Among the best pound-for-pound fighters of all time, Willie Pep (1922-2006) was a virtuoso of the squared circle. A two-time World Featherweight Champion, his International Boxing Hall of Fame professional record stands at 230 wins, 11 losses and one draw, with 65 knockouts and two winning streaks of more than 62 victories-each longer than most modern fighters' careers. During his 26 years in the ring, he appeared on cards with everyone from Fritzie Zivic to Joe Frazier. A scientific boxer with balletic defensive skills and a stiff jab, Pep-known as "Will o' the Wisp"-so masterfully evaded his opponents, one remarked it was like battling a man in a room full of mirrors. This book covers his remarkable career, with highlights of each bout.

A life-affirming and important memoir about the changing shape of gender and society from a popular and beloved author

'A treatise on empathy and grace in extraordinary circumstances' Jojo Moyes'Today I sat on a bench facing the sea, the one where I waited for L to be born, and sobbed my heart out. I don't know if I'll ever recover.' This note was written on 9 November 2017. As the seagulls squawked overhead and the sun dipped into the sea, Alexandra Heminsley's world was turning inside out. She'd just been told her then-husband was going to transition. The revelation threatened to shatter their brand new, still fragile, family. But this vertiginous moment represented only the latest in a series of events that had left Alex feeling more and more dissociated from her own body, turning her into a seemingly unreliable narrator of her own reality. Some Body to Love is Alex's profoundly open-hearted memoir about losing her husband but gaining a best friend, and together bringing up a baby in a changing world. Its exploration of what it means to have a human body, to feel connected or severed from it, and how we might learn to accept our own, makes it a vital and inspiring contribution to some of the most complex and heated conversations of our times.

Leading cycling writer William Fotheringham presents the biography of the greatest cyclist in history, Eddy Merckx--the extraordinary man who is to cycling what Muhammad Ali is to boxing. This definitive history chronicles his life, examining both the ups and the downs. Throughout his professional career Merckx amassed an astonishing 445 victories and exhibited a remorseless sense of domination that created his legend. But his triumphs only tell half of a story that includes horrific injury, a doping controversy, and tragedy. To discover the background of the Belgian cyclist's former invincibility, the author spoke with those who were there at the time and those who knew Merckx best. This is the singular tale of a man whose fear of failure would drive him to reach the highest pinnacles before ultimately destroying himself.

The "affectionate...charming" (Kirkus Reviews) story of Tim Shanahan's remarkable and little-known forty-year friendship with boxing legend Muhammad Ali, filled with stories never told as well as never-before-published personal photos.In 1975, Tim Shanahan was a medical instruments salesman living in Chicago and working with a charity that arranged for pro athletes to speak to underprivileged kids. Muhammad Ali had just reclaimed his title as heavyweight champion of the world by defeating George Foreman (the "Rumble in the Jungle") and then successfully defended it in a rematch against Joe Frazier (the "Thrilla in Manila"). When Shanahan learned Ali was planning a move to Chicago, he contacted the Champ to ask whether he would participate in the charity program. Not only did Ali agree, he invited Shanahan to his new home, where the two spent a night talking, laughing, and bonding over bowls of ice cream--the beginning of an incredible friendship. Ali soon enlisted Shanahan as his early morning running partner. Quickly, Shanahan became a trusted confidant and travel companion, and Ali often stunned strangers by introducing Shanahan as his cousin. The two grew even closer over family dinners with Shanahan's wife, Helga, and Ali's wife, Veronica. Shanahan was with Ali as the Champ trained for his legendary battles with Ken Norton, Earnie Shavers, Leon Spinks, and Larry Holmes, and moved to Los Angeles with Ali when the Champ prepared for a life after boxing. Shanahan was a recipient of and witness to Ali's tremendous generosity, and as Ali's health began to deteriorate, Shanahan had a chance to return the favor, encouraging and comforting his ailing friend. Running with the Champ is an insightful personal portrait of the Greatest of All Time. But, above all, it is a touching, candid narrative of an extraordinary friendship that continued until Ali's death.

Also availabe as an eBook

Those who waved to us across fairways saw the idyllic tableau of father and son, side by side in shared golf passion. Beneath that façade, however, was a boy struggling to grow up and away-and a father searching for a way to help rather than hinder...
-From Playing Partners

If there's one thing as mysterious and powerful as the bond between a father and son, it's the bond between the game of golf and those who fall in love with it. In this beautifully told memoir, George Peper, coauthor of the runaway bestseller Cinderella Story, tells a story of fathers, sons, and golf-and how the three magically came together.

A young father and hardworking editor in chief of GOLF Magazine, George Peper desired nothing more than to hear his son someday say: "Want to go out and hit a few, Dad?" But when that day finally arrived, and Peper's young son Scott joined him on the links, Peper soon discovered that how he looked at and felt about golf would change forever.

The two became companions and competitors-a man and a boy finding out about themselves and each other on the deceptively tranquil stage of an eighteen-hole course. At the local golf club and on courses around the world, Scott progressed as a player, and Peper watched him learn how to hit shots, manage a course, and face the pressure and pain that comes to everyone serious about the game. When Scott's scores began to drop perilously close to his own, Peper saw himself reflected in his son's eyes. Once idol and mentor, he had turned into Scott's quarry-his son's first and foremost opponent.

As he chronicles their odyssey, Peper reflects on his relationship with his own father and all they left unsaid. He faces his expectations of his son and of himself. By the time Scott moves to the edge of manhood-and into the competitive ranks of amateur golf-Peper has grown older, and PLAYING PARTNERS becomes a bittersweet ode to mortality in all its richness and complexity. This marvelous, heartfelt story beautifully explores our capacity to care: about the joy in a boy's face, about the shot that lies ahead, and about what it means to win in life and in this unique and much loved game.

The story of Jack and Bobby Charlton, and a family that characterised English football for decades 'Gripping' Daily Mail 'Wilson is a fine, nuanced writer' TLS 'A powerful chronicle' Irish Times 'Surprisingly moving' Guardian 'Razor-sharp tactical analysis' Irish Independent 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.

In 2020, Liverpool Football Club reclaimed its position as the number one football team in England. But it was a journey that had taken the world-famous club 30 years; a journey that was filled with drama, intrigue, and numerous false dawns. Written by a lifelong Liverpool fan, this is a dramatic story of highs and lows, and how the club overcame their extended wait to become Champions Again! Featuring analysis of the managers, the players (good and bad), and the owners who have come and gone, this is a rollercoaster ride from the success of 1990 through the disappointments that were endured during a three-decade hiatus. Covering the triumphs and travesties - and the incidents and tragedy - along the way, this book celebrates the reappearance of Liverpool FC at the pinnacle of English football. Ian Carroll is a published writer of fiction and non-fiction, and was the Script Editor for the play 'Waiting for Hillsborough', which won the Liverpool Echo Best Writing award. He was born in 1966, and named after Ian St John, who scored the winning goal in the 1965 FA Cup final - the first time in the club's history that they had won the cup - and has been a Liverpool football fan since the day he was born.

In early 1969, New York City and all it represented was in disarray: politically, criminally, and athletically. But while Simon and Garfunkel lamented the absence of a sports icon like Joe DiMaggio, a modern Lancelot rode forth to lead the New York Mets to heights above and beyond all sports glory. This book tells the complete, unvarnished story of the great Tom Seaver, that rarest of all American heroes, the New York Sports Icon. In a city that produces not mere mortals but sports gods, Seaver represented the last of a breed. His deeds, his times, his town-it was part of a vanishing era, an era of innocence. In 1969, six years after John F. Kennedy's assassination, Seaver and the Mets were the last gasp of idealism before free agency, Watergate, and cynicism. Here is the story of "Tom Terrific" of the "Amazin' Mets," a man worthy of a place alongside DiMaggio, Ruth, Mantle, and Namath in the pantheon of New York idols.

'Poignant and compelling, an equine Bridget Jones.' - Racing Post Being a stable lass is probably one of the hardest jobs in the country, and yet for Gemma Hogg it is the most rewarding. She works in the beautiful Yorkshire market town of Middleham and if her colleagues are occasionally challenging, then the horses are downright astonishing. Now, in Stable Lass, she takes us into the closed world of a top racing yard, from the elation of having several winners in one day to the almost indescribable grief of losing a horse. Like most stable lads and lasses, Gemma arrived in her yard as a teenager fresh out of racing college and had to cope with living away from home for the first time, as well as adapting to the brutal long hours, backbreaking work and often treacherous weather. She describes falling in love with Polo Venture, the first racehorse in her care, the pure exhilaration of riding him on Middleham Gallops for the first time and what happens when a horse takes against you, from the growling gelding Valiant Warrior to the potentially lethal Broadway Boy. She brings to life the characters around the yard, from straight-talking boss Micky Hammond to the jockeys starving themselves to make weight, the wealthy owners and the other stable lads and lasses who come from a range of different places and backgrounds. Stable Lass by Gemma Hogg is a unique look into the world of horse racing filled with heart-warming stories and amazing thoroughbreds - some loveable, some cantankerous, all impressive.

'The idea of owning anything except the experience is hubris.' Unknown Pleasures is a collection of works by the climber and award-winning author Andy Kirkpatrick. Obsessed with climbing and addicted to writing, Kirkpatrick is a master storyteller. Covering subjects as diverse as climbing, relationships, fatherhood, mental health and the media, it is easy to read, sometimes difficult to digest, and impossible to forget. One moment he is attempting a rare solo ascent of Norway's Troll Wall, the next he is surrounded by the TV circus while climbing Moonlight Buttress with the BBC's The One Show presenter Alex Jones. Yosemite's El Capitan is ever-present; he climbs it alone - strung out for weeks, and he climbs it with his thirteen-year-old daughter Ella - her first big wall. His eye for observation and skilled wordcraft make for laugh-out-loud funny moments, while in more hard-hitting pieces he is unflinchingly honest about past and present love and relationships, and pulls no punches with an alternative perspective of our place in the world. Unknown Pleasures is Andy Kirkpatrick at his brilliant best.

The inspiring story of Isaiah Austin, the man who captured our hearts when he was made the honorary NBA draft pick after a shocking diagnosis ended his professional basketball career before he could even step onto the court. "There are two choices in life: you make it your excuse or you make it your story." Isaiah Austin's mother shared these words of wisdom with him as a child as he came to terms with a torn retina taking away the ability to see with his right eye. Faced with adversity at a young age, Isaiah had to choose--let his disability define him or overcome the challenge and shine. Overcoming that challenge is exactly what Isaiah did as he made a name for himself on Baylor University's NCAA Division 1 basketball team. Everyone expected Isaiah to have a successful career in the NBA after college, but on June 21, 2014--just five days before the NBA draft--Austin was diagnosed with Marfan syndrome, a genetic disorder that affects the body's connective tissue, putting him at risk of rupturing his heart if he continued to play basketball. In seconds, Austin's hopes for a career in the NBA became impossible. After hearing about Isaiah's diagnosis, NBA commissioner Adam Silver invited Austin to attend the 2014 draft as his personal guest. The League recognized Isaiah's courage, resilience, and determination in a bittersweet moment when he was made an Honorary Draft Pick. Rather than letting another challenge destroy his faith, Austin has once again strived to overcome adversity by becoming a spokesperson for The Marfan Foundation, raising awareness and understanding for the disease. He has also founded his own non-profit organization, The Isaiah Austin Foundation, to provide support and research for Marfan syndrome and those affected by it. Despite the many heartbreaking challenges he has faced, Isaiah's story is inspirational and full of hope as he encourages everyone to tower in the face of adversity and keep living out their dreams, no matter what life throws their way. The book includes a foreword from Robert Griffin III--the Heisman Trophy winner and NFL quarterback.

Imagine Pep Guardiola quitting Manchester City to take over at Rochdale. Or Jose Mourinho walking out on United to join Southend. That sort of thing just wouldn't happen, would it? Except that in 1973, it did. At that time Brian Clough was managerial gold dust, having taken Derby County to the Football League title and to the semi-finals of the European Cup. After those feats, he and his sidekick Peter Taylor could have managed anywhere. And yet the most famous men in British football decided to take the reins at Brighton & Hove Albion, sixth bottom of the old Third Division, for what would prove a controversial and ultimately unsuccessful spell that would test their friendship to breaking point. The move to a sleepy backwater football club made little sense then and, forty years on, it remains a mystery. It seems especially odd considering Clough's aversion to the south and refusal to relocate his home from Derby. Featuring candid interviews with the men who played under Clough and Taylor at Brighton, Bloody Southerners attempts to make sense of the strangest managerial appointment in English post-war football. What shines through in page after page of never-before-heard stories is the profound complexity of both characters.

Sprint Car Hall of Famer Kramer Williamson began his 45-year professional career as a grassroots racer from Pennsylvania and became one of the most successful and beloved professional drivers of all time. Drawing on interviews with those who knew him best, this first ever biography of Williamson covers his life and career, from his humble beginnings racing the legendary #73 Pink Panther car in 1968 to his fatal crash during qualifying rounds at Lincoln Speedway in 2013.

'The definitive work on Diego Maradona' The 42 'One of football's greatest stories ... this is the best football book in ages' Goal 'A modern footballing classic' FHM _________________________ Anyone doubting that Diego Maradona was more than just a football player had only to witness the outpourings after his death on November 25th 2020. During his tempestuous life and career, he played for top clubs in South America and Europe, notably Napoli where he became an adored hero and adopted son, and grew to be a legend in his homeland of Argentina after leading them to victory in the 1986 World Cup. Having gained access to his inner circle, Jimmy Burns traces Maradona's life from the slums of Buenos Aires, where he was born, through his great years of triumph, to the United States from where, in 1994, he was ignobly expelled after undergoing a positive drugs test. He also tells of his failed attempt to bring further glory to Argentina as coach in the 2010 World Cup, and ultimately, his tragic decline and recent death. Widely regarded as the best and most revealing account of the highs, lows, genius and flaws of arguably the greatest footballer of all time, this biography inspired Asif Kapadia's award-winning 2019 film Diego Maradona. _________________________ 'Excellent and well-researched' Sunday Times 'I finished it thinking how great it would be to make something on Diego Maradona one day' Asif Kapadia, director of Diego Maradona

When the Philadelphia Phillies signed Dick Allen in 1960, fans of the franchise envisioned bearing witness to feats never before accomplished by a Phillies player. A half-century later, they're still trying to make sense of what they saw. Carrying to the plate baseball's heaviest and loudest bat as well as the burden of being the club's first African American superstar, Allen found both hits and controversy with ease and regularity as he established himself as the premier individualist in a game that prided itself on conformity. As one of his managers observed, "I believe God Almighty hisself would have trouble handling Richie Allen." A brutal pregame fight with teammate Frank Thomas, a dogged determination to be compensated on par with the game's elite, an insistence on living life on his own terms and not management's: what did it all mean? Journalists and fans alike took sides with ferocity, and they take sides still. Despite talent that earned him Rookie of the Year and MVP honors as well as a reputation as one of his era's most feared power hitters, many remember Allen as one of the game's most destructive and divisive forces, while supporters insist that he is the best player not in the Hall of Fame. God Almighty Hisself: The Life and Legacy of Dick Allen explains why. Mitchell Nathanson presents Allen's life against the backdrop of organized baseball's continuing desegregation process. Drawing out the larger generational and business shifts in the game, he shows how Allen's career exposed not only the racial double standard that had become entrenched in the wake of the game's integration a generation earlier but also the forces that were bent on preserving the status quo. In the process, God Almighty Hisself unveils the strange and maddening career of a man who somehow managed to fulfill and frustrate expectations all at once.

Eddie Plank won 326 games and has the most complete games and shutouts by a left-handed pitcher in Major League history. But how much do we know about the hurler best known as "Gettysburg Eddie" in his playing days? And what of him that we do know is factual? This biography of Plank sorts out the truth and the myths--and everything in between--as he made his way from a college team in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, all the way to the Hall of Fame, 20 years after his death. Along the way, readers will discover what made Plank so great, the secrets behind his famous crossfire delivery, and more.

Joe DiMaggio was, at every turn, one man we could look at who made us feel good.

In the hard-knuckled thirties, he was the immigrant boy who made it big -- and spurred the New York Yankees to a new era of dynasty. He was Broadway Joe, the icon of elegance, the man who wooed and won Marilyn Monroe -- the most beautiful girl America could dream up.

Joe DiMaggio was a mirror of our best self. And he was also the loneliest hero we ever had.

In this groundbreaking biography, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Richard Ben Cramer presents a shocking portrait of a complicated, enigmatic life. The story that DiMaggio never wanted told, tells of his grace -- and greed; his dignity, pride -- and hidden shame. It is a story that sweeps through the twentieth century, bringing to light not just America's national game, but the birth (and the price) of modern national celebrity.

This book is the story of baseball pioneer J.L. Wilkinson (1878-1964) and the team he founded and owned, the famed Kansas City Monarchs. A white man, Wilkinson earned respect throughout the world of African American baseball by treating his players with fairness and respect. Wilkinson began his baseball career in Iowa as a player and later organizer of a traveling women's team in 1908 and the groundbreaking multi-racial All-Nations club in 1912. When he founded the Monarchs in 1920, Wilkinson was the only white owner of a Negro National League (NNL) team. Wilkinson led the Monarchs to great success, winning two Negro Leagues World Series championships and numerous pennants in the NNL and then the Negro American League. During the Great Depression Wilkinson developed an ingenious portable lighting system for night games that is credited with saving black baseball. He resurrected the career of legendary pitcher Satchel Paige in 1938. In 1945 Wilkinson signed a rookie named Jackie Robinson to the Monarchs and played a key role in the integration of major league baseball. J.L. Wilkinson was posthumously inducted in to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006, joining fourteen Monarchs players in the Hall.

Ken Scotland was born on 29 August 1936 within sight of Heriot's Goldenacre ground, which he would go onto grace with great panache and skill several years later. A prodigious talent at fly-half while at school, he was converted into a full-back during the international trials of 1957 and was capped in that position against France at Colombes just a few weeks later, scoring all of his country's points as the Scots recorded their first win on French soil since 1949. Having joined the army after leaving school, Scotland then attended Cambridge University and it was from there that he was selected for the 1959 British & Irish Lions tour to Australia and New Zealand. During this epic four-month tour he won plaudits far and wide as one of the superstars of the Lions' team. Using entries from the dairy he kept during this tour, Scotland brings to life one of the great Lions expeditions, taking us right into the heart of the changing rooms, hotels, bars and in the heat of battle on the field. Scotland played in five Tests for the Lions and won a total of twenty-seven caps for his country before retiring in 1965 with a reputation as one of the finest players ever to play for Scotland well established. He would continue to play club rugby for several years afterwards while enjoying a successful business career. At eighty-three he has finally decided to tell his life story. Working with Allan Massie, the doyen of Scottish rugby journalism, he has created a rich and powerful testimony to his life and rugby career, throwing new light on his own achievements as well as providing fresh insight the great players of his era. It is as fascinating as it is evocative of a time and a game long past and a must-read for rugby fans of all generations.

Remember when Zinedine Zidane lifted the World Cup in 1998? Kylian Mbappe doesn't. The forward wasn't born when the French team first became world champions. But it was Mbappe's unique talent that helped France reach the summit of world football once again in 2018, erasing years of failure, rancour and shame. For Les Bleus, the road between these two highs was blighted by bitterly painful lows. Zidane's headbutt; a players' strike; infighting and recriminations; even sex scandals and blackmail. Mbappe witnessed it all as he honed his prodigious talent in the banlieues of Paris, and his story embodies France's journey from disaster to triumph. In Sacre Bleu, Matthew Spiro traces the rise, fall and rise again of Les Bleus through the lens of Kylian Mbappe. Featuring a foreword by Arsene Wenger and interviews with leading figures in French football, Spiro asks what went wrong for France and what, ultimately, went right.

The Life Of Fred Archer By E . M . Humphris. A biography of England's most famous jockey. Preface - "The author has flatteringly asked me to write a preface to this book on the famous Fred Archer, and as I knew him well and saw him ride a vast number of his races it gives me great pleasure to do so; and I commence by speaking of the five Derbys he won, all of which I witnessed. Archer had his first Derby success on Silvio, who started at 100 to 9, in 1877, and, after a pretty finish, won by half a length from Glen Arthur, both the pair outstaying the favourite, Rob Roy, who was beaten three-quarters of a length for second place, with Rhidorroch fourth, a head behind Mr Mackenzie's colt .His next win at Epson was in 1880, when he rode a most remarkable race on Bend Or, as he was greatly handicapped by having has his arm badly injured through Muley Edris savaging him after he had ridden that ill tempered brute in a gallop on Newmarket Heath a short time before, and also by Bend Or coming badly down the hill to Tattenham Corner owing to having sore shins. Archer, for all that, rode with such judgement that, bringing his mount with one long run, he caught Robert the Devil, on whom Rossiter certainly should have won as the race was run, in the last two strides, to beat him by a head." Originally published in 1934. Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. Obscure Press are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.