The Little Book of Man City
Manchester City stormed to the clubs fourth Premier League title in 2019, the fourth championship in seven seasons, which is a far cry from the 44-year wait which ended in 2012! It is hard to believe that less than 20 years ago, City were in what is now League One. Their loyal fans spent so many years riding on the wildest roller-coaster in English football, with so many ups and downs that they hardly knew in which division they were competing, but things have changed and now City are among not only England's elite, but also Europe's. This incredible journey is recorded in this updated edition of The Little Book of Man City, a selection of the wit and wisdom of the great characters who have been associated with the club. From managers, such as Malcolm Allison, Kevin Keegan, Roberto Mancini and Pep Guardiola, via garrulous fans such as Radio 1's Mark and Lard and the Gallagher brothers to voluble players such as Francis Lee, Dennis Tueart, Rodney Marsh, Kun Aguero and Vincent Kompany, here are more than 170 funny and biting quotes for the avid fan of 'the only club in Manchester'. As their chaplain once said, 'Imagine where City would be if I hadn't been praying for them all these years.'
The Big Book of College Football Trivia
Are you a college football superfan? Prove it!With more than a century of football history to pull from, this trivia compilation will put your college football memory to the test. Use the trivia in this book to build your knowledge; test what you already know about college teams, coaches, and traditions; then challenge others to see who is the bigger fan of this Saturday sports tradition.What sets this football book apart: 700 questions--From the sport's earliest days to its most memorable games throughout the years, there's a fun quiz question for all of college football's unforgettable moments.A full roster--Explore players, coaches, conferences, bowl games, and national championships with an organized format that lets you get right to the info you're looking for. Extra credit--Each chapter includes a cool end section with even more insider knowledge about college football, like an explanation of the Heisman curse and a quick history of the NFL draft.Get ready to put your college football knowledge in play!
Baseball’s Wildest Season
At the end of the 1883 baseball season, things looked rosy--attendance had skyrocketed and the National League and American Association were at peace. A year later, however, the sport was in total disarray. A third major league, the Union Association, had come on the scene and waged a bitter war that rocked the baseball world. By the dawn of the 1885 season, the UA had dissolved in a sea of red ink, the AA had dropped four teams, and the minor leagues were desperately hoping to make it through the season. Amid the chaos of 1884 were some historic moments. Iron-man pitcher Hoss Radbourn won 59 games and led the Providence Grays to victory over the New York Metropolitans in the first World Series. Fleet Walker broke baseball's first color line. There were a record eight no-hitters and a cast of fascinating figures--some famous, some lost to history--like Radbourn, Hustling Horace Phillips, Dan O'Leary, and Edward (The Only) Nolan. This book tells the story of the momentous yet overshadowed 1884 season.
Competitive games in football training for youth and adults
The best way to learn football is under competitive conditions during training. Here we present many competitive games in training, which, for example, promote tackling and goal-shooting training under real conditions. These competitive games should account for 30 to 50 percent of the total training time. They almost always take place at the end of the training. The last competitive game is usually a normal football game without any special technical or tactical specifications.
Football a Beginner's Guide
Follow football like a superfan Are you ready for some football?! If you're new to watching the game, this beginner's guide covers everything you need to know about what's happening on the field. Get ready to cheer on your team with confidence--whether you're on the couch or in the stands.Go beyond other football books: For NFL newcomers--Tackle every aspect of football with clear explanations of the game's rules, players, and flow.Get in the game--See different plays and strategies in action with diagrams that show you what to look for while watching football.Prepare for kickoff--No time before game time? Brush up on the basics right away with the super-short football primer at the beginning of the book.Gear up to watch the big game or just hold your own at the water cooler with this ultimate guide to football for beginners.
Another Season In Words
Like most coaches I really like quotes. I think they can be a powerful motivational tool for players. I published A Season In Words in 2004. The book was my attempt to take you through your season and provide you with motivational quotes for situations as they arise. There are hundreds of thousands of quote books, and many are targeted to coaches. However, they were not organized as the season is organized. The original Season in Words became a big hit with coaches. In 2020, I "evolved" from coaching and began to focus more on my company which now includes our monthly Coaching and Leadership Journal. In a conversation with my coaching friend Stan Jones, Associate Head Coach for Florida State Basketball, he asked me what I've been up to since I retired from coaching. I told him a few of the things I was doing including organizing our annual Coaching and Leadership Summit. He said, "I thought you'd have a new Season In Words book out by now." That got me thinking. I went through the original book and even though many quotes are timeless, there were some like all things that had become outdated. I decided I would keep some of the old while including some new quotes I have added to my files since the eariler publication. I decided to keep the same format and chapters/files because the feedback I got about the layout was incredibly positive. I hope you can find some words from this new edition that will not only make you a better coach but also an even better person. --Dan Spainhour
The Secret Home of Golf
In April 2010, struggling architect Rob Collins of Chattanooga, Tennessee was looking for any way to get back into the golf course design business. When he learned his alma-mater Sewanee planned to renovate their mountain top nine-hole golf course with renowned architect Gil Hanse, he contacted Sewanee golf coach King Oehmig in hopes of getting involved in the project. This began an unlikely series of events which started the incredible saga of Sweetens Cove Golf Club.Sequatchie Valley Golf & Country Club was located the small town of South Pittsburg, Tennessee, in the dead flat flood plain of Battle Creek. A "homemade, country golf course," it was much loved by many golfers in the area: not the least of which was Bob Thomas, successful businessman and founder of nearby Sequatchie Concrete Service. After his home course closed down due to financial difficulties, Thomas bought the 100-acre property in picturesque Sweetens Cove mere days before it was slated to become a horse farm. Under the guidance of his son Reece, what started as a simple renovation project of a run-down golf course turned into something much larger than anyone could have ever imagined.The Secret Home of Golf is the recounting of how a new, bold nine-hole course in rural Tennessee was created by King-Collins Golf, a then unknown and untested golf course design-build firm, and went on to become listed as one of the top 60 Modern Courses by Golfweek magazine. You will meet a cast of characters that were integral to the ultimate and unlikely survival of the course, which was days away from shutting down on multiple occasions. It is a story of sacrifice and almost unimaginable providence. The Secret Home of Golf tells the story of a man who refused to give up on his dream, and how his resilience and determination became one of the biggest success stories in modern-day golf.
Africa's Elite Football
This book explores various aspects of intranational elite football in Africa, drawing on the expertise of notable scholars from across the world.Africa's Elite Football focuses on an area largely ignored by current scholarship on African football, where interest has focused on international migration. In exploring the intranational, the book is written in two parts. The first is a general focus on the continent, and the second is an examination of country cases. The general focus of the book is on the nature of elite tier leagues, the relationship between politics and football, the media, youth academies, intranational migration and fans. Notably, chapters on topics such as intranational migration present groundbreaking scholarship in this area. Currently, football discourses on migration focus on international migration of footballers, yet the majority of migration in African football is intranational. Thus, by addressing the intranational, this book brings attention to an area that is underrepresented in the current academic discourse. The second part of the book, which focuses on country cases, covers Botswana, Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The topics explored in those cases include religiosity, health, women's football, media and management. The coverage of health-related issues is particularly important given that several books on African football rarely broach such a topic.With its unique approach to African football, this book will be of interest to scholars and students of sports history, African studies, politics in sports and African sports.
The Boston Globe Story of the Red Sox
Experience the illustrious and passionate history of the Boston Red Sox, one of the most storied franchises in baseball, as it happened through the articles, features, and lens of their hometown and national news outlet, The Boston Globe. The Boston Red Sox are the most winning baseball team in the 21st century with four World Series titles, and they're not slowing down any time soon. Two of the most prominent organizations in Boston, The Boston Globe and the Boston Red Sox, combine to share a tour de force history of the heralded baseball franchise from the very beginning in 1901, when they were known as the Boston Americans. The Boston Globe Story of the Red Sox includes more than 300 articles chronicling the team's rich history as told through the best sports writing and coverage from the beloved Globe reporters, led by veteran sports columnist and an EPPY Award finalist Chad Finn. Relive some of the biggest moments in franchise history, such as their first baseball title ever in 1901, Carlton Fisk's wave home run in 1975, David Ortiz's postseason heroics, and the most dominant Red Sox team ever in 2018. With a foreword from beloved former Sox pitcher and broadcaster, Dennis Eckersley, and Illustrated throughout with hundreds of photographs through every era, and updated through 2022, this beautiful archive celebrates two beloved organizations, and shares the hometown story of one of the world's most popular baseball teams.
The Soccer Math Book
The Soccer Math Book is for children aged 4-7 years who are keen soccer fans. The book is a fun way for childrento improve both their math skills and their soccer knowledge.They will learn about player positions, formations, cup competitions, penalty shoot-outs, own goals, hat-tricks and many more soccer terms.At the same time they will be counting, adding, subtracting, halving, doubling and learning odds and evens.
Kansas City Chiefs Trivia Quiz Book
February 2023 Update - Fully revised, expanded and updated to include 2022 World Championship season and the win over the Eagles at Super Bowl LVII.Think you know about the Kansas City Chiefs? Put your knowledge to the test with this collection of quizzes on all things red and gold.The book covers the whole history of the franchise, from the early days under Hank Stram through to the World Championship teams of Andy Reid.The biggest names in Chiefs history are present and correct so look out for questions on Patrick Mahomes, Chris Jones, Derrick Thomas, Travis Kelce, Christian Okoye, Tyreek Hill, Trent Green, Eric Berry and many, many more.There are more than 600 questions in all covering running backs and receivers, coaches and quarterbacks, pass rushers and punters and much else besides.Each quiz contains a selection of 20 questions and is either a mixed bag of pot luck testers or is centered on a specific category such as the 1990s or defense.There are easy, medium and hard questions offering something for Chiefs novices as well as connoisseurs of Kansas City history.Before Patrick Mahomes, who was the last player to win the League MVP and the Super Bowl in the same season?Who was the only Chief who started Super Bowl LVII whose full name starts and ends with the same letter?Which defensive back acted as an emergency kicker during the 44-21 win over the Cardinals in 2022, going 1/2 on extra points?Who scored five interception return touchdowns between 2010 and 2016?Find out the answers to these and many more questions in the Kansas City Chiefs Trivia Quiz Book.
When Mum and Dad See Me Kick
A series of short stories profiling ten individuals, with the why, how, and when they came to love football and what it means to them personally. The stories demonstrate that 'the Beautiful Game' is home to the world's biggest community, and within that community are thousands of stories from people from all walks of life. Different races, ethnicities, religions, genders, sexualities, and more. All come together around the call of football.When Mum and Dad See Me Kick covers stories from vastly different members of that community and shows how football changed their lives forever.From a young woman who was once on the boy's team, to a displaced Palestinian immigrant who finds hope in the game and more, these stories make a chorus to the world's most beautiful song.
National League History
This is an interesting material for an avid sports fan. This book discusses about the different Baseball, Basketball, Hockey, Football and Soccer teams. Data showing championships and corresponding year is also presented in this book. Sit back, read and enjoy!
Don’t Call Me Doc
An invitation to be a football medic seemed a dream come true after a lifetime of being a football fan and a hospital doctor.There were many surprising twists and turns: player injuries turned out to be the easier part of the job.What follows is a light-hearted account of the bonkers world of club football in deepest Wales.
The Birth, Passing and Final Resting Place of Chicago's North Side Baseball Players from 1-1-1876 to 1-1-2021
This book presents to you the places of Birth, Passing and Final Resting of Chicago's North side Baseball Players from January 1, 1876 to January 1, 2021.
The Wake Up Call
Star basketball player Anthony Odunsi is faced with the biggest "wake up" call of his life. Should he stay in the game that he loved since the age of 11 and live out his dreams as a professional basketball player? Or should he venture out and pursue a life and career outside the world of basketball? This story is an uncanny approach to the sports life through the eyes of a young Nigerian basketball player that shattered cultural and racial limitations, but not without controversy. Under the constant scrutiny of being a student-athlete, he makes mistakes along the way that ultimately influence his decision to attend 4 different colleges in 4 years.This transparent life story keeps you on the edge of your seat, giving you a raw look into the competitive sport with an insider's view, as Anthony deals with adversity, depression, and thoughts of suicide. It's a competitive world, where few make it to the top.The Wake Up Call, Exposing the Truth About Basketball, is the story that gives you a behind the scenes look at the relentless world of sports.
2023 Minor League Baseball Analyst
The best resource for projecting future performance of minor league athletes--essential for fantasy league baseball players. The first book of its kind to fully integrate sabermetrics and scouting, the 2023 Minor League Baseball Analyst provides a distinctive brand of analysis for more than 1,000 minor league baseball players. Features include scouting reports for all players, batter skills ratings, pitch repertoires, performance trends, major league equivalents, and expected major league debuts. A complete sabermetric glossary is also included. This one-of-a-kind reference is ideally suited for baseball analysts and those who play in fantasy leagues with farm systems.
The Parent's Section
Basketball Parents...Here is Your Blueprint.In the United States, youth athletics is a $19 billion industry. Compare that to the NFL ($15 billion) or theNBA ($10 billion), and you will understand why coaches refer to youth basketball as "a business."The players are on a congested road in a complex system.This book is to assist parents in the navigation.With captivating commentary from parents, players, and coaches, it is a data-driven resource based on the author's seven-year journey with her son-from travel teams and high school gyms to college arenas.It is a must-have resource if you are a part of The Parent's Section: Outside The Locker Room."Over the years, I've found too many parents, including myself, struggling through the youth basketball world.With all of the changing rules and regulations, unwavering competition, and limited spots, trusting the process is notenough. From one basketball parent to another, here is the first written guide to ensure your student-athlete has a fair shot at finding the right coaches, teams, and schools."--Simone Joye
Bill Virdon
One of the most underrated players in baseball history, Bill Virdon went on to successfully manage four Major League teams. Rookie of the Year with the 1955 St. Louis Cardinals, he played center field for 10 seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates, next to right fielder Roberto Clemente. Virdon's key plays clinched the Pirates' victory over the New York Yankees in the 1960 World Series. He was instrumental in coaching the "Bucs" during the 1971 Series against the Baltimore Orioles, and later that year became their manager, Virdon was American League Manager of the Year with the Yankees in 1974, and National League Manager of the Year with the Houston Astros in 1980. In 1984 he ended his MLB managerial career while with the Montreal Expos yet continued to coach through the 2002 season. This first-ever biography covers his remarkable career, with previously untold stories from Virdon and his wife, Shirley.
This Too Was America
Cricket in America achieved its greatest acclaim, most extensive organization and highest level of competition in Philadelphia in the mid-19th century. The city took upon itself the burden of representing the entire U.S. during the sport's emerging international popularity. It was a story of amazing successes, abysmal failures and engaging personalities--like John B. King, revered to this day as one of the all-time greatest players--and eventual decline and demise. This meticulously researched history examines the origin and rise of a sport's legacy that, even in its demise, would endure as a lost vision of America's sporting destiny.
No Place I Would Rather Be
Legendary New Yorker writer and editor Roger Angell is considered to be among the greatest baseball writers to date. He brought a fan's love, a fiction writer's eye, and an essayist's sensibility to the game. No other baseball writer has a through line quite like Angell's: born in 1920, he was an avid fan of the game by the Depression era, when he watched Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig hit home runs at Yankee Stadium. He began writing about baseball in 1962 and continued through the decades, blogging about baseball's postseasons, until shortly before his death in 2022. No Place I Would Rather Be tells the story of Angell's contribution to sportswriting, including his early short stories, pieces for the New Yorker, autobiographical essays, seven books, and the common threads that run through them. His work reflects rapidly changing mores as well as evolving forces on and off the field, reacting to a half century of cultural turmoil, shifts in trends and professional attitudes of ballplayers and executives, and a complex, discerning, and diverse audience. Baseball is both change and constancy, and Angell was the preeminent essayist of that paradox. His writing encompassed fondness for the past, a sober reckoning of the present, and hope for the future of the game. This edition features a new epilogue.Joe Bonomo teaches in the Department of English at Northern Illinois University. He is the author or editor of numerous books, including Field Recordings from the Inside: Essays; Conversations with Greil Marcus; Sweat: The Story of the Fleshtones, America's Garage Band; and Jerry Lee Lewis: Lost and Found.
The Called Shot
Named Best Baseball Book of 2020 by Sports Collectors Digest 2021 SABR Seymour Medal Finalist In the summer of 1932, at the beginning of the turbulent decade that would remake America, baseball fans were treated to one of the most thrilling seasons in the history of the sport. As the nation drifted deeper into the Great Depression and reeled from social unrest, baseball was a diversion for a troubled country--and yet the world of baseball was marked by the same edginess that pervaded the national scene. On-the-field fights were as common as double plays. Amid the National League pennant race, Cubs' shortstop Billy Jurges was shot by showgirl Violet Popovich in a Chicago hotel room. When the regular season ended, the Cubs and Yankees clashed in what would be Babe Ruth's last appearance in the fall classic. After the Cubs lost the first two games in New York, the series resumed in Chicago at Wrigley Field, with Democratic presidential candidate Franklin Roosevelt cheering for the visiting Yankees from the box seats behind the Yankees' dugout. In the top of the fifth inning the game took a historic turn. As Ruth was jeered mercilessly by Cubs players and fans, he gestured toward the outfield and then blasted a long home run. After Ruth circled the bases, Roosevelt exclaimed, "Unbelievable!" Ruth's homer set off one of baseball's longest-running and most intense debates: did Ruth, in fact, call his famous home run? Rich with historical context and detail, The Called Shot dramatizes the excitement of a baseball season during one of America's most chaotic summers.
Tales from the Deadball Era
2014 Baseball Caucus Readers' Choice Award winner from the Special Libraries Association The Deadball Era (1901-1920) is a baseball fan's dream. Hope and despair, innocence and cynicism, and levity and hostility blended then to create an air of excitement, anticipation, and concern for all who entered the confines of a Major League ballpark. Cheating for the sake of victory earned respect, corrupt ballplayers fixed games with impunity, and violence plagued the sport. Spectators stormed the field to attack players and umpires, ballplayers charged the stands to pummel hecklers, and physical battles between opposing clubs occurred regularly in a phenomenon known as "rowdyism." At the same time, endearing practices infused baseball with lightheartedness, kindness, and laughter. Fans ran onto the field with baskets of flowers, loving cups, diamond jewelry, gold watches, and cash for their favorite players in the middle of games. Ballplayers volunteered for "benefit contests" to aid fellow big leaguers and the country in times of need. "Joke games" reduced sport to pure theater as outfielders intentionally dropped fly balls, infielders happily booted easy grounders, hurlers tossed soft pitches over the middle of the plate, and umpires ignored the rules. Winning meant nothing, amusement meant everything, and league officials looked the other way. Mark S. Halfon looks at life in the Major Leagues in the early 1900s, the careers of Hall of Famers like John McGraw, Ty Cobb, and Walter Johnson, and the events that defined the Deadball Era. He highlights the strategies, underhanded tactics, and bitter battles that make this storied era of the game so memorable, while providing detailed insights into the players and teams involved in bringing to a conclusion this remarkable period in baseball history.Mark S. Halfon is professor of philosophy at Nassau Community College in New York. He is the author of Can a Dead Man Strike Out? Offbeat Baseball Questions and Their Improbable Answers.
Tris Speaker
A three-time World Series winner and an early inductee into the Hall of Fame, lauded by Babe Ruth as the finest defensive outfielder he ever saw, and described as "perfection on the field" by the great Grantland Rice, Tris Speaker enjoys the peculiar distinction of being one of the least-known legends of baseball history. Tris Speaker: The Rough-and-Tumble Life of a Baseball Legend is the first book to tell the full story of Speaker's turbulent life and to document in sharp detail the grit and glory of his pivotal role in baseball's dead-ball era. Playing for the Boston Red Sox and the Cleveland Indians in the early part of the twentieth century, Tris "Spoke" Speaker put up numbers that amaze us even today: his record for career doubles--792--may never be approached, let alone broken. Timothy M. Gay gives a rousing account of some of the best baseball ever played--and of some of the darkest moments that ever tainted a game and hastened the end of a career. Gay's four years of research on Speaker unearthed a document that suggests that cheating induced by gambling was far more widespread in early baseball than officials have acknowledged. Gay's book captures the bygone spirit of the big leagues' rough-and-tumble early years and restores one of baseball's true greats--and a truly larger-than-life personality--to his rightful place in the American sports pantheon.
One Season in Rocket City
Named a Best Baseball Book of 2023 by Sports Collectors Digest It's 1984. Minor League Baseball mogul Larry Schmittou needs a new home for his Southern League Nashville Sounds franchise. Walt Jocketty, an Oakland A's executive, searches for a new town for his Double-A club. Fate brings them together in Huntsville, Alabama, a city in need of an outlet to unite its residents. Thus the Huntsville Stars are born. One Season in Rocket City brings to life the baseball renaissance that shook up Huntsville, a city many doubted would support professional baseball. Named after Huntsville's celebrated space industry, the Stars electrified the town with baseball fever to become one of the biggest attractions in Minor League Baseball that first season. Composed of Oakland's top prospects, who later fueled the A's championship run in the late 1980s, the Stars were the hottest ticket in town. Visiting teams called Huntsville the "Minor League show," and the Stars were the toast of the Southern League. Wearing patriotic red, white, and blue team colors, the team won the Southern League championship in their first year, led by future Major Leaguers Darrel Akerfelds, Tim Belcher, Greg Cadaret, Jos矇 Canseco, Brian Dorsett, Stan Javier, Eric Plunk, Luis Polonia, and Terry Steinbach. But besides the lineup of touted prospects on the club, it was the gutsy role players who never reached the Major Leagues that willed them to a championship. Through interviews with former players, managers, executives, coaches, and beat writers who witnessed the Stars take the Southern League by storm, Dale Tafoya depicts the city's romance with the club, success on the field, and push for a championship. Beginning with a glimpse into Huntsville's rich history, One Season in Rocket City takes readers on a journey through the team's dramatic founding, Huntsville politics, tape-measure home runs, and the club's resilience to win the championship despite losing top players to promotions in midseason. The Stars were just what Huntsville needed.
Mentally strong
"How important is your mind as an Athlete?" "Very important." "How often do you train your mind?" ..... It is no coincidence that men's professional tennis has been dominated by 3 players in the last 20 years. These players, in fact, all top athletes have certain characteristics in common. Without these personality traits, it's impossible to reach your maximum potential. You have to look beyond the obvious.
More on Learning Golf
Give me your slices and hooks; your club-throwing frustrations; your sore backs; your hot-under-the-collar and I've-had-enough-of-this-stupid-game temperament. More On Learning Golf is for you! Golfers with perfect swings need not read.Percy Boomer's pioneering 1942 golf instructional book, On Learning Golf, earned him entry as an inaugural member into the World Golf Teachers Hall of Fame and ranking as the number one swing guru of all time. More On Learning Golf is the only golf instructional book based entirely on Percy's swing principles and Feel Simple Golf's groundbreaking mental approach.More On Learning Golf . . .modernizes Percy Boomer's timeless teachings;gives five simple, integrated fundamentals to a powerful, accurate, and consistent golf game;ties together the mental and physical elements of the swing; andshows how to use the same swing movement from driving to putting-all of which simplifies the golf swing and makes playing golf more fun.Read and follow the instructions in More On Learning Golf, and as Percy would say, "Hey presto, that's a good swing!"
More on Learning Golf
Give me your slices and hooks; your club-throwing frustrations; your sore backs; your hot-under-the-collar and I've-had-enough-of-this-stupid-game temperament. More On Learning Golf is for you! Golfers with perfect swings need not read.Percy Boomer's pioneering 1942 golf instructional book, On Learning Golf, earned him entry as an inaugural member into the World Golf Teachers Hall of Fame and ranking as the number one swing guru of all time. More On Learning Golf is the only golf instructional book based entirely on Percy's swing principles and Feel Simple Golf's groundbreaking mental approach.More On Learning Golf . . .modernizes Percy Boomer's timeless teachings;gives five simple, integrated fundamentals to a powerful, accurate, and consistent golf game;ties together the mental and physical elements of the swing; andshows how to use the same swing movement from driving to putting-all of which simplifies the golf swing and makes playing golf more fun.Read and follow the instructions in More On Learning Golf, and as Percy would say, "Hey presto, that's a good swing!"
Daybreak at Chavez Ravine
Finalist for the 2023 CASEY Award Named a Best Baseball Book of 2023 by Sports Collectors Digest Fernando Valenzuela was only twenty years old when Tom Lasorda chose him as the Dodgers' opening-day starting pitcher in 1981. Born in the remote Mexican town of Etchohuaquila, the left-hander had moved to the United States less than two years before. He became an instant icon, and his superlative rookie season produced Cy Young and Rookie of the Year awards--and a World Series victory over the Yankees. Forty years later, there hasn't been a player since who created as many Dodgers fans. After the Dodgers' move to Los Angeles from Brooklyn in the late 1950s, relations were badly strained between the organization and the Latin world. Mexican Americans had been evicted from their homes in Chavez Ravine, Los Angeles--some forcibly--for well below market value so the city could sell the land to team owner Walter O'Malley for a new stadium. For a generation of working-class Mexican Americans, the Dodgers became a source of great anguish over the next two decades. However, that bitterness toward the Dodgers vanished during the 1981 season when Valenzuela attracted the fan base the Dodgers had tried in vain to reach for years. El Toro, as he was called, captured the imagination of the baseball world. A hero in Mexico, a legend in Los Angeles, and a phenomenon throughout the United States, Valenzuela did more to change that tense political environment than anyone in the history of baseball. A new fan base flooded Dodger Stadium and ballparks around the United States whenever Valenzuela pitched in a phenomenon that quickly became known as Fernandomania, which continued throughout a Dodger career that included six straight All-Star game appearances. Daybreak at Chavez Ravine retells Valenzuela's arrival and permanent influence on Dodgers history while bringing redemption to the organization's controversial beginnings in LA. Through new interviews with players, coaches, broadcasters, and media, Erik Sherman reveals a new side of this intensely private man and brings fresh insight to the ways he transformed the Dodgers and started a phenomenon that radically altered the country's cultural and sporting landscape.
Baseball's Endangered Species
Named a Best Baseball Book of 2023 by Sports Collectors Digest Scouting has been called pro baseball's personalized way of renewing itself from year to year and a pathway to the game's past. It takes a very special person to be a baseball scout: normal family life is out of the question because travel is a constant companion. Yet for those with the genuine calling for it, there could be no other life. Hearing the special thwack off the bat that indicates a raw prospect may be the real deal is the dream that keeps true scouts going. Scouts have the difficult task of not only discovering and signing new players but envisioning the trajectory of raw talent into the future. But the place of the traditional scout has become increasingly dire. In 2016 Major League Baseball eliminated the MLB Scouting Bureau that had been created in the 1970s to augment the regular scouting staffs of individual teams. On the eve of the 2017 playoffs that saw the Houston Astros crowned as World Series champions, the team dismissed ten professional scouts and by 2019 halved the number of all their scouts to less than twenty. More and more teams are replacing their experienced talent hunters with people versed in digital video and analytics but who have limited field knowledge of the game, driven by the Moneyball-inspired trend to favor analytics, data, and algorithms over instinct and observation. In Baseball's Endangered Species Lee Lowenfish explores in-depth how scouting has been affected by the surging use of metrics along with other changes in modern baseball business history: expansion of the Major Leagues in 1961 and 1962, the introduction of the amateur free agent draft in 1965, and the coming of Major League free agency after the 1976 season. With an approach that is part historical, biographical, and oral history, Baseball's Endangered Species is a comprehensive look at the scouting profession and the tradition of hands-on evaluation. At a time when baseball is drenched with statistics, many of them redundant or of questionable value, Lowenfish explores through the eyes and ears of scouts the vital question of "makeup" how a player copes with failure, baseball's essential, painful truth.
Leo Durocher
Leo Durocher (1905-1991) was baseball's all-time leading cocky, flamboyant, and galvanizing character, casting a shadow across several eras, from the time of Babe Ruth to the Space Age Astrodome, from Prohibition through the Vietnam War. For more than forty years, he was at the forefront of the game, with a Zelig-like ability to be present as a player or manager for some of the greatest teams and defining baseball moments of the twentieth century. A rugged, combative shortstop and a three-time All-Star, he became a legendary manager, winning three pennants and a World Series in 1954. Durocher performed on three main stages: New York, Chicago, and Hollywood. He entered from the wings, strode to where the lights were brightest, and then took a poke at anyone who tried to upstage him. On occasion he would share the limelight, but only with Hollywood friends such as actor Danny Kaye, tough guy and sometime roommate George Raft, Frank Sinatra, and Durocher's third wife, movie star Laraine Day. Dickson explores Durocher's life and times through primary source materials, interviews with those who knew him, and original newspaper files. A superb addition to baseball literature, Leo Durocher offers fascinating and fresh insights into the racial integration of baseball, Durocher's unprecedented suspension from the game, the two clubhouse revolts staged against him in Brooklyn and Chicago, and his vibrant life off the field.
Lefty O'Doul
From San Francisco to the Ginza in Tokyo, Lefty O'Doul relates the untold story of one of baseball's greatest hitters, most colorful characters, and the unofficial father of professional baseball in Japan. Lefty O'Doul (1897-1969) began his career on the sandlots of San Francisco and was drafted by the Yankees as a pitcher. Although an arm injury and his refusal to give up the mound clouded his first four years, he converted into an outfielder. After four Minor League seasons he returned to the Major Leagues to become one of the game's most prolific power hitters, retiring with the fourth-highest lifetime batting average in Major League history. A self-taught "scientific" hitter, O'Doul then became the game's preeminent hitting instructor, counting Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams among his top disciples. In 1931 O'Doul traveled to Japan with an All-Star team and later convinced Babe Ruth to headline a 1934 tour. By helping to establish the professional game in Japan, he paved the way for Hideo Nomo, Ichiro Suzuki, and Hideki Matsui to play in the American Major Leagues. O'Doul's finest moment came in 1949 when General Douglas MacArthur asked him to bring a baseball team to Japan, a tour that MacArthur later praised as one of the greatest diplomatic efforts in U.S. history. O'Doul became one the most successful managers in the Pacific Coast League and was instrumental in spreading baseball's growth and popularity in Japan. He is still beloved in Japan, where in 2002 he was inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame. This edition features a new epilogue by the author.
A History of Africa
From superstar author Derrick Barnes, here is a middle-grade celebration of the people and stories that helped shape the game of basketball, from unsung pioneers to unforgettable moments of the game. Capturing all the joy and energy that mark the sport of basketball, bestselling and award-winning superstar author Derrick Barnes shines a light on the amazing ballers, buzzer-beaters, and record-breakers who haven't always gotten the attention they deserve. Who Got Game? Basketball, the second book in his sports series, following Who Got Game? Baseball, weaves together great storytelling, lively illustrations, and a far-ranging selection of facts, stats, sidebars, and quotes. Middle-grade readers will discover the highest-scoring game in NCAA history. The influential center, George Mikan, who created the modern big man role, and 5'3" Muggsy Bogues, the shortest player ever to star in the pros. The pioneering Senda Berenson Abbott, creator of the women's game. The legendary Rucker Park b-ball court in Harlem, New York. Plus the first African American players and coaches, greatest comeback victories and earth-shattering slam dunks, longest winning streaks, and so much more. This book will hit you like a three-pointer from half-court!
The Alley Gator Bowling Book
Bowling Scoring Made Fun!Who's that cool dude on the lane?! Why, it's Alley Gator, and he loves to bowl! And he's here to teach you how to score! Have you sat at a bowling alley and watched the automatic scorer total up each game without fully understanding how or why these numbers popped up on the screen? Are you tired of asking someone else to keep score for you? Whether you're a kid or an adult - 9 or 99 years old, The Alley Gator Bowling Book is for you!This book takes you on an illustrated step-by-step game of bowling where you will learn how to keep score like a pro! Unlike other bowling scoring instructions, Alley Gator takes into account all scenarios (Open, Spare, Strike, Double) with clear and concise language that is easy to follow. This book comes with 30 pages of score sheets for up to six players per game along with the scoring guide with illustrated reference icons. A great book for beginners, anyone who wants to brush up on how to score, and anyone who wants a fun and simple way to explain the rules and lingo of bowling.Also included are 10 pages of bowling references: Types of rolls, glossary of terms, introductory rules, and a section on bowling etiquette to help you "talk the talk" and "walk the walk" at the bowling alley. What's a washout? What's a turkey? Why do you wear bowling shoes? What are those arrows on the lane? All these questions and many, many more are answered in this book!Plus 12 pages of: Bowling cartoons to leave you laughing at the lanes, fun facts, puzzles, and activities to deepen and test your knowledge of the game that people have loved since the days of ancient Egypt!Includes: Illustrated Step-by-Step Scoring Instructions30 Score SheetsIntroductory Rules and Bowling BasicsIllustrated Parts of the Bowling LaneIllustrated Classic ApproachIllustrated Types of SparesGlossary of TermsBowling EtiquetteBowling CartoonsFun FactsPuzzlesActivities
Messi vs. Ronaldo
Essential World Cup Reading Featured in The New York Times' "What to Read During the World Cup"Wall Street Journal reporters Joshua Robinson and Jonathan Clegg offer a deeply reported account of the intertwined sagas and legacies of two of the greatest soccer players of all time--Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo--examining how their rivalry has grown from a personal competition to a multi-billion-dollar industry, paralleling the stunning rise, overwhelming excesses, and uncertain future of modern international soccer.For over fifteen years, almost any conversation about international soccer has always come back to two players--Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo--undoubtedly the greatest of their generation but with styles, attitudes, and fanbases that couldn't be more different. For millions of people around the world "Messi or Ronaldo?" isn't simply a barroom argument, or an affirmation of fandom, so much as a statement of philosophy, of values, of what global soccer is today and of what it will be tomorrow.Now Wall Street Journal reporters and co-authors of The Club, Joshua Robinson and Jonathan Clegg, unite the stories of Messi and Ronaldo into a single modern epic of global sports, detailing how one rivalry changed both the game and the business of international soccer--forever. Based on dozens of firsthand accounts and years of original reporting, Messi vs. Ronaldo weaves together the stakes, color, and characters at the heart of each man's story, going inside the locker rooms and boardrooms where their legends were forged and revealing off-field drama as gripping as anything that happened on it. From their contrasting origin stories to their divergent career arcs and their conflicting reputations, these players have built their successes on opposite paths, yet each, in his own way, offers a riveting tale of triumph and excess. Taken together, their story embodies the astronomical growth of international soccer, how social media has revolutionized the power of sports celebrity, and how the desire to capitalize on the billions of dollars these players represent electrified some of the most storied clubs in Europe--Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Manchester United among them--and cost them almost everything.Updated with a new epilogue detailing Messi and Argentina's remarkable victory in the 2022 World Cup, Messi vs. Ronaldo offers a deeply researched look at their legacy and grapples with the impact that their talents have had on the game for better and for worse. Much more than a retelling of the dual accomplishments of these great players, this is truly a biography of a rivalry, one that has become a crucial lens for understanding the past, present, and future of global soccer.
Searchin’ for Toothpick Sam
Anyone who has collected baseball cards understands the thrill of completing a set. And part of the fun is filling in the gaps along the way, one wax pack at a time, over months or even years. Or sometimes, as in Jamie Selko's case, decades. This memoir recounts the author's love affair with Topps' 1961 baseball card set and his quest to acquire a complete autographed collection--an effort that took almost 40 years and still is one card short, #555 Sam "Toothpick" Jones. The author describes growing up in the early 1960s and details the backstory behind his mission, from the first autograph he got--Joe DiMaggio's, in an officer's club in Mannheim, Germany--to how he decided, 15 years later, to get signatures on each of the '61s. He also comments on each card in the set and on each player's finest game in the season.
50 Things to Know About Coaching
Book DescriptionDo I want to become an elite coach in my sport?Do I want inspire my players to be successful in sport, but also in their lives?Do I want to learn qualities that make me a great coaching candidate?If you answered yes to any of these questions, then this book is for you.50 Things to Know About Coaching, by Shane A. Reinhard, offers an approach to coaching sport that is not just about wins and losses, but more about skill development, relationship building, and being successful outside of sport. Most books on coaching a sport speak to how coaches can have great success winning. Although there's nothing wrong with winning, why don't you just look yourself in the mirror and see what you have to offer outside of winning?Based on knowledge from the world's leading experts, coaching sports has a lot more to do with compassion than controlling by anger and fear. The latter seems to be embodied by a lot of coaching styles at every level these days. In these pages, you'll discover what makes a great coach by looking inside yourself to find the style that works for you.This book will help you because coaching continues to grow in depth across the world, and your opportunity to glean from that growth is fully accessible. Unfortunately, good coaching styles seem to be few and far between. It is time for great coaches like you to rise up.By the time you finish this book, you will know how coaching can be successful for you and your team. You will be able to put this advice to work by figuring out what practices are best for your program.So grab YOUR copy today. You'll be glad you did.For each 50 Things to Know book that is sold (not including free days), 10 cents is given to teaching and learning. Go to 50ThingsToKnow.com/GivingBack to find out more.
The Latter Days
Clyde Kinlaw is a washed-up baseball coach who wants to prove it isn't so.Kinlaw was a good ballplayer who became a loyal company man once he retired. He managed his old team, the Portland Loggers. Now he's a scout who doesn't feel as if the new generation of talent evaluators puts any stake in his judgment anymore. He wants to prove them wrong but doesn't know how.Then Kinlaw stumbles upon Taiquon Wattson.Kinlaw's only ally in the Portland front office, Frank Staley Jr., sends him to evaluate Ryne Standback, a first baseman considered one of the country's top high-school prospects. Standback doesn't impress Kinlaw, who dismisses him as a privileged white kid with all the skill money can buy. What draws Kinlaw's attention is a catcher on the other team. Wattson has all the tools but none of the attention. He's a poor kid who lives with his grandmother in a predominantly black town on the banks of the Savannah River. He's known locally for his football, not his baseball, skills. He's a catcher because it's the only position he can play without owning his own glove. Teams always provide a mitt. Taiquon is as raw as the crappie he hauls out of the river to help feed the family. All he knows about baseball is approximately how to play it.Stay away from Sandberg, Kinlaw advises Staley. Let Kinlaw take Wattson under his wing and make him a player. Wattson's not ready. The minor leagues would chew him up and spit him out. Staley finds a place for Kinlaw and Staley to hide. They get to know each other on a long, gradual drive to Texas, where Wattson is playing semi-pro ball and Kinlaw is coaching him.Kinlaw is not rid of Standback, however. Drafted first by Houston, Standback predictably flops in Triple-A, where his agent insisted he be assigned. All of a sudden, Staley smells a bargain and dispatches Kinlaw, already in Texas, to Corpus Christi for a second look. The humbled Standback, his life in ruins, sees that Kinlaw is the only scout who ever dealt with him honestly.Both young men change. Wattson loses his innocence. Standback loses his arrogance. Kinlaw regains his respect.
3v3
Young footballers love to play, and a lot of inspiration comes from their heroes. The greats of the game all have their own skill sets and signature moves, whether that's Cristiano Ronaldo's chop, Neymar's flick, Lionel Messi's mazy dribbles, Harry Kane's deadly finishing, or Trent Alexander-Arnold's crossing. By focusing on these greats, young players immediately have images in their minds of the task at hand and the skill they are about to execute. They are Inspired By Legends. As players develop, they need to become truly confident with the ball, and the best way to achieve mastery is by maximising their touches on the ball. So, how can we offer lots of interactions with the ball and learn the key principles of the sport? Through triangles, a shape at the heart of football - in both attack and defence - which is comprised of three players. Indeed, 3v3 is a football training environment that has come ever more to the fore in recent years.3v3: Inspired By Legends is the latest in Peter Pricket's 3v3 series of books, and enables coaches to use the examples of footballing greats so players can practise key footballing skills in small-sided environments. Detailing more than 45 players and incorporating 150 illustrated training games, the book combines the advantages of increased touches, heightened decision-making, and greater ball contacts with motivation and inspiration to develop players faster and better. Players want to play like their heroes!Peter Prickett is the author of: 3v3 Soccer Coaching: The Complete CollectionDeveloping Skill: A Guide to 3v3 Soccer CoachingDeveloping Skill 2: A Guide to 3v3 Soccer CoachingFootball's Principles of Play
Little Poison
Paul Runyan--the Arkansas farm boy who stood five feet, six inches and weighed 130 pounds--shocked the golf world by defeating long and lean, sweet-swinging Sam Snead in the finals of the 1938 PGA Championship, thus earning the nickname "Little Poison." Runyan did more than beat Snead: he shellacked him as decisively as David toppled mighty Goliath. His resounding victory was so convincing, so dominant, that even Snead had to shake his head when it was finished and wonder how the porkpie-wearing, pint-sized golf pro had gotten the better of him in the thirty-six-hole final. One bookmaker made Snead a 10-to-1 favorite before the match. Despite Snead's physical gifts--he routinely outdrove Runyan by fifty yards or more--Snead was no match for Runyan, the underdog victor in one of golf's four major championships. Little Poison is the story of a man who made a career out of punching above his weight on the golf course. Runyan won twenty-nine PGA tournaments between 1930 and 1941, as well as another major championship in 1934. Runyan served in the navy during World War II, joining Snead and other prominent professionals who played exhibition matches to entertain troops and help raise money. After the war he played sparingly--but successfully--and focused on his career as an instructor, teaching his revolutionary short-game techniques. Little Poison follows Runyan throughout these stages of his life, from anonymity to stardom and into golf mythology. At the heart of Runyan's story is his Depression-era grit. He believed passionately that proper technique and relentless hard work would outlast talent and brawn. Americans who emerged from the Great Depression likely had a little Runyan in them, too, making him the perfect sports hero for the era. His story began not on the immaculate fairways of a country club but on a farm in Hot Springs, Arkansas, near a golf course with oiled sand greens. A disadvantage, some would say--but not Runyan. On those sand surfaces he developed a sustainable technique that became the bedrock of his hall of fame career.
Win the College Soccer Recruiting Game
The college soccer recruiting process is often mysterious, mercurial, and frustrating. Perhaps the ultimate U.S. soccer insider, Steve Gans, provides parents with a roadmap and gameplan for navigating the process from youth club soccer to recruitment to a college soccer program. In this book, Steve explains each step in the college recruiting process as well as the ways that players and parents can best prepare for them. Topics include: - Engaging recruiting coaches- Creating highlight videos- Selecting Identification Camps- Evaluating Showcase Tournaments- Considering MLS Next (boys) or ECNL (girls) options- Weighing MLS Next vs. high school- Dealing with recruiting coach departures- Understanding College Draft Boards- The potential impact of playing out of position for your club- Recruiting services your club should provide- The pros and cons of having college coaches at your club- Dealing with the unpredictability of and within the process This book includes 7 interviews with top college coaches to help you understand firsthand what these coaches look for in a player and the recruiting approach of each of them. The book begins, and is interspersed, with the college soccer recruiting journeys of Steve's sons, Noah and Josh, and the unexpected recruiting developments faced by them. The lessons learned from those experiences are instrumental in Steve paying it forward by providing parents and players with both recruiting tips and traps for the unwary. As Steve will attest, each soccer recruiting story is personal, and by approaching the process armed with knowledge and a sense of what to expect, each player and their family will have the best chance possible for recruiting success for that player.
The National Baseball Hall of Fame Collection
Officially licensed by the National Baseball Hall of Fame, this revised and updated volume gathers the biographies, statistics, and photos of over 175 members of the most exclusive club in the sport. A beautiful book every baseball fan should own, The National Baseball Hall of Fame Collection includes all inductees, stats, and awards through the 2023 Hall of Fame elections. Additional new content also includes: the origin story of the Hall of Fame, a visual tour of Cooperstown, plus insights and photos celebrating the Hall's famous induction weekend. Separated into chapters by position, The National Baseball Hall of Fame Collection highlights the best and the most memorable players, events, championships, moments, and more. Meet the greats of the game from before you were born and relive the memories that you shared with your diamond heroes of recent years. You will find: Profiles of more than 175 legendary Hall of Famers Photo explorations into rare memorabilia, including replica tickets, scouting reports, scorecards, and contracts Notable awards, records, stats, and a complete list of over 300 Hall of Fame members Full-color photos and informative sidebars throughout Become an expert on your favorite teams and players as you take a glorious trip into the storied history of America's pastime. Maybe you won't become a member of the Hall of Fame, but after you read The National Baseball Hall of Fame Collection, you'll feel like part of the club!
There’s a Bulldozer on Home Plate
The "father of Independent Baseball," Miles Wolff recounts his 50-year career in the game and how his experiences lead to the founding of the modern independent game, with some opposition from the existing major and minor leagues. Along the way, he describes how the movie Bull Durham came to be made and covers the history of minor league ball's growth from mom-and-pop operations to major business endeavors.
One Town, One Team
When third-year football coach Sherm Blaser walked into his first team meeting for the upcoming season he asked the team what their team goal should be for the upcoming season. The first hand that went up was that of senior defensive lineman Benten Hall, who suggested a winning season would be an appropriate team goal. A winning season might not seem like a lofty goal, but it is certainly a practical one. The previous year the Kavemen did go 5-4 but finished sixth in conference play and did not make the playoffs. Benten's sophmore and freshman years those varsity teams went a combined 7-12. In fact, since Benten and his fellow seniors on the team started the first grade eleven years ago the Kuna football teams have a combined record of forty-three wins and sixty-two losses. The football program has not won a conference championship since 1998 and has won just one playoff game this century! Blaser was not seen as the savior of this program when he was hired two years before. Before coming to Kuna his record was 15- 21 at two previous schools. In his two previous years on the Kuna campus, his record was only 8-10. So how could this team, led by this coach, make it all the way to the state championship game? Fortunately for me, my son Ryan, who was starting his fourth season as part of Sherm Blaser's coaching staff and was living with me as he was finishing his master's program in psychology, so I had a front-row seat to this amazing season.
One Town, One Team
When third-year football coach Sherm Blaser walked into his first team meeting for the upcoming season he asked the team what their team goal should be for the upcoming season. The first hand that went up was that of senior defensive lineman Benten Hall, who suggested a winning season would be an appropriate team goal. A winning season might not seem like a lofty goal, but it is certainly a practical one. The previous year the Kavemen did go 5-4 but finished sixth in conference play and did not make the playoffs. Benten's sophmore and freshman years those varsity teams went a combined 7-12. In fact, since Benten and his fellow seniors on the team started the first grade eleven years ago the Kuna football teams have a combined record of forty-three wins and sixty-two losses. The football program has not won a conference championship since 1998 and has won just one playoff game this century! Blaser was not seen as the savior of this program when he was hired two years before. Before coming to Kuna his record was 15- 21 at two previous schools. In his two previous years on the Kuna campus, his record was only 8-10. So how could this team, led by this coach, make it all the way to the state championship game? Fortunately for me, my son Ryan, who was starting his fourth season as part of Sherm Blaser's coaching staff and was living with me as he was finishing his master's program in psychology, so I had a front-row seat to this amazing season.
Sunny Days
Sunny Days is the fascinating account of the growth of one of India's greatest batsmen, one whose astonishing feats on the cricket field have caused innumerable records to be re-written and set close to impossible targets. How did the story of Sunil Manohar Gavaskar begin? What was the genesis of the man who grew to be a legend in his own lifetime? The story starts with a baby being switched after birth - luckily restored by an eagle-eyed uncle, he grows up to almost break his mother's nose with a mighty hit (a childhood habit that persists in later life), plays good cricket in school and college, inevitably graduates beyond university and trophy cricket, is occasionally booed by the crowd as his uncle happens to be a selector and then bursts into the international cricket scene with his test debut at Port of Spain at the age of twenty-one. The year is 1971, it is Gavaskar's year and sunny days have finally begun for Indian cricket. By the end of the 1975-76 season Gavaskar has played 147 first class matches, amassed 11574 runs and thirty-eight hundreds. He has played twenty-four matches in eight Tests, with 2123 runs and eight hundreds. And there is still nearly a decade left befo
Captain Glory - Captain Majd
The country of PLIS was one of the most prosperous and advanced countries in the world, technologically, economically, and touristic wise. That until the new ambitious and devilish Prime Minister took over the ruling and decided to create a civil war in order to divide the country, and succeeded. Now the country is divided into two main states: the state of IS where he is the leader full of riches and prosperity; and the state of PL full of poverty and misery. He also built a huge-wide separate wall full of checkpoints and fully guarded. Many years passed and the Prime Minister decided to host the world cup of football in his state, by bribing a lot of main officials, in order to bring in more tourists and a wider publicity to his state. That until, their own international coach discovers Majd's hidden talent in the game of football, who is a resident in the state of PL, and decides to do his best by recruiting him to the national team of the state of IS; despite all the challenges and difficulties awaiting both of them. Lacking knowledge, no body was truly expecting Majd's real intentions for the world cup championship.
