From legendary wrestling announcer Jim Ross, this candid, colorful memoir about the inner workings of the WWE and the personal crises he weathered at the height of his career is "a must-read for wrestling fans" (Charleston Post Courier). If you've caught a televised wrestling match anytime in the past thirty years, you've probably heard Jim Ross's throaty Oklahoma twang. The beloved longtime announcer of the WWE "has been a driving force behind a generation of wrestling fans" (Mark Cuban), and he's not slowing down, having signed on as the announcer of the starry new wrestling venture All Elite Wrestling. In this follow-up to his bestselling memoir Slobberknocker, he dishes out about not only his long career, which includes nurturing global stars like Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, and John Cena, but also about his challenges of aging and disability, his split from collaborator Vince McMahon, and the sudden death of his beloved wife, Jan. The result is a gruff, endearing, and remarkably human-scale portrait, set against the larger than life backdrop of professional wrestling. Ross's ascent in WWE mirrors the rise of professional wrestling itself from a DIY sideshow to a billion-dollar business. Under the Black Hat traces all the highs and lows of that wild ride, in which Jim served not only as on-air commentator, but talent manager, payroll master, and even occasional in-ring foil to threats like Paul "Triple H" Levesque and Undertaker. While his role brought him riches and exposure he had never dreamed of, he chafed against the strictures of a fickle corporate culture and what he saw as a narrow vision of what makes great wrestlers-and great story lines. When suddenly stricken with Bell's palsy, a form of facial paralysis that makes it impossible to smile, he started down his greatest fear-being cast out of the announcing booth for good. Picking up where Slobberknocker left off and ending on the cusp of a new career in a reimagined industry, Under the Black Hat is the triumphant tale of a country boy who made it to the top, took a few knocks, and stuck around-just where his fans like him. Not only being one of the greatest wrestlers of the WWE, Ross is also "a master storyteller, and this book is the perfect forum for his forty years' worth of tales" (Chris Jericho, former WWE champion).

Jan Ullrich: The Best There Never Was is the first biography of Jan Ullrich, arguably the most naturally talented cyclist of his generation, and also one of the most controversial champions of the Tour de France. In 1997, Jan Ullrich announced himself to the world by obliterating his rivals in the first mountain stage of the Tour de France. So awesome was his display that it sent shockwaves throughout the world of cycling and invited headlines such as L'Equipe's 'The New Giant'. He went on to become Germany's first ever Tour winner, storming to victory in that edition by almost ten minutes, a result that was greeted as an era-defining changing of the guard. Everyone agreed: Jan Ullrich was the future of cycling. He was soon also voted Germany's most popular sportsperson of all time, and his rivalry with Lance Armstrong defined the most controversial years of the Tour de France. Now, Daniel Friebe - who has covered twenty-one editions of the Tour de France - has gone in search of the man who was said in 1997 would go on to dominate his sport for a generation, but never quite managed it. Just what did happen to the best who never was? This is a gripping account of how unbearable expectation, mental and physical fragility, the effects of a complicated childhood, a morally corrupt sport and one individual - Lance Armstrong - can conspire to reroute destiny. Daniel Friebe takes us from the legacy of East Germany's drugs programme to the pinnacle of pro cycling and asks: what price can you give sporting immortality?

The Heavyweight Championship has long been the most valued prize in all of sports. Famous names among the champions include John L. Sullivan, Jim Jeffries, Jack Johnson, Jack Dempsey, Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano, Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson, Vitali Klitschko and Wladimir Klitschko. A Brief History of the Heavyweights 1881-2010 traces the contests of these champions and other outstanding fighters of this weight class from the early bare knuckle days to the present. The author includes his rankings of the best boxers and bouts of different time periods in history as well as his all-time best rankings. The book is comprised of 308 pages, including numerous photographs, bout-by-bout lists of title contests, and an index. Tracy Callis is a member of the International Boxing Research Organization, the Director of Historical Research for The Cyber Boxing Zone, an internet boxing website, an Elector to the International Boxing Hall of Fame, and a member of the Advisory Board of the Boxing Hall of Fame - Luxor Hotel Las Vegas. He is also co-author of the books Philadelphia's Boxing Heritage 1876-1976 and Boxing in the Los Angeles Area 1880-2005.

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.

Since the early 1930s "MacPhail" has been a big name in baseball. Three generations of this one family have provided leadership, innovation and vision for the sport. Larry, Lee and Andy MacPhail, representing very different eras of American life, have each addressed baseball's needs and opportunities in his own way. During the 1930s and 1940s Larry MacPhail served as general manager and vice president of the Cincinnati Reds, executive vice president and president of the Brooklyn Dodgers, and part owner and president of the New York Yankees. He was posthumously inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1978. Larry's son, Lee, worked for 13 years in the Yankee organization before serving as general manager and president of the Baltimore Orioles. Lee later served two five-year terms as president of the American League and two years as president of the Player Relations Committee. Lee was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1998, becoming the only son ever to join his father in the Hall. Lee's son, Andy, worked in management positions for the Chicago Cubs, the Houston Astros and the Minnesota Twins before becoming president and CEO of the Cubs.

In 1965, 16-year-old Robin Lee Graham began a solo around-the-world voyage from San Pedro, California, in his 24-foot sloop, Dove. Five years and 33,000 miles later, he had accomplished what few would dare attempt, returning to port with a wife and daughter and enough extraordinary experiences to fill this bestselling book. Originally published in 1972. 32 pages of photographs.

This book is a celebration of the life and adventures of Andy Jackson, Scottish kayaking legend. In December 2004 the kayaking community was stunned by the premature death of Andy Jackson. "Tall Stories" collates accounts and photos of the tall man's adventurous life. As we follow him around the world, Andy's gregarious good humour comes across at every turn. From his native Scotland to Nepal, New Zealand and North America on his 'World Tour' and on to Iceland and Chile, Andy made a friend of everyone he met.Every first weekend in September, kayakers from around the world gather at the Wet West Paddlefest to celebrate his life and paddle two of his favourite rivers. Andy will remain an inspiration for generations to come.Ron Cameron first encountered Andy Jackson in Tain, Easter Ross when Andy was 19 and he was 43 and kayaked, skied and climbed with him regularly until the time of his death, suffering no significant injuries as a result. He was stupid/smart enough to rent Andy a house for about six years. Sometimes he thinks he should have stuck to climbing but paddling and skiing with Andy was a life enhancing experience.

Warren Edward Armstrong Jabali was my hero. In the hearts of his family and friends across the country, he was a superstar. Known for his basketball feats at Central High School (1962-1964), Wichita State University (1964-1968), and in the American Basketball Association (ABA) 1968-1976, this book presents an uplifting story of how a man, labeled as "one of the two meanest men in the ABA," overcame the vilification of his character. By positively channeling his energy on the educational empowerment of African American youth, he became an extraordinary role model and father figure for many in South Florida. Divided into two sections, the first part of the book is Warren's incomplete manuscript. He described the wide ranging cultural attitudes, political environment and social conditions which motivated his actions and profoundly affected his basketball career. it is supplemented by newspaper articles and interviews in which he discussed various controversial topics and elaborated on the skills and legacies of his contemporaries. The last half is written by the "love of his life." A very complex and private person, the section illustrates multiple aspects of his personality which portray an intimate understanding of him that only someone he cherished could ever reveal. This narrative validates the strength of his character as he boldly faced personal challenges. It demonstrates his unwavering commitment to education as he persevered in his lifelong pursuit for equality. Additionally, it highlights how benevolent his interpersonal relationships were as he journeyed along the road less traveled

Hall of Famer Charles Albert Bender has been the subject of renewed interest in recent years, as researchers have usefully described his experiences as an American Indian who dominated a game played mostly by whites. Lost in much of the discussion, however, has been Bender's steady excellence on the mound, where, year in and year out, he was one of the great pitchers in an age famous for pitching.

This biography puts the emphasis squarely on Bender the player, and in particular on the more than 330 regular-season starts in his 16 year major league career, which began and ended in the deadball era. New attention is also given to his time in the minors and to his days after major league stardom, when he worked as a coach and a scout.

In 2003, England won the Rugby World Cup. Steve Thompson was there, in England's front row, at the heart of the match, and at the heart of the scrum - one of sport's most destructive, repetitive impacts. But the triumphs came at a cost. When rugby union turned professional, Steve was plunged into a game where raw power meant everything. Today, he remembers nothing about playing in that final. In his words, watching the tape back is like watching a ghost. The years of hurt in an era of professional meat shields, and the culture of sucking up punishment and coming back for more, have taken a terrible toll. Steve has been diagnosed with early onset dementia, and probable chronic traumatic encephalopathy. He is in his early forties. There are days when he doesn't remember the names of his wife and four kids. Unforgettable is part sports memoir - with stories contributed by his world-cup winning teammates and his former manager, Sir Clive Woodward - and part raw human storytelling. In it, Steve will make memories for himself and for his children, and will relive the biggest battle of his life, with his toughest opponent - his own mind. Despite the constant reminders of what has been lost, and what is still to lose, Steve's powerful story is one of hope and courage. Unforgettable stands as testament to the ultimate strength of the human mind - and to a man no longer pushing himself to the limit for competition, but for his own place in the world.

A searching and at times harrowing re-appraisal of the life of Evel Knievel, the seventies American icon and the greatest daredevil motorcyclist that ever lived. Now fully updated in paperback with the story of the last few years of his life and his death in 2007. Stuart Barker's definitive biography captures the super-star status that Knievel held and also examines the marketing phenomenon of a man who once boasted he 'made $60 million and blew $63 million'. Born in the town of Butte, Montana in 1938, Robert Craig Knievel was an outstanding athlete, ski jumper and ice hockey player at school. His early jobs included working in the copper mines and driving a bus as well as a stint in the US Army, but he always subsidised his income through crime ('I could crack a safe with one hand tied behind my back quicker than you could eat a hamburger with two.') He used bikes to escape from the police and eventually hit upon the idea of jumping them after seeing a stunt driver jump cars at a state fair. His first jump took place over two mountain lions and a box of rattlesnakes, and he soon developed his act into the 'Evel Knievel Motorcycle Daredevils' before embarking on a solo career. Knievel suffered 37 breaks and fractures during his daredevil career. In 1967 he spent 29 days in a coma after an attempt to jump over the fountains outside Caesar's Palace casino in Las Vegas. While recovering, he decided to make his goal to jump the Grand Canyon, an attempt he was forced to abort by the US Government; and later was paid $1 million for jumping over 13 double-decker buses at Wembley Stadium. Now, a quarter of a century after he last stepped off a motorcycle, he has been reborn as the originator of Xtreme sports. This, alongside his love of gambling, women and drinking, ensure his legend will live forever. Life of Evel is the story of a truly extreme personality.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Globe-trotting golfer Tom Coyne has finally come home. And he's ready to play all of it. After playing hundreds of courses overseas in the birthplace of golf, Coyne, the bestselling author of A Course Called Ireland and A Course Called Scotland, returns to his own birthplace and delivers a "heartfelt, rollicking ode to golf...[as he] describes playing golf in every state of the union, including Alaska: 295 courses, 5,182 holes, 1.7 million total yards" (The Wall Street Journal). In the span of one unforgettable year, Coyne crisscrosses the country in search of its greatest golf experience, playing every course to ever host a US Open, along with more than two hundred hidden gems and heavyweights, visiting all fifty states to find a better understanding of his home country and countrymen. Coyne's journey begins where the US Open and US Amateur got their start, historic Newport Country Club in Rhode Island. As he travels from the oldest and most elite of links to the newest and most democratic, Coyne finagles his way onto coveted first tees (Shinnecock, Oakmont, Chicago GC) between rounds at off-the-map revelations, like ranch golf in Eastern Oregon and homemade golf in the Navajo Nation. He marvels at the golf miracle hidden in the sand hills of Nebraska and plays an unforgettable midnight game under bright sunshine on the summer solstice in Fairbanks, Alaska. More than just a tour of the best golf the United States has to offer, Coyne's quest connects him with hundreds of American golfers, each from a different background but all with one thing in common: pride in welcoming Coyne to their course. Trading stories and swing tips with caddies, pros, and golf buddies for the day, Coyne adopts the wisdom of one of his hosts in Minnesota: the best courses are the ones you play with the best people. But, in the end, only one stop on Coyne's journey can be ranked the Great American Golf Course. Throughout his travels, he invites golfers to debate and help shape his criteria for judging the quintessential American course. Should it be charmingly traditional or daringly experimental? An architectural showpiece or a natural wonder? Countless conversations and gut instinct lead him to seek out a course that feels bold and idealistic, welcoming yet imperfect, with a little revolutionary spirit and a damn good hot dog at the turn. He discovers his long-awaited answer in the most unlikely of places. Packed with fascinating tales from American golf history, comic road misadventures, illuminating insights into course design, and many a memorable round with local golfers and celebrity guests alike, A Course Called America is "a delightful, entertaining book even nongolfers can enjoy" (Kirkus Reviews).

It is not easy. Having a dream, having talent and being faced with a world that wants you to have neither – it is not easy.

This is not an easy story. This is a book about difficult odds, about cruelty, about broken families and addiction. This is also a story about hope. This is a tale of bravery and the undefeatability of the spirit of South African women. This is a story about football, but it is a story about so much more. This is a tale about the fearless women who carry the sport on their back, told through the eyes of the best player on the African continent.

This is the story of a little girl who rose out of the tough streets of Mohlakeng and went on to become a champion of the world.

This is the most thoroughly researched boxing-detailed biography of James J. Corbett's career ever written. It reveals new dates, bouts, and facts, shedding fresh light on his experience, skills, and ability. It meticulously describes his bouts and provides multiple viewpoints by local next-day newspapers, giving it unparalleled authenticity and accuracy. The exhaustive research provides an encyclopedic wealth of knowledge about Corbett's boxing career. His bouts are placed into social, legal, racial, and historic contexts, including anti-prize-fight laws and the color line. Corbett's complete career record is included, as well as 53 photos, 813 footnotes, a bibliography, and an index. Adam J. Pollack is the author of boxing biographies of John L. Sullivan, James J. Corbett, Bob Fitzsimmons, James J. Jeffries, Marvin Hart, and Tommy Burns. He is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America, Cyberboxingzone.com, and is an attorney practicing in Iowa City, Iowa. Adam was a guest lecturer on the career of John L. Sullivan for the Whitehall lecture series at the Flagler Museum in Palm Beach, Florida, and also an interviewee in the documentary film on James J. Corbett, The Gentleman Prizefighter.

THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A raw, honest, and revealing co-memoir by Brie and Nikki Bella: twin sisters, WWE Hall of Fame inductees, and stars of the hit E! shows Total Bellas and Total Divas. As twins, the Bellas have always competed. Legend has it that Nikki drop-kicked Brie in the womb so that she could make her grand entrance first. But the rest of the world often treated them as identical and even interchangeable, so they decided to do something about it. After they made it into WWE, the Bellas accomplished so much together: bringing in young girls and women while building the Bella Army, helping the transition of female performers from Divas to Superstars, starring in Total Divas and Total Bellas, and founding companies like Birdiebee, Nicole + Brizee Beauty, and Bonita Bonita Wine. Though their early journey began with loss, abuse, and plenty of rough times, these challenges "shined the diamond." They resolved to be survivors and the heroes of their own stories, and to take control and responsibility for their lives. Eventually, they would come to show girls everywhere that they can do anything. The Bellas may be identical twins-but as individuals, they have proven themselves Incomparable.

Hannah Dines and Jess Leyden are two perfectly normal, brilliant women. One, a world record-holding athlete and a Paralympian on the trike. The other, a multiple age-group world champion and one of the most promising rowers Great Britain has to offer. In the five years (yes, that's right) between Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020, they will face cancer scares, crushing defeats, and the biggest global health crisis in a century. They will get dropped, they will get injured, and they will win medals. They will spend the best years of their lives knowing that at any moment, it could all come crashing down. That all the training, all the sacrifice could be in vain, wasted effort as a pandemic raged. That maybe these could be the years that will shape their finest hour - or that maybe, after everything that they've been through, it could all still be snatched away at the last...

Superman. Diesel. The Big Aristotle. Shaq Fu. The Big Daddy. The Big Shaqtus. Wilt Chamberneezy. The Real Deal. The Big Shamrock. Shaq.
You know him by any number of names, and chances are you know all about his legendary basketball career: Shaquille "Shaq" O'Neal is a four-time NBA champion and a three-time NBA Finals MVP. After being an All-American at Louisiana State University, he was the overall number one draft pick in the NBA in 1992. In his 19-year career, Shaq racked up 28,596 career points (including 5,935 free throws ), 13,099 rebounds, 3,026 assists, 2,732 blocks, and 15 All-Star appearances.
These are statistics that are almost as massive as the man himself. His presence-both physically and psychologically-made him a dominant force in the game for two decades.
But if you follow the game, you also know that there's a lot more to Shaquille O'Neal than just basketball.
Shaq is famous for his playful, and at times, provocative personality. He is, literally, outsize in both scale and persona. Whether rapping on any of his five albums, challenging celebrities on his hit television show "Shaq Vs.," studying for his PhD or serving as a reserve police officer, there's no question that Shaq has led a unique and multi-dimensional life. And in this rollicking new autobiography, Shaq discusses his remarkable journey, including his candid thoughts on teammates and coaches like Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, Phil Jackson, and Pat Riley.
From growing up in difficult circumstances and getting cut from his high school basketball team to his larger-than-life basketball career, Shaq lays it all out in SHAQ UNCUT: MY STORY.

The incredible, never-before-told story of Augie Donatelli-a man fellow umpires consider a legend.

Coalmines ... Bombers ... and Baseball ...

Emmy Award-winning sportswriter/producer John Bacchia shares the incredible, never-before-told story of Augie Donatelli-one of Major League Baseball's unsung men in blue. A coal miner from Bakerton, Pennsylvania, Donatelli served his country as a tail gunner aboard a B-17 and found his life's calling in the bleak con nes of a Nazi prison camp.

When Army Air Corps Sta Sergeant Donatelli umpired softball games to boost morale for his fellow airmen at Stalag Luft VI, little did he know he was taking edgling steps towards becoming one of the most respected umpires in baseball history. However, prior to the end of the war, he would be subjected to a brutal "black march" across war-torn Europe before orchestrating a daring escape.

Less than a decade after serving his country, Donatelli found himself at the pinnacle of his profession-umpiring in the 1955 World Series between the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Yankees. Hardened by his war experiences and his years of working in the coal mines, Donatelli hustled on the baseball diamond as if his life depended on it. He gave his heart and soul to the game he loved. Yet despite nding his dream occupation, Donatelli voluntarily put his career and livelihood in jeopardy, as he and his fellow umpires, Shag Crawford, Jocko Conlan, Al Barlick, and others, spearheaded the formation of the rst umpires' union, the Major League Umpires Association.

Cover Photo: Yankee manager Casey Stengel and Augie Donatelli standing toe-to-toe during an exhibition game, April 13th, 1951. Copyright Bettman/CORBIS

Billy Miske: The St. Paul Thunderbolt is Clay Moyle's second biography and a worthy successor to his critically acclaimed tome concerning the life and career of Sam Langford. Hall of Fame boxer Billy Miske was arguably the most courageous and inspirational figure in boxing history, and his story is long overdue. During a career that was impeded and cut short as a result of his ongoing battle with a terminal illness, Billy fought a number of the greatest fighters who ever lived, including the likes of Jack Dillon, Harry Greb and Jack Dempsey. The thrilling details and stories surrounding those fights and those of many other ring legends are all here, brought back to life for the reader to enjoy. This book goes far beyond simply chronicling Miske's career, but provides the reader with an in-depth view of a number of the sport's greatest contests and one of the more remarkable periods in boxing's history. Miske's courage and perseverance in the face of his impending death, and his personal sacrifice to provide his family with one last Christmas to remember him by, will tug at your heartstrings and leave you with an indelible image of the man. The book is comprised of 206 pages, including 61 photographs, and includes Miske's record, footnotes and an index. Clay Moyle is a member of the International Boxing Research Organization (IBRO) and the author of Sam Langford, Boxing's Greatest Uncrowned Champion. He lives in Edgewood, Washington.

What does it take to become one of the most successful coaches in the world? Eddie Jones is one of the most successful sports coaches of all time. From coaching three different nations to Rugby World Cup Finals and with a winning record with England of nearly 80%, Eddie Jones knows what it takes to lead and manage high performance teams. What can sport teach us about leadership? For the first time, Eddie Jones shows just what it takes to be a leader in a high performance and high pressure environment and how these lessons can be applied to every walk of life, from coaching the U9 rugby team to leading a multinational organization to simply doing your job better. Have a voracious ambition to improve every day As he explains the High Performance Cycle of Success at the heart of his philosophy, Eddie Jones reveals the lessons he has learnt from Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger, Pep Guardiola as well as from the founder of Uniqlo and Ron Adams from the NBA. He also gives a detailed analysis of his own performance as a coach as well as how he gets the best out of the players and coaches around him and what he saw in Tom Curry that no one else saw, which makes him think that he could be the next Richie McCaw. Always start with the end in mind Drawing on stories of nearly thirty years of coaching, including the 2003, 2007, 2015 and 2019 World Rugby campaigns, the full story of England's 2021 Six Nations campaign as well as why it takes humour, humility and relentless curiosity to lead an eclectic mix of superstars from Maro Itoje to James Haskell, George Smith to Kyle Sinckler, to create teams that are relentlessly hungry to win, Leadership is the ultimate rugby book about what it takes to be the best. Written with Donald McRae, two-time winner of the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award, Leadership is the book for anyone who wants to learn how to build and lead a team to success.