Biography & Autobiography : Sports

The remarkable story of a curious genius whose lifelong quest to unlock the science behind the perfect golf swing changed the game forever. In 1939, an average Joe named Homer Kelley played golf for the first time and scored 116?a respectable score for a beginner, but frustrating for a science-minded perfectionist like Kelley. He did not play again for six months; then when he did, he carded a seventy-seven. Vexed, he grew increasingly obsessed and devoted over the next thirty years to solving the science behind the perfect golf swing, self-publishing his findings in 1969 in a book titled The Golfing Machine. This revolutionary book explained golf, unlike every other tome that merely described it. Unfortunately, the majority of golfers dismissed the book because it was all but unreadable, too thick with physics and geometry and scientific vernacular. The Golfing Machine seemed doomed to obscurity until visionary teacher Ben Doyle and superstar-in-the-making Bobby Clampett brought Kelley?s teachings to prominence?only to witness Clampett implode on golf?s most public stage. Validation finally came seventy years after Homer Kelley?s lifework began, and twenty-five years after his death, when a teenage prodigy named Morgan Pressel became the youngest golfer, male or female, ever to win a major championship. In Homer Kelley?s Golfing Machine, veteran journalist Scott Gummer brings to light the untold story of golf?s most curious genius. A colorful portrait of obsession and an enlightening look into the nuances of the game, Kelley?s amazing journey illuminates an important but underappreciated chapter in the history of golf. more...

Price: $26.00

I DREAM IN BLUE is the uproarious and impassioned story of how one middle–aged fan ran away from his everyday life in order to join the ranks of his favorite team on earth: the New York Giants. Director spends the 2006–2007 season up close and personal with Big Blue, in the locker room and on the practice field, schmoozing with fan favorites like Tiki Barber, arguably the league's best running back, who announces mid–way through the season that this will be his last, and famed quarterback Eli Manning, who faces, among other challenges, the pressures imposed on him by his impressive pedigree. But while the players are propped up by battalions of trainers, doctors, physical therapists, mental health professionals, nutritionists, film technicians, locker room attendants, media advisers and the best of coaches, Director guts it out with Big Blue all on his own –– without even the benefit of getting his ankles taped. Refusing to let anything get in his way –– not his fumble–prone television career, not the very same degenerative hip disease that forced the great Bo Jackson off the gridiron, not even planning his daughter's bat–mitzvah from the road –– he is there with the team from the first snap of summer camp to the final gun of the season. And like the players he adores, he's got only one end in mind: the Super Bowl. Along the way, Director tells the story of how a family business, founded with only $500 by an Irish bookmaker in the gaudy Prohibition era of Red Grange, Jack Dempsey, Will Rogers, and Babe Ruth, has endured to become an essential component of New York City's heartbeat –– and also the heartbeat of Director, our tour–guide through this great athletic dynasty. Ultimately, I DREAM IN BLUE is the story of a desperate Hail Mary –– a die–hard fan's quest to have one last endzone celebration. more...

Price: $11.99

“When I walk out of the tunnel, I can see the lights, hear the music, feel the crowd, but it all begins to close off as I near the cage. By that point I’m thinking, I’ve been training hard, it’s time to focus....Every man is born with a fight-or-flight instinct, and mine is to fight. It always has been.” —From the Prologue. What’s it like to have no fear, to make people cower in their shoes, to know the sweet satisfaction of knocking a guy out with a single, devastating punch? You have to read my book to find out. I’ve been called the baddest man on the planet. I’m the face of Ultimate Fighting Championship, the leader in mixed martial arts and the fastest growing sport in America. In 1998 I won my first MMA fight. Not long after, the UFC came calling, and eventually fought my way to become the #1 ranked light-heavyweight contender in the world. Not bad for a bartender with a college degree in accounting. I was raised by a single mother and inspired by my grandfather, a first-generation Irish American from Mafia-run Brooklyn. I learned how to fight at a very young age. Now I’m 6'2", 220 pounds, and a trained lethal weapon, but I’m also fiercely loyal, maybe even a bit sensitive, and unexpectedly romantic. In raw detail, and with total honesty, I’m going to tell you the story of my fighting life—both inside and outside the Octagon—including my childhood in the poor section of Santa Barbara, gritty insider accounts of my major fights, stories behind my trademark mohawk and nickname, my ongoing rivalry with Tito Ortiz and deep-rooted friendship with Dana White, and how I balance life as a father, a UFC champ, and a superstar—or try to, anyway. With never-before-seen photos, Iceman is my true, no-holds-barred story of fighting my way to become a champion. more...

Price: $15.00

Here, in his own words, is the story of one of the greatest wrestlers ever--Rowdy Roddy Piper. The bagpipe-playing legend gets down and dirty about the world of professional wrestling and his own career. more...

Price: $16.00

Features inside stories of some the greatest prizefights of all time, including Floyd Patterson-Ingemar Johansson II, Joe Frazier-George Foreman I, and Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier I. This book gives behind-the-scenes glimpses into his world, and into the lives and careers of some of the greatest boxers of all time. more...

Price: $9.99