Sportbiographien

Was one athlete so prominent that his career can be linked to every major sports icon of the 20th Century, from Jim Thorpe to Tiger Woods? Can one athlete's career possibly span Babe Ruth and LeBron James? In Deion Sanders and the Sports Universe, Joe Nye takes a fun, informative look at how "Primetime" can be connected, through teammates, to a variety of sports legends using the six degrees of separation format.A two-sport star that played for eight different professional teams, Sanders was the quintessential modern athlete whose career connected him directly to the likes of future Hall of Famers such as Jerry Rice, Emmitt Smith and Barry Bonds and indirectly to players dating as far back as Ty Cobb, Sammy Baugh and Wilt Chamberlain.For example, Sanders played on the 1989 New York Yankees with Don Mattingly, who had earlier played with Phil Niekro on the 1985 Yankees. In 1969, Niekro played on the Atlanta Braves with the great Hank Aaron.Over the course of Deion Sanders and the Sports Universe, Nye takes you through connections to more than 400 superstars in a variety of categories, and ponders the ultimate question: Is Deion Sanders really the center of the sports universe?

I EAT, BREATHE & SLEEP GOLF, is a true story about how Mike Kemper got started in the game of golf, his experiences, and his love for the game. Two former colleagues who knew his passion to chase that "little white ball" inspired him to write the book. The reading should be easy and quite enjoyable. Credit was given to his wife for the title of the book.

Perhaps familiar today as an answer to sports trivia questions, Ken Williams (1890-1959) was once a celebrity who helped bring about a new kind of power baseball in the 1920s. One of the great sluggers of his era (and of all time), he beat Babe Ruth for the home run title in 1922, and became the first to hit 30 home runs and steal 30 bases in a season that year. Later recognized for his accomplishments, he was considered for but not inducted into the Hall of Fame. This first-ever biography of Williams covers his life and career, from his small town upbringing, to his unlikely foray into pro baseball, to his retirement years, when he served as a police officer and ran a pool hall in his hometown.

Artie Wilson once was considered the best shortstop in baseball. But during much of his career, Organized Baseball passed Artie by because he was black. This book brings to light the story of a Negro League and minor league star, his struggles to make it in the majors, and his crucial role in integrating baseball's premier minor league.

This book details the lives and careers of four sports-writing greats-Grantland Rice, Red Smith, Shirley Povich, and W. C. Heinz-and the legendary athletes and events they covered for decades. These men all wrote during what is often considered sport's Golden Age, lifting sports reporting to heights that it is unlikely to reach again.

BEING gay in football is to risk the homophobia that has run through the game for years. But things are changing. Gradually a few brave professional players have come out and now someone like NEIL BEASLEY, gay fan and player, feels able to tell his poignant and uplifting story in Football's Coming Out.

This book pays tribute to racing drivers who perished from their sport, including Ayrton Senna, Dale Earnhardt, Dan Wheldon, and more. It not only examines the legacy each driver left behind but also places the tragedy in its historical context, revealing the impact each loss had on the sport and society as a whole.

Roger Clemens (1962- ) was a major figure in baseball for nearly a quarter century. The best pitcher of his generation, his 4,672 strikeouts rank third all-time. He dominates modern statistical analysis: all-time first in base-out runs saved, situational wins saved, win probability added and base-out wins saved. This book covers his life and his sensational but controversial career.

Volume 1 of this all inclusive biography of the legendary Striling Moss covers his early life and career. Starting as a youth with incredible skill, young Stirling Moss quickly caught the eye when racing the 500cc cars invented just after the WWII. He soon ventured abroad and was laughed at for his tiny car – until he beat them. He became the British Champion at 21, something most drivers achieve in their 30's, 40's, or even 50's. Patriotically, Moss insisted on driving British cars, even when outmatched by more powerful, foreign vehicles. He often won. Admirable patriotism nearly ruined his promising career until he was forced to compromise, and quickly revived his career; showing he could beat the very best at the highest levels. In the final year covered by Vol 1, he won his first Grand Prix and such sports car classics as the Tourist Trophy, the Targa Florio, all amazing achievements, but Moss winning the Mille Miglia has gone down as one of the greatest feats in all sport.

The ups and downs of the legendary Middlesbrough and Southampton winger's rollercoaster life have been fast and ferocious. Four years after playing for England, David signed on the dole. Missed chances, bailiffs, a broken marriage and a desperate desire for an ankle amputation lend this riches-to-rags story a human appeal far beyond football.

Ralph Kiner (1922-2014) was one of the most feared power hitters of his era. Babe Ruth predicted Kiner would be the slugger most likely to break Ruth's single season home run record. While the left fielder from New Mexico missed that mark, he did break one of the Babe's records, leading his league in home runs for seven consecutive seasons - a record unbroken since. This is his story.

This is the first full-length biography of Jess Willard who won the heavyweight boxing title in 1915 by defeating Jack Johnson, the first black heavyweight champion. The book sheds new light on Willard who became the most famous man in America as a result of his victory.

Twenty football stars talk about God and the difference their faith makes to them, both on and off the pitch

During the more than one hundred years that baseball has been our national pastime, all types of individuals have been managers of teams. They have run the gamut from political appointees to tyrants, schemers, incompetents and geniuses. Legendary baseball stars have been managers such as Ty Cobb, Rogers Hornsby, Walter Johnson, Mel Ott, George Sisler, and Honus Wagner. And Mediocre players, including Branch Rickey, Earl Weaver, Walter Alston have become managers.Antics galore have accentuated managerial behavior: the pratfalls of Charley Grimm in the third-base coaching box; the umbrella-carrying Frankie Frisch arguing with the umpires that a game should be called; the cap twisting, body-gyrating movements of Earl Weaver, puffing cigarettes in the dugout and attempting to use body language to will his players to perform better.Idiosyncrasies and special styles have characterized managers through the years. An entire collection of one-liners has developed over the years to characterize the managing profession. For trivia buffs, there's an entire world of statistical records about managers. This books attempts to capture the style and substance of some of the greatest managers of all time. An effort has been made to give representation to the different eras of baseball, the various managing styles, and all the nuances and nostalgia that shape this fascinating subject.

This book tells the story of Hall of Fame pitcher Herb Pennock (1894-1948), considered one of the best left-handed pitchers in the history of the game. He pitched for the 1920s New York Yankees, won 241 games, and never lost in the World Series. Herb Pennock features interviews with family and friends and never-before-seen photographs.

Schooled on the sandlots of Milwaukee, Chicago Black Sox center fielder Oscar "Happy" Felsch (1891-1964) was a rising star who then blew a promising career for a few bucks by participating in the throwing of the 1919 World Series. On the field, Felsch was hitting his peak in 1920, the year the scandal hit the newspapers. His speed, run-producing power and defensive prowess--all attributes that might have garnered consideration by the Hall of Fame--earned comparisons to the great Tris Speaker. Instead, he ended up playing the fallen hero for remote baseball enclaves in Montana and Canada. Did he really play to lose the series or just say that he did out of fear of reprisal by crooked gamblers? Felsch talked about the scandal more than any of the other eight banned players. This book analyzes his three interviews, revealing his ultimate gullibility and greed and rampant contradictions.

Growing up, Pat Brown had two dreams: to play baseball and to attend college. In spite of the obstacles, she achieved both of these dreams, playing for the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League in 1950 and 1951 and going on to attend college. This is her memoir.

Although most baseball fans are familiar with the on-the-field accomplishments of Hall of Famers, few are as knowledgeable regarding who the players were beyond the ballpark. This book probes into the personal lives of fifty members of the Hall of Fame, examining their childhoods, families, influences, impactful life-changing events, and more.

Set against the background of the Great Depression, this book looks at the life of Ralph Guldahl, who for a brief period in the 1930s was recognized as the best golfer in the world. This biography is the first to trace the rise and decline of his career and answer the question: "What happened to Ralph Guldahl?"

Covering Mike Tyson's rise through the amateur and professional boxing ranks, this book follows the Brooklyn native from his early years as a young criminal in Brownsville to his 1988 heavyweight unification match with Michael Spinks. The book focuses on the Catskill Boxing Club--where boxing guru Cus D'Amato trained the 210-pound teenager in the finer points of the sport and developed his impregnable defense--and on his home life with D'Amato and surrogate mother Camille Ewald and the other young fighters who lived with them. Tyson's boxing education began in the unauthorized "smokers" held every week in the Bronx, matching his skills against older, more experienced fighters. He won the 1981 Amateur Heavyweight Boxing Championship in Colorado Springs at the age of 14 and repeated the amazing feat the following year. By 1985, finding no other challenging amateur competition, he was forced to join the professional ranks where, in November 1986, he became the youngest heavyweight champion in boxing history. Less than two years later, he unified the crown, establishing himself as one of the most dominant heavyweight fighters the sport had ever seen.

Drawing on dozens of interviews with players and front office executives, contemporary newspaper accounts, and personal papers, Tygiel provides the most telling and insightful account of Jackie Robinson's influence on American baseball and society. The anniversary issue features a new foreword by the author.