Favorite sports books?

Swiper the fox

Hey, I'm new to boards and came on this section,it's very interesting.
Anyway I read just about anything but sports books are probably my speciality, there aren't too many well known ones that I haven't read. I'd be hard pressed to pick a top ten but some of my favorites are Friday Night Lights, Seabiscuit, The Boys of Summer, House of Pain, A Life Too Short, actually far too many to mention. I particularly like GAA related books and those on American sports(American sports writing is completely different class).
Anyone else here have a favorite or some that may not be so well known but deserve to be.

LiamMc

Football Grounds of Europe - Simon Inglis (1990)

All time favourite sports book. English-born Aston Villa FC supporter, had previously written Football Grounds of Great Britain ( a far more bigger undertaking, given the history of current and previous clubs in Eng, WLS and SCO through the stadium developments).

The Europe book was written with Italia '90 in mind and the first country chapter is on Italy and the designated Stadiums for the upcoming World Cup Finals. Including new builds like San Nicola in Bari and redevelopments like San Siro Milano and Stadio Luigi Ferraris Genoa.
The next 30 odd chapters are divided into countries of that time, incld. Yugoslavia and East Germany.
Touches on many of the same themes concerning football goers for decades. Build out of town or redevelop current ground, clubs with poor facilities, Public money, Private money and Government institutions funding the club.

While many of the Stadiums/Grounds have been redeveloped since or yet again since the book was first researched, it still is a colourful, well-written, comprehensive account of venues all over Europe. Helpful for Stadium History, Club History, match history, general history and Travel.
For the curious, Lansdowne Road with terraced north and south terrace and Dalymount Park old wooden main stand and three sides fully terraced, no car park yet on the Connaught st. side.
For Northern Ireland Windsor Park and The Oval are given in-dept study.

tawfeeredux

The Last Shot by Darcy Frey (basketball - best american sports book i've read)
Heaven is a Playground by Rick Telander (basketball)
The Game by Ken Dryden (ice hockey - not read it yet, but supposed to be very good)
Moneyball (baseball) by Michael Lewis
Miracle of Castel di Sangro (Italian football) by Joe McGinniss
The Rider (cycling) by Tim Krabbe

tHE vAGGABOND

There is a book award now called William Hill Sports Book of the year, and formerly called Wipbread <sp?>Sports Book of the year - I have read most of them and they are all amazing, and what is great is that they cover a huge range of sports, from golf to sailing to boxing to cycling and a few football and rugby

Google it and dig a few of them out

mikemac1

Moneyball and The Blind Side by Michael Lewis
Yeah there are film adaptations but the books are far superior.
If you're unfamiliar with the sports maybe give 10 minutes on wikipedia to get the basics of the games before you start reading, will help you along

Cinderella Man
http://www.amazon.com/Cinderella-Man-Braddock-Greatest-History/dp/0618551174

The film was excellent and the book is great too

Carawaystick

Only a Game? by Dunphy. 'twas written as a diary of the (i think) '78 season very good an honest point of view of a footballer before Sky came in.

No Hurling at the Dairy Door by Billy Rackerd about the great Wexford hurling family from Rathnure.

King of the World by David Remnick about the Liston-Ali fights and Liston-Floyd Patterson fights before Ali.

dots03

some of my favourites are

'Stamping Grounds: Exploring Liechtenstein and its World Cup Dream' by Charlie Connelly which follows the team as they try to qualify for the 2002 world cup...very enjoyable read about the whipping boys of european football (and a good introduction to what life is like in Liechtenstein)

Staying with Soccer, I'd also recommend 'Brilliant Orange: The Neurotic Genius of Dutch Football' by David Winner which is as much a cultural\social study of the dutch as it is about dutch football. It's not a conventional sports book to be sure, but makes for a fascinating read.

I also recently finished Open by Andre Agassi which impressed for it's honest and candid look at his life and tennis.

Oscars Well.

"One Hell Of A Ride" Paul Carberry's autobiography

mgtscott

Hi,
My two favourites are Richard Dunwoody's 'Obsessed' and Paul McGrath's 'Back from the Brink', I'd highly recommend both...
m

wandatowell

While probably not the most liked person on these shores buy some people but Lawrence Dallaglio's book is a fantastic read!

Swiper the fox

I've read a good few of the books mentioned, ffotball grounds of Europe sounds fascinating but is probably a bit outdated now, the Agassi book is very good and I've not been interested in tennis since Jimmy Connors was strutting his stuff. One I never mentioned in my opening post is probably the best of all but is more of a collection of feature lenght articles than an actual book. It's called going deep by Gary Smith from Sports Illustrated
http://www.amazon.com/Sports-Illustrated-Going-Classic-Stories/dp/160320024X

I absolutely guarantee you will thank me for this recommendation if you like reading sports books.

MattHelders

The Club- Wonderful book. Just finished reading it. I'm a fan of hurling but have never played. I really, really want to pick up a hurl.

Brilliant Orange: The Neurotic Genius of Dutch Football- Definately the best football book I've read

Back From The Brink- A close second. Brilliantly honest

Maradona- Love the man so I loved his book

Swiper the fox

MattHelders wrote: »

The Club- Wonderful book. Just finished reading it. I'm a fan of hurling but have never played. I really, really want to pick up a hurl.

Brilliant Orange: The Neurotic Genius of Dutch Football- Definately the best football book I've read

Back From The Brink- A close second. Brilliantly honest

Maradona- Love the man so I loved his book

I didn't like the club at all, it's one of the GAA books i've enjoyed least, completely overrated in my opinion, Last Man Standing by the same author is a brilliant book though.
The Paul McGrath book is very good alright
Puskas on Puskas is a very good book if you are into football legends etc.

MattHelders

Swiper the fox wrote: »

I didn't like the club at all, it's one of the GAA books i've enjoyed least, completely overrated in my opinion, Last Man Standing by the same author is a brilliant book though.
The Paul McGrath book is very good alright
Puskas on Puskas is a very good book if you are into football legends etc.

First GAA book that I've read and I loved it so I'll certainly give Last Man Standing a try


And could anyone tell me what the best Muhammed Ali book is out there? I've been wanting to read one on the great man for ages

Oh Hell Oui!

MattHelders wrote: »

And could anyone tell me what the best Muhammed Ali book is out there? I've been wanting to read one on the great man for ages

'The Fight' by Norman Mailer is a great first hand account of the rumble in the jungle. Maybe not exactly what your looking for but some great insights into Ali and Mailers description of the fight is class.

Swiper the fox

Oh Hell Oui! wrote: »

'The Fight' by Norman Mailer is a great first hand account of the rumble in the jungle. Maybe not exactly what your looking for but some great insights into Ali and Mailers description of the fight is class.

The Fight was a big dissapointment for me, it's not a bad book but it is regularly at the very top of reputable lists of all time best sports books, I probably wouldn't have it in my top 50, the first time I started it I actually gave up on it, have read it in full since but it's more about Mailer than Ali or Foreman, certainly not an Ali biography. I've only read "King of the world" by David Remnick and it is very good.

The_Kew_Tour

Born to Run: The Hidden Tribe, the Ultra-Runners, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen by Christopher McDougall. Great read even if not into running.

Rough Ride by Paul Kimmage is also good. Maybe better now after Armstrong fiasco.

Unoriginal Choice3

I really liked the Art of Fielding by Chad Harbarch, it's based around college baseball but you don't need any knowledge of the game

fonkalei

The_Kew_Tour wrote: »

Born to Run: The Hidden Tribe, the Ultra-Runners, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen by Christopher McDougall. Great read even if not into running.

Rough Ride by Paul Kimmage is also good. Maybe better now after Armstrong fiasco.

2nd Born to run. I really enjoyed it. I'm reading the lost cyclist. Its dragging on a bit.

QDog10

Few goods one for you:

The Dirtiest Race in History by Richard Moore
A Season on the Brink by John Feinstein
The Grudge by Tom English
The Fall and Rise of Matt Hampson by Paul Kimmage

youcancallmeal

Read loads over the years but the only that really stuck with me was about the German goalkeeper who committed suicide a few years ago, A Life Too Short - Ronald Reng

SteelyDanJalapeno

The Fix - The Fix is the most explosive story of sports corruption in a generation. Intriguing, riveting, and compelling, it tells the story of an investigative journalist who sets out to examine the world of match-fixing in professional soccer.

A life too short - Story of Robert Enke, "The book is not just another football story, but about his life as son, husband, father, goalkeeper .... How seemingly from the outside life was perfect for him ... but he couldn't cope with the darkness."

Inverting the Pyramind - Very good insight into the development of football tactics and formations thoughout the years.

Sideshow Mark

Whilst its only based on real events, The Damned United is a great book charting Brian Clough's 44 days in charge of Leeds in the mid 1970s.

Imhof Tank

Only a Game - an absolute gem

honourable mentions:
Rough Ride
Brilliant Orange
Unforgivable Blackness, Jack Johnson
Behind the Curtain, although I found his Inverting the Pyramid tough going

sheff the ref

Mainly a GAA reader who dabbles occasionally into Rugby and Soccer. I was recommended 'Who Stole Our Game by Daire Whelan' on FAI politics some months ago and read it over Xmas. However I am reading a book now called 'Beyond the Green Door by Brendan Menton'. 14 pages in and I expect that by the end it will have been the greatest sporting book I have ever read.

UpTheSlashers

Enjoyed 'The Secret Race' by Hamilton & Coyle, does anyone know is 'Racing through the Dark' by David Millar any good?

Richmond Ultra

Against the edge by Kimmage.
Its about Matt Hampsons life after being paralysed. Its a cracking read.

Richmond Ultra

Against the edge by Kimmage.
Its about Matt Hampsons life after being paralysed. Its a cracking read.

Montefiore

I have very little time for Dunphy these days, but It's Only a Game? is a really great book about being a professional football player in the 60's and 70's. The man wrote it without a ghost writer, and it displays a real ability to get into the quirks of having thousands of people watch you kick a football around a pitch. And the off-field antics.

Swiper the fox

I started his thread a few years ago when I was brand new to boards, nice to see it revived:)

I've read dozens more sports books in the past couple of years, however I've never been able to read that book that has been recommended again here about Matt Hampson, I love Kimmage as a writer but the material kinda scares me in that case.
There've been a couple of very good GAA books in recent months, Anthony Daly's is excellent and Paul Galvin's is very decent.
Good supplement came with the examiner the other day, top 40 irish sports books ever, I've read 27 of them

http://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/other-sports/irelands-40-greatest-sports-books-300376.html

nompere

Don't be scared of the Kimmage/Hampson collaboration - it's a positive, upbeat book.

Manach

My own two favourites.
Miracle of Castel di Sangro by Joe McGinniss
Moneyball (which was turned into a film) by Michael Lewis

dinneenp

A few already mentioned-

• Dunphy- Only a Game
• Kimmage- Rough Ride
• Born to run

- Steaming In about fighting and life in the terraces. Granted, I read this about 20 years ago so might just have been excited about the violence.
- Full Time by- Tony Cascarino. Very honest

- Ball Four - baseball diary from a player in 1968. Gave an insight into baseball. commissioner of baseball called him a traitor for revealing details & insight.

- Four Iron in my Soul by Lawrence Donegan. author spent a year caddying for Scottish journeyman golfer Ross Drummond, ranked over 400 in the world, on the European Tour. An insight into what the golfing world is like for the non-stars.

Carawaystick

Kings of September, about Seamus Darby winning his 3rd All Ireland medal ( among other things in the Offaly win to stop the kerry 5-in-a-row)
by Michael Foley is very good


The Bloodied Field by the same fella has some good reviews, I'm getting it for xmas, Ive been told.

George Kimbal wrote Four Kings about Tommy Hearns, Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran and marvelous Marvin Hagler
great book
He also wrote an anthology of Irish times columns about a more varied (than just boxing) sports
American at Large

HW100S

There we were - Italia 90

Right Turn Clyde

Jonny Wilkinson's autobiography is one of the better sports bios out there. He speaks a lot about his struggles with his mental health. He has an obsessive and anxious personality. There were times when one of his conversions won the game, but he'd be back out practicing 20 minutes after the final whistle because he failed to convert a try in the opening 5 minutes. The most extreme example of this is when his drop-kick won England the World Cup, but immediately after kicking it he was worried that his team mates would think he was selfish for scoring it himself! Fascinating stuff.