Sports Legends

Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1997, Don Shula remains the winningest coach of all time with 347 career victories and the only undefeated season in NFL history. But before he became the architect of the Dolphins dynasty, Shula was a hardworking kid selling fish on the banks of Lake Erie. As acclaimed sports biographer Mark Ribowsky shows, Shula met serious resistance at home when he asked to play high school football, but when his parents finally relented, they discovered that their son had an unmatched mind for the game's strategy and a stomach for its brutality.

Joe Grudeck is a living legend - a first-ballot Hall of Famer beloved by Boston Red Sox fans who once played for millions under the bright Fenway lights. Now, he finds himself haunted by his own history. Horace Mueller is a different type altogether - working in darkness at a museum blacksmith shop and living in a rundown farmhouse. He clings to an anachronistic lifestyle, fueled by nostalgia for simpler times and a rebellion against the sport-celebrity lifestyle of Cooperstown, struggling to bring his baseball prodigy son to his side. Gods of Wood and Stone is the story of these two men.

Fifty years after he coined the iconic phrase "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee", Drew "Bundini" Brown remains one of boxing's most mysterious and misunderstood figures. His impact on the sport and the culture at large is undeniable. Cornerman and confidant to two of the greatest fighters ever - Sugar Ray Robinson and Muhammad Ali - Brown lived an extraordinary American life.

It’s a reality that athletes take more turns than most at public speaking and therefore provide both exemplary and cautionary examples to the rest of us. In Jock Talk, Beth Levine points out, in a pithy and poignant way, what executives can learn from these examples. Jock Talk candidly examines the public comments of athletes, coaches, and team owners. Their stories serve to illustrate five foundational communication principles that will help you find your best voice and communicate in a way that will build support, reputation, and business.

Phil Tufnell played in five Ashes series and has commentated on another ten. With the next tear-up just around the corner, 'Tuffers' has sat down and personally chosen his 50 Ashes 'legends' from the modern era and from both sides of the divide. Tuffers' Ashes Heroes is crammed with cricketers he has played with or against, admired from afar, enjoyed a drink with or just knows well. Everyone from Ian Botham, Freddie Flintoff, Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad to Merv Hughes, Ricky Ponting, Shane Warne and Steve Smith.

In August 1939, Alice Marble graced the cover of Life magazine, photographed by Alfred Eisenstaedt. She was a glamorous worldwide celebrity, having that year won singles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles tennis titles at both Wimbledon and the US Open, then an unprecedented feat. Yet today one of America's greatest female athletes and most charismatic characters is largely forgotten. Queen of the Court places her back on center stage.

This audiobook includes a moving introduction read by Kammy himself, as well as an exclusive Q&A between him and narrator Tony Marshall. 'What a man, what a life, what a story, and what a great read' – Paddy McGuinness With his trademark banter and unflinching honesty, Kammy sees Chris 'Kammy'...

Major League Baseball (MLB) is a diverse sport played by athletes from around the world. But in the late 1800s and the first half of the 1900s, MLB was mostly segregated. Black players and coaches were not welcome. The Negro Leagues gave these players and coaches other options to play pro baseball. Meet unsung Negro Leagues stars such as Moses Fleetwood Walker and Toni Stone, and learn about the activists and heroes who helped integrate America's Pastime.

Experience the ultimate in baseball storytelling with "The Ultimate Baseball Series: 4-in-1 Collection on Legends, Dynasties, and Cards." This anthology brings together the beloved "Inspirational Stories for Kids" series, guiding young listeners through the heart and soul of America's favorite pastime.

This is the story of two golfers: one who loved the game and one who simply made it his living. The first golfer happens to be a really nice guy…someone you’d like to call your friend. The second golfer simply played golf for the enjoyment of destroying his opponents while earning a paycheck. In other words, he’s a real jerk.

I, Dallas Colter, am kind of a massive A hole-and need help fixing that personality problem. With too much on my plate, the very last thing on my mind is a relationship-the football draft is looming, I never understood why my teammates bother with girlfriends. None of us had the time. When my sports agent suggests that being seen in public with a "respectable" girl would be good for my bad reputation, I couldn't think of a single person to help me out. The only girls I know aren't wifey material, and the ones who are? Might catch feelings. Except Ryann Winters.

"Iron" Mike Tyson was one of the most feared opponents to ever step into a boxing ring. With unbelievable power that floored or stopped all but two of his first 28 professional opponents, Tyson began an unprecedented ascent to the top of the boxing world, becoming the youngest champion in history with a second-round TKO over Trevor Berbick, the last man to box and defeat Muhammad Ali.

The sports world has never suffered from a shortage of self-promoters, but none have ever walked the walk and backed up the talk like Muhammad Ali, boxing's greatest icon and possibly history's most famous athlete. Indeed, even referring to Ali just as a boxer does a disservice to the transcendent figure he has become around the world as a living legend.

It started in the English countryside when he stopped to see if I was having car trouble. It should have ended there. But it turned into three of the most intense days of my life. And guess what? It didn't end there either. His name is Xavier Maddox. Sexy, talented, untamed. A British soccer star. The enticing bad boy. He should be off limits for me. I have this policy about getting involved with professional athletes—or, as I call them, the product.

Alex is the most up-to-date biography of Sir Alex Ferguson, the most decorated manager in British football history. Find out how he recovered from his brain surgery in 2018, why he appointed David Moyes as his successor, how livid he was when Moyes was sacked 10 months later, what he thought of Louis van Gaal’s tenure as Manchester United manager, what he thought of Jose Mourinho’s reign, and just how big a role he played in the appointment of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. This book also takes a deep dive into Alex’s relationship with the Glazer family.

Ron Fawcett is a natural-born climber. In 1969, while still at school in his native Yorkshire, he tied into a climbing rope for the first time and was instantly hooked. From that moment on, it seemed nothing else in his life mattered nearly as much as his next vertical fix... Fawcett found the pressures of the limelight too much to bear, and at the end of the 1980s he faded from view. Now, for the first time, he tells his extraordinary story, of how his love of nature and the outdoors developed into a passion for climbing that took him to the top - and almost consumed him.

J.D.: The Life and Death of a Forgotten NASCAR Legend tells the true story of J.D. McDuffie, one of stock car racing's most beloved owner-drivers. It's the tale of a man who honed his skills as a mechanic and built his own team from the ground up. It's also about the close-knit group of supporters who came together to make sure McDuffie made it to the track in a rapidly changing sport. And it's about that tragic weekend at Watkins Glen, the investigation that followed, and the legacy he's left behind.

Nothing is ever constant in the tumultuous world of pro wrestling! On the eve of their victory over the most powerful family in wrestling history, Leilana Ito and Dana Harding look forward to a bright future, but that perfect ending is snatched away when Leilana disappears. Desperate to find her, Dana starts on a country-wide search, spurred on not only by friendship, but something stronger: love! Meanwhile, Leilana faces a gauntlet of rigged matches, hidden spies, and psychological torture as a 'guest' of the Von Richters.

Lloyd Daniels learned to hoop on the playgrounds of Brooklyn and Queens during the 1980s. "Swee'pea" they called him. His rep on the court traveled all the way to the Bronx and across the country, earning him enthusiastic comparisons to the likes of Magic Johnson. Swee'pea was sure to make it to the big time and out of a New York City where drugs and violence had gripped many of its neighborhoods. Eventually he did, leaving the city's asphalt courts for the shiny hardwoods of NCAA programs.

Perfect for cricket fans everywhere, Thanks, Johnners is a rich blend of biography and anecdote, of antics and dramas on and off the pitch, in and out of the commentary box, filled with stories about the great names of cricket, including Fred Trueman, Geoffrey Boycott, Vivian Richards, Michael Holding, and Ian Botham.