In the last years of the nineteenth century an American tobacco company, Allen and Ginter, began inserting plain cards called 'stiffeners' into packets of cigarettes to protect their products from being crushed. What seemed at the time like an inconsequential product development was swiftly exploited for commercial purposes: to advertise other products and then illustrate the cards with popular personalities. These collectables swiftly became a phenomenon and crossed to the other side of the Atlantic. These cards were decorated by many different subjects: politicians, actors, writers, poets and sporting personalities, most significantly footballers. A craze that lasted for more than half a century was born. In an era before the widespread use of photography in print media and when the game was seldom captured by motion film, cigarette cards were often the most enduring portrayal of football's stars in the early twentieth century. Small boys would collect these cards from family and friends. Teams would be formed and, in a fore- runner of today's fantasy football games, the cards would be swapped and traded to see who could assemble the best team.Today they provide a compelling insight into a bygone era. Now, in The Redmen of Liverpool FC, Rowlands has shared his passion. Featuring every single Liverpool player featured in this medium, along with biographical details and contextual notes, Rowlands tells the story of the cigarette card craze. Presented in full colour, Redmen is a richly illustrated and deeply evocative window into one of football's bygone eras and an essential reference for every Liverpool fan.

The Players League, formed in 1890, was a short-lived professional baseball league controlled and owned in part by the players themselves, a response to the National League's salary cap and "reserve rule," which bound players for life to one particular team. Led by John Montgomery Ward, the Players League was a star-studded group that included most of the best players of the National League, who bolted not only to gain control of their wages but also to share ownership of the teams. Lasting only a year, the league impacted both the professional sports and the labor politics of athletes and nonathletes alike. The Great Baseball Revolt is a historic overview of the rise and fall of the Players League, which fielded teams in Boston, Brooklyn, Buffalo, Chicago, Cleveland, New York, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh. Though it marketed itself as a working-class league, the players were underfunded and had to turn to wealthy capitalists for much of their startup costs, including the new ballparks. It was in this context that the league intersected with the organized labor movement, and in many ways challenged by organized labor to be by and for the people. In its only season, the Players League outdrew the National League in fan attendance. But when the National League overinflated its numbers and profits, the Players League backers pulled out. The Great Baseball Revolt brings to life a compelling cast of characters and a mostly forgotten but important time in professional sports when labor politics affected both athletes and nonathletes.

From causing one of the biggest shocks in FA Cup final history by beating Manchester United in 1976 to promotion to the Premier League in 2012, here are 50 of the club's most glorious, epochal and thrilling games of all! Expertly presented in evocative historical context, and described incident-by-incident in atmospheric detail, Southampton Greatest Games offers a terrace ticket back in time, from the bygone days of Ted Bates and Lawrie McMenemy to the club's rise from League One back to the top flight via administration and near bankruptcy and their highest-ever Premier League finish under Ronald Koeman's masterful management. An irresistible cast list of club legends - including the great Matt Le Tissier, record appearance-maker Terry Paine, Wembley heroes Mick Channon and Peter Osgood, promotion winners Rickie Lambert and Jose Fonte and former European Footballer of the Year Kevin Keegan - comes to life in these thrilling tales of goalscoring feats, great comebacks, Wembley glory and the odd glorious yet crushing disappointment. In all, a journey through the highlights of Saints' history which is guaranteed to make any fan's heart swell with pride.

The 1990s, what a time to be an Evertonian! After a decade of success in the 1980s which saw cup and league wins, the 1990s brought brushes with relegation, financial ups and downs, a club drifting without purpose; it was a decade that saw Everton fall irrevocably off the pace, abandoning a long-held position as a member of English football's elite. There were still some games which won't fade from the memory, silverware and moments of unadulterated elation. Highs, Lows and Bakayokos explores a period of transformation for one of the game's oldest and grandest clubs; evaluates the causes of Everton's troubles; examines why peers raced away, grasping the opportunities presented by the new Premier League era; and ultimately sets out to rescue and redefine an unfairly maligned decade and its emotional intensity and capacity to thrill that has perhaps been all-too-absent for Evertonians in the recent era of stability.

From near-extinction to cup-final triumph, this is the story of the team which is remembered by Hibs fans as 'the team that would not die'. From Oblivion to Hampden is the tale of one of the most remarkable cup runs in Scottish football history, as Hibernian Football Club, having survived a hostile takeover by city rivals Hearts in 1990, a dreadful season in 1990/91 and summer spent in administration in 1991, bounced back from the brink of death to fight their way to Hampden glory a few months later. It was a courageous and memorable cup run that nobody, not even Hibs' most optimistic fan, could have envisaged a few months prior to the final. The story begins with the club's attempt to emulate the glory days of previous decades via an ill-fated experiment on the stock exchange in the late 1980s and culminates in the unexpected triumph which followed. With a foreword by Hibs statistician Bobby Sinnet and exclusive interviews with cup heroes Keith Wright, Tommy McIntyre and Mickey Weir, as well as an interview with Sir Tom Farmer and input from current board members, this book examines a crucial period in history at Easter Road.

Hearts On This Day revisits the most magical and memorable moments from the club's distinguished history, mixing in a maelstrom of anecdotes and characters to produce an irresistible Jambos diary - with an entry for every day of the year. From the club's humble, romantic origins in Edinburgh's Old Town, to coming within a hair's breadth of extinction at the hands of a Russian megalomaniac, to ultimate redemption in a record-toppling Championship campaign. Hearts fans have experienced each and every gamut of emotion in the club's 140-year history. The team were the first in Britain to sign up en masse for the Great War. While cup wins, a never-bettered 132-goal title-winning campaign, memorable European nights against such luminaries as Locomotive Leipzig, Bayern Munich, Austria Vienna, Bordeaux and Basle all feature alongside a raft of Tynecastle legends.

AFC Bournemouth Miscellany collects together all the vital information you never knew you needed to know about the Cherries. In these pages you will find irresistible anecdotes and the most mindblowing stats and facts. Heard the one about the 42-year-old former manager who was coaxed out of retirement to play on the left wing? How about James Hayter's fastest ever hat-trick in Football League history? Or the time 60,000 supporters lined the seafront to congratulate the champions on their Premier League promotion? Do you know which Cherries goalie stood 6ft 9in tall? Why 60s inside-forward Alan Hope suddenly became Alan O'Neill? Or which Cherries star was the first to top the scoring charts in three different divisions? All these stories and hundreds more appear in a brilliantly researched collection of trivia - essential for any Bournemouth fan who holds the riches of the club's history close to their heart.

From the thousands of matches ever played by Aston Villa, stretching from the club's Victorian foundation across more than 140 years to the Premier League era, here are 50 of the club's most glorious, epochal and thrilling games of all! Expertly presented in evocative historical context, and described incident-by-incident in atmospheric detail, Aston Villa Greatest Games offers a terrace ticket back in time, taking in their 19th-century dominance of club football, the ignominy of relegation to the Third Division, and then lifting Europe's biggest trophy just a decade later. An irresistible cast list of club legends - Pongo Waring and Peter Withe; Charlie Aitken, Paul McGrath and Peter McParland - springs to life in these thrilling tales of goalscoring feats, great comebacks, Wembley glory and the odd glorious yet crushing disappointment. In all, a journey through the highlights of Villa history which is guaranteed to make any fan's heart swell with pride.

So, you think you're a true Norwich City fan? A proper Canary? Yes, you've a shirt or two, you even know the first verse of 'On The Ball City', but do you really know the history of the club? Do you know the substitute in the 1985 League Cup Final? Or who our captain was in the 1983 FA Cup quarter-final? Or from which club Gordon Bolland joined us? Test yourself here with the ultimate quiz book on Norwich City FC. A book for any and all supporters of that mighty team in yellow and green, it's the perfect companion for those long journeys to away games or nights down at the local. From famous players, managers and matches, to transfers, incidents and trivia; it's all in here, designed to tease and test your knowledge of the club. So get your Canary thinking caps on - it's quiz time!

This is the ultimate quiz book on Leeds United Football Club. An ideal gift for fans of all ages, this is your chance to interact with the club's long and eventful history, from its formation, through the glory years and on to more recent highs and lows. Informative and fun, it is the perfect companion for those long match-day trips up, down and across the country or for simply testing you and your mates' knowledge of our great club. From the obscure to the infamous, the book is packed with 30 themed rounds of questions designed to entertain and amuse all Leeds supporters. So get your Leeds United thinking caps on - it's quiz time!

Cricket is a very old game in Scotland - far older than football, a sport which sometimes exercises a baleful, obsessive and deleterious effect on the national psyche. Cricket goes back at least as far as the Jacobite rebellions and their sometimes vicious aftermaths. It is often felt that Scottish cricket underplays itself. It has been portrayed as in some ways an English sport, a "softies" sport, and a sport that has a very limited interest among the general population of Scotland. This is emphatically not true, and this book is in part an attempt to prove that this is a misconception. Sixty-one games (it was going to be just 60, but one turned up at the last minute!) have been chosen from the past 250 years to show that cricket does indeed influence a substantial part of the nation. The matches have been selected at all levels, from Scotland against visiting Australian teams all the way down to a Fife school fixture. These naturally reflect the life, experience and geographical whereabouts of the author. The games are quirky sometimes, (and quirkily chosen) with an emphasis on important events in the broader history of this country, notably the imminence of wars and resumptions at the end of these conflicts. But the important thing is that every single cricket contest does mean an awful lot to some people.

Fifteen Fulham legends come together to tell the stories behind their favourite ever games for the club - enabling Cottagers fans of all ages to relive these magic moments through the eyes and emotions of the men who were there, playing their hearts out for the white shirt...John Mitchell and Les Strong recall 1975 FA Cup heroics, recounting stories of overturning Birmingham City in the semi-final before facing West Ham at Wembley as Second Division underdogs; George Cohen waxes lyrical about an eight-goal semi-final against Manchester United in 1958. Rodney McAree opts for the goal at Carlisle in 1997 that started Fulham's climb from the basement to the Premier League - while Simon Davies nominates the Europa League Final. Craven Cottage greats Steve Earle, Ray Lewington and Danny Murphy also turn in characteristic star performances, winding back the clock to relive treasured memories of the Match of Their Lives for Fulham.

Did you know: Hull City is the only team in the English Football League which hasn't got a single letter that you can colour in? City's early matches were played at The Boulevard, the old home of rugby league side Hull FC? Up to 2008, the nation's favourite trivia quiz question was: which is the largest city in England to have never had a team in the top division? The answer, of course, was Hull - but promotion in May 2008 rendered the question defunct and the search is now on for an updated version. The Hull City Miscellany - a book on the Tigers like no other, packed with facts, stats, trivia, stories and legend. Now, with the club tasting previously uncharted highs, look back at what has made this club what it is today - the players and characters that have represented City over the years and the events that have shaped the club. If you want to know the record crowd for a home game, the record appearance holder or longest-serving manager, look no further - this is the book you've been waiting for. From record goal scorers, to record defeats; from Boothferry Park to Dean Windass - it's all in The Hull City Miscellany - can you afford not to own a copy?

Celtic FC On This Day revisits all the most magical and memorable moments from the club's glorious past, mixing in a maelstrom of quirky anecdotes and legendary characters to produce an irresistibly dippable diary of Hoops history - with an entry for every day of the year. From humble yet proud origins, charitably assisting in feeding the poor of Glasgow's East End, the club is now a global institution with a worldwide following. Along the way, the green-and-white faithful have witnessed famous European exploits, record winning runs and attendances, countless triumphs on the Scottish scene and the one-off glories of all-British victories in 1902, 1938 and 1953 - all featured here. All-time greats including Jimmy Quinn, Patsy Gallacher and Jimmy McGrory, Billy McNeill, Kenny Dalglish and Henrik Larsson loom larger than life, appearing alongside all-conquering Celtic heroes such as Willie Maley, Jock Stein and Martin O'Neill.

In the 1989/90 season, Bristol Rovers clinched promotion to the old 'Second Division', thanks largely to the tremendous team spirit of a side exiled in Bath, away from its traditional Bristol home. The 'Ragbag Rovers', as they became known, set an outstanding club record, remaining undefeated in 41 matches throughout the season, the highlight of which was a 3-0 victory against local rivals Bristol City in the penultimate game of the season. This remarkable time is remembered with many previously unpublished photographs, statistics and reports from every match, interviews with the players involved, plus a feature on the club's first ever visit to Wembley Stadium for the Leyland Daf Cup Final. Anyone who was there will relish in reliving some of the magic through the memories and illustrations collected here, while those who are too young to recall it themselves can discover the thrill and anticipation that made it a season to remember.

The leaping Springbok on the green jersey of South Africa is one of the most iconic emblems in world rugby. At the same time, no symbol in world sport has ever done so much to divide - and then unite - a nation. Respected by opponents and supported passionately by South Africans, the Springboks have been a powerhouse rugby nation for over a century, yet the emblem that now sits alongside the Protea on the chests of the players was once a symbol of violent oppression in apartheid South Africa, the epitome of the white man's dominance over people of colour in the Republic. Told in the words of Springboks past and present, Our Blood is Green explores what it means to play for South Africa - from schoolboy dreams to the sacrifices required to make it to the very top - as well as the myriad difficulties the players have faced over the years, from the horrors of apartheid through to the emerging rainbow nation in the 1990s and the multi-cultural World Cup-winning team of today. It is a fascinating, powerful and poignant read that explores the unity of a brotherhood that fights to transcend race, culture and class while simultaneously striving to become the best team on the planet. Our Blood is Green examines what it truly means to be a Springbok and it is told the only way it can be - by the players themselves.

"The Sheffield Wednesday Miscellany"--a book on the Owls like no other, packed with facts, stats, trivia, stories, and legends. Sheffield Wednesday enjoy a notable history. Names such as David Hirst, Ernest Blenkinsop, Jack Brown, and Tommy Crawshaw have worn the famous blue and white stripes hundreds of times and the mercurial Paolo di Canio delighted Hillsborough until an infamous encounter with a referee...In an intriguing format, this book delves the club's history and brings to the fore countless events and some priceless trivia gems--who can claim to have known that one Football League game the club played in was scheduled to last just 11 minutes, a game with Everton was once turned round despite trailing 5-0 at half time, and that Wednesday were once known as "the Blades"? Also featured are a wide range of statistics, quotes, and biographies from the club's 140-odd-year history, making it a must for any fan. Can you really afford not to own a copy?

Sports clubs and voluntary organisations, in many cases, have become large and complex entities with strong membership numbers and significant budgets. Yet they are still operated by people who are essentially volunteers and, although they do so with the best motivations, far too often they are not equipped to deal with many of the areas in which they are involved. IT’S YOUR CLUB!, based on many years of practical experience of club committees, boards of directors and national councils, addresses many of the situations that cause problems for the officers of such clubs. It covers all aspects of the administration that supports the operation of the various functions of the club, explaining aspects of committees and their roles, the roles of the main officers, the importance of governance, the advantages of strategic planning, how leadership and management play different roles and how current legislation, such as child protection, affects the modern voluntary organisation. The political, economic and social environment in which sports clubs now operate has changed significantly and clubs need to adapt to ensure that they not only survive but are equipped to facilitate change and further development. IT’S YOUR CLUB! provides the definitive text on the leadership and management of sports clubs and will give club officers the confidence to make decisions vital to their club’s viability.

Celtic is an unusual football club, inspiring strong feelings in almost everyone. It is of course virtually impossible to chronicle all that has happened in the history of the club, but this little gem draws together some of the most interesting, quirky, and downright odd events that have taken place over their long and auspicious existence. Packed with facts, stats, trivia, stories, and legend, the reader will delve deep to find out all about the events and people who have shaped the club into what it is today. Featured here are a plethora of stories on this charismatic football club ranging from how the club was formed, to little-known facts about players and managers. Here you will find player feats, individual records, and plenty of amusing quotes. Discussing the rivalry with Rangers, favourite managers, and cult heroes from yesteryear, this is a book no true Celtic fan should be without.

Ipswich Town's Championship win of 1961/62 was one the greatest shocks in the history of professional football in England. No one could have conceived of how a small-town club would break into the top division of English football and take the Championship trophy at their very first attempt, a feat never achieved before or since. This is the story of that season in a match-by-match account set against the background of the news stories of the day. Also included is an analysis of the players, the team tactics and the manager Alf Ramsey, plus a statistical breakdown of the season.

From the thousands of matches ever played by Sunderland, stretching from the club's Victorian foundation across more than 120 years to the Premier League era, here are 50 of the club's most glorious, epochal and thrilling games of all! Expertly presented in evocative historical context, and described incident-by-incident in atmospheric detail, Sunderland Greatest Games offers a terrace ticket back in time, taking in the games that sealed six top-flight titles, all four of the lads' FA Cup finals and the all-time top-flight record away win of 9-1 at Newcastle in 1908. An irresistible cast list of club legends - Niall Quinn and Bobby Gurney, Marco Gabbiadini, Raich Carter and Ian Porterfield - springs to life in a thrilling selection of cup crackers, promotion parties and hard-fought derbies. In all, a journey through the highlights of Black Cats history which is guaranteed to make any fan's heart swell with pride.

Rossendale United Football Club 1898-2011: A Season by Season History is the roller coaster story of one of North West England's oldest non-league clubs, which went out of existence in June 2011. The story of a few highs and many more lows that features characters such as secretary of the Football League Charles Sutcliffe, one of England's greatest centre forwards Tommy Lawton, and even cricket legend David Lloyd. Featuring biographies of leading players and an extensive statistical section, this is the story of Rossendale United Football Club over each of its 112 seasons.