keegan is one of the greatest players in English football history, famed for his style on the pitch, his relentless ambition and passion for the game. 'And I'll tell you, honestly, I will love it if we beat them. Love it!!!' Kevin Keegan, 1996 In My Life in Football Keegan tells the story of his remarkable rise through the sport, from the Peglers Brass Works reserve team in Doncaster to helping Liverpool become the kings of Europe, winning a Bundesliga title with Hamburg and captaining England. Keegan was recognised around the world as one of the sport's genuine superstars and remains the only Englishman to win the Ballon d'Or twice. As a manager, Keegan's five-year spell in charge at Newcastle is now legendary; he led the club from the depths of the old Second Division to the brink of the Premier League title with a breathtaking vision and flamboyant style that saw his team dubbed 'The Entertainers'. Fifty years since making his professional debut, Keegan tells the full story of the exhilarating highs and excruciating lows, from that epic battle with Sir Alex Ferguson and Manchester United in the 1995-6 season, as well as the pain of managing England and, finally, the shattering truth about his unhappy return to Newcastle in the controversial Mike Ashley era. Brilliant, funny, passionate, deeply moving and incredibly honest, My Life in Football is the story of the miner's son from Doncaster who became a superstar and was known to his adoring fans as 'King Kev'.

David W. Zang played junior high school basketball in a drained swimming pool. He wore a rubber suit to bed to make weight for a wrestling meet. He kept a log as an obsessive runner (not a jogger). In short, he soldiered through the life of an ordinary athlete. Whether pondering his long-unbuilt replica of Connie Mack Stadium or his eye-opening turn as the Baltimore Ravens' mascot, Zang offers tales at turns poignant and hilarious as he engages with the passions that shaped his life. Yet his meditations also probe the tragedy of a modern athletic culture that substitutes hyped spectatorship for participation. As he laments, American society's increasing scorn for taking part in play robs adults of the life-affirming virtues of games that challenge us to accomplish the impossible for the most transcendent of reasons: to see if it can be done. From teammates named Lop to tracing Joe Paterno's long shadow over Happy Valley, I Wore Babe Ruth's Hat reports from the everyman's Elysium where games and life intersect.

The Joshua Files traces the story of Britain's latest heavyweight hero from the building site to the top of the boxing world and beyond. Anthony Joshua's fight with Wladimir Klitschko, in front of 90,000 fans at Wembley Stadium, transformed the fighter not only into a national hero but also a global star. Having worked as a boxing journalist for almost 30 years for Boxing News, Boxing Monthly and Sky Sports, Matt Bozeat was perfectly placed to follow Joshua from a ringside seat from the very start of his professional career. Joshua turned pro soon after winning gold at the London Olympics in 2012, and has since surpassed all expectations, going on to dominate the division with a 100 per cent KO record. The Joshua Files tells exactly how he fought his way to the top, through revealing and insightful interviews with the fighter himself, as well as with the boxing experts, trainers, sparring partners and opponents who have the closest insider knowledge of Anthony's incredible rise.

This is a revealing look at the history of race relations in the United States during the first half of the twentieth century portrayed through the lives and times of the first two African-American heavyweight boxing champions, Jack Johnson and Joe Louis. Incorporating extensive research into the black press of the time, the author explores how the public careers and private lives of these two sports figures both define and explain vital national issues from the early 1900s to the late 1940s.