Book picks similar to
Bootlegger's Boy by Barry Switzer
sports
non-fiction
football
biography
Scoring at Half Time
George Best - 2003
Inside stories, lurid tales, embarrassing incidents: soccer legend George Best has gathered together his favourite stories of his and his friends’ anecdotes and observations from their experiences in and out of the game over the last forty years.
Ted DiBiase: The Million Dollar Man
Ted DiBiase - 2008
Everyone's got to pay. 'Cause the Million Dollar Man always gets his way. After proving his point, Ted DiBiase would laugh and fan out his large roll of hundreds, worsening the degradation of whoever had been foolish enough to accept his challenge or get in his way. Defeated opponents -- put to sleep with his Million Dollar Dream -- would have the added humiliation of awakening to discover that the Million Dollar Man had been stuffing bills down their throats. Winning match after match, yet no closer to the championship, DiBiase wanted the title, but he couldn't seem to win it. His solution: pay Andre the Giant to win the title, make sure the referee was also "taken care of," and then have Andre hand the championship title over to him. True to his taunt, the Million Dollar Man had gotten his way, and Ted DiBiase became the most hated person in sports entertainment. Making his way to the top of the profession that he had loved since he was a child, Ted DiBiase never did anything by half measures. He couldn't, because the men he respected and worked side by side with expected that "Iron" Mike's kid would give his all. And each day while on the road learning what it was to be a wrestler, Ted remembered how his father had taught him to give his all every time. It was how his father lived -- and how he lost his life, dying during a wrestling match while Ted was still a boy. From the dusty roads of Texas to the bayous of Louisiana, Ted moved from one wrestling promotion to another -- sometimes a babyface, other times a heel. He learned how to tell a story and how to draw the fans in, both inside and outside the ring. In 1987, Vince McMahon had an idea for a new character, the Million Dollar Man, and one person came to mind: Ted DiBiase. For nearly a decade, fans waited to see just how Ted could prove his adage that "Everyone's got a price." When he was sidelined by a neck injury, DiBiase started a second wrestling career, as a manager. He managed some of the biggest stars: Bam Bam Bigelow, King Kong Bundy, and a very green wrestler, the Ringmaster (who would later be known as Stone Cold Steve Austin). Ted DiBiase, the Million Dollar Man, is fondly remembered by wrestling fans for his style and his command of the ring. This is the inside glimpse of three decades inside and outside the squared circle.
Wrestling Reality: The Life and Mind of Chris Kanyon, Wrestling's Gay Superstar
Chris Kanyon - 2008
One of the most popular wrestlers of the late 1990s, Kanyon kept his personal life private from his fans until finally revealing his biggest secret in 2004: he was gay. Going through the various roles that Kanyon played, both in the ring and out of it, as well as his battle with manic depression, this book explores the factors that led to his suicide in 2010. In his voice and the way he wanted it told, these are Kanyon’s last words about his experience rising through the ranks to the top of the professional wrestling world while keeping his sexuality hidden.
Terry Mac: Living For The Moment: My Autobiography
Terry McDermott - 2017
Scally kid from Kirkby turned multiple European Cup winner. Adopted Geordie. Liverpool legend and scorer of arguably Anfield’s most famous goal. Kevin Keegan’s trusted right-hand man at Newcastle United. And partial to a pint or five and a punt on the horses. Now, for the first time, the 1980 PFA Player of the Year and Football Writers’ Footballer of the Year lifts the lid on his successes at Liverpool, the near misses at Newcastle, controversies he found himself caught up in and the famous players he shared a dressing room with. It’s a roller-coaster tale spanning more than half a century that takes McDermott from the high-rise flats of his home town to the pinnacle of European football; from the booze and banter of a Merseyside social club to the madness of a matchday dugout. A read every bit as thrilling as his FA Cup wonder goal against Tottenham, McDermott’s long-awaited autobiography will appeal to Kopites and Toon fans alike, plus football followers intrigued about one of the most colourful characters in the game. Like the man himself, Terry Mac: Living For The Moment is cheerful, entertaining and straight to the point.
Farewell But Not Goodbye
Bobby Robson - 2005
In addition to managing England in two World Cups, Sir Bobby has also taken charge of numerous clubs including Barcelona, Newcastle United, PSV Eindhoven, Ipswich Town, Sporting Lisbon and Porto.
Wayne Rooney: The Way It Is
Wayne Rooney - 2007
It's all about a young man coming to terms with a career in the limelight – the good and the bad.What is the true story behind the most gifted yet often misunderstood character in the British game? Were there signs of things to come in his upbringing in the backstreets of Liverpool? What were the early influences that shaped his character? And how has the meteoric rise to fame and fortune affected this seemingly shy yet prodigiously gifted youngster?For the first time, Rooney opens up about the defining years of his life as the son of a working-class family, brought up in a council house with his Everton-mad family. There followed his first tentative steps in football, the triumphs and knockbacks along the way, the accolades that began to follow his every move as a young teenager, and destiny fulfilled on his Premiership debut for Everton at the tender age of 16.He describes how his life changed irrevocably when Alex Ferguson and Manchester United came calling in the summer of 2004, his dazzling efforts for England in the European Championships, a private life never far from the tabloid headlines, and the real story behind his relationship with partner Coleen McLoughlin.He reveals the anguish of the foot injury that threatened his participation in World Cup 2006, and how his determination led to a remarkable recovery in time to play a part in the group stage of the tournament. And he describes how his delight at playing again for his country turned to depair after his controversial sending-off in the quarter-final against Portugal and England’s subsequent elimination in the penalty shoot-out.And in this updated paperback edition, he revisits the drama of United’s Premiership-winning 2006/07 season and their tumultuous battles with Chelsea and giants AC Milan.This is the story in Rooney's own words. From the streets of Croxteth to the stadiums of Germany and beyond – a journey of a lifetime squeezed into a mere twenty-one years.Wayne Rooney was born in Liverpool in October 1985. He was only nine when he was spotted by Everton scout Bob Pendleton playing for boys' club Copplehouse. In his last season with them he scored 99 goals before joining the Everton academy. He was the youngest scorer in Premier League history in 2002, at the age of 16, and the youngest to score for England, age 17. He joined Manchester United in August 2004 for a fee of £20 million. He has 33 international caps and 11 goals to date.Hunter Davies has written over 40 biographies, including the authorized book on The Beatles and the 2004 hardback bestseller Gazza: My Story.
Here Shall I Die Ashore: Stephen Hopkins - Bermuda Castaway, Jamestown Survivor, and Mayflower Pilgrim
Caleb H. Johnson - 2007
For most ordinary Englishmen, venturing off into the depths of unexplored America would have been a once in a lifetime adventure: but not for Stephen. By the time he turned forty, he had already survived a hurricane, been shipwrecked in the Bermuda Triangle, been written into a Shakespearean play, witnessed the famine and abandonment of Jamestown Colony, and participated in the marriage of Pocahontas. He was once even sentenced to death! He got himself and his family onto the Pilgrims' Mayflower, and helped found Plymouth Colony. He signed the Mayflower Compact, lodged the famous Squanto in his house, participated in the legendary Thanksgiving, and helped guide and govern the early colonists. Yet Stephen was just an ordinary man, with a wife, three sons, seven daughters, a small house, some farmland for his corn, and cows named Motley, Sympkins, Curled, and Red. These are the extraordinary adventures of an ordinary man.
Legacy
Tim Cahill - 2015
Born in Sydney to a Samoan mother and Londoner father, Timothy Cahill grew up in the sprawling western suburbs, where cricket and rugby league ruled. It was a long way from his father's beloved West Ham and the English game that transfixed a young Tim with his own unlikely dreams of one day playing professionally.Growing up in the 1980s, life for Tim was about family, football and more football - training, playing and watching it with his brothers. Beginning as the youngest and smallest boy on the field, Tim steadily worked his way through the local club sides with an on-field toughness and intelligence that made the unlikely a possibility.By the time he was a teenager, Tim's parents boldly applied for a bank loan to fund his travels to England. It was an act of faith repaid with a successful trial for Millwall, the storied London club. After 249 appearances and 56 goals and cult-hero status among the fans, he signed for Everton, where he would enjoy a highly successful Premiership and stellar international career - leaving the legacy of becoming one of the most admired and respected Australian sportsmen of all time.With his trademark honesty and candour, Tim reflects on what it takes to make it to the top - the sacrifices, the physical cost, the mental stamina, the uncompromising self-belief, but also the loyalty, the integrity and the generosity. An autobiography that is more than a record of the goals and the games, Tim Cahill's story is a universal reminder of the importance of making your moment count.
Living the Dream: My Life and Basketball
Hakeem Olajuwon - 1995
But just two years later Hakeem Olajuwon powered his American college team, the University of Houston, to the NCAA Final Four. And that was only the beginning. In Living the Dream, the center of the back-to-back NBA champion Houston Rockets shares one of the most remarkable basketball stories of our time. Hakeem tells exactly how it felt coming to America, leaving his family and friends. He puts you on campus, inside the locker room, and at the Final Four with the University of Houston's famous basketball fraternity, "Phi Slama Jama." Drafted into the NBA, he tells how, with one phone call, he, Michael Jordan, and Clyde Drexler might have all been Houston Rockets teammates. Hakeem gives vivid on-the-court profiles of his teammates, coaches, and competitors over the course of his long career with the Rockets, including Shaquille O'Neal, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Moses Malone, Larry Bird, Ralph Sampson, Pat Riley, and Patrick Ewing. He gives remarkable insights into the teamwork, cooperation, and attitude it takes to win a championship or succeed in any business. Hakeem also reveals how a championship team can fall apart and then be put together, and he is very forthright about the NBA's descent into "trash talking." Hakeem is the rare athlete who takes his status as a role model seriously. He became an American citizen, and Living the Dream explains how his reintroduction to his Muslim faith and his pilgrimage to Mecca changed his life.
Killing for Company: The Case of Dennis Nilsen
Brian Masters - 1985
Within days he had confessed to fifteen gruesome murders over a period of four years. His victims, all young homosexual men, had never been reported missing. Brian Masters, with Nilsen's full cooperation, has produced a unique study of a serial killer's mind, revealing the disturbing psychology of a mass murderer.
José Mourinho : up close and personal
Robert Beasley - 2016
José Mourinho is undoubtedly one of the most charismatic and controversial characters in football today. Never far away from the headlines, it is the drama surrounding him as much as his many successes that make him such a fascinating figure.Having worked at some of the biggest clubs in the world – Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan, Real Madrid and Manchester United – Mourinho knows how to deliver when it matters. Leaving trophy cabinets bursting wherever he’s been, he has a claim on being the greatest manager in his sport. But is the way he conducts himself on the touchline and in front of the cameras the real José Mourinho, or an act he puts on for the watching world?Author Robert Beasley has followed Mourinho’s career closely since his arrival on the English football scene in 2004. An award-winning sports correspondent, Beasley has been the one person granted privileged access to the Special One’s inner sanctum, and he found there a man few ever get to know – let alone get to call a friend.This is the story of José Mourinho, up close and personal. Delving into the workings of the famed manager’s mind, as well as the backroom antics and transfer sagas at the game’s greatest clubs, we see the world from José’s point of view. Revealing the untold stories behind how close Mourinho came to getting the England and Tottenham jobs and his sometimes tumultuous relationships with the likes of Roman Abramovich, Rafael Benítez and Arsenal boss Arsène Wenger, and why he will always put family and friends before football, this is a side to José Mourinho you never thought you’d see.
Cav: At Speed
Mark Cavendish - 2013
With his self-belief and smouldering competitive fire, Cav has turned the animalistic hunger to win into an art form. As L'Equipe call him -- the Mozart of the 12-wheel cog. Since Cav's first book, Boy Racer, was published in 2009 his career has advanced at a lightning pace. Boy Racer covered his early years to his first experiences in the Tour de France. Since then Cav has clocked up another three record-breaking years in the Tour, becoming the first Brit to win a jersey in 25 years and the first ever to win green. He won green in Spain's Vuelta and in 2011 became the first British cyclist in 50 years since Tom Simpson to win the World Championship road race. And yet every sign points to 2012 being even bigger. On top of another Tour de France we have the massive focus of the London Olympic Road Race -- one of the most eagerly anticipated gold medal chances for Great Britain. There's been a tremendous upsurge in interest in the sport over the last couple of years, mostly due to the success of riders like Cav, and all eyes will be on him as he competes for glory this summer.
Jack Nicklaus: My Story
Jack Nicklaus - 1984
Counting his two US Amateur Championships, Nicklaus was the winner of twenty major championships and more than one hundred professional tournaments around the world. He was named "Golfer of the Century" in 1988 by the PGA. Jack Nicklaus: My Story, now with a new afterword, is Jack Nicklaus's compelling, personal account of his legendary majors triumphs, along with many other competition highlights -- and some lowlights, too -- of one of the greatest sports careers of all time. Revealed with the unfailing candor and intensity that are his most distinctive personality traits, here is the Jack Nicklaus his legions of admirers, and even some of those close to him, have never known.
Swing Your Sword: Leading the Charge in Football and Life
Mike Leach - 2011
A maverick who took an unlikely path to coaching through law school, Mike Leach talks about his unorthodox approach to coaching and the choices that have brought him success throughout his career. A lover of the game who started creating formations and drawing his own plays as a kid, Leach took his Texas Tech Red Raiders to numerous bowl games, achieving the #2 slot in national rankings and being voted 2008 Coach of the Year before being unceremoniously fired at the end of the 2009 season. The scandalous nature of his dismissal created a media frenzy and began a personal battle between Leach and his accusers that remains unresolved.
Monica: From Fear To Victory
Monica Seles - 1996
Along with the story of her triumphant comeback, after being stabbed by a deranged Steffi Graf fan, Seles provides readers with an insider's glimpse of big-time international tennis. of photos.
