George Freeth and the Birth of California Beach Culture
The mixed-race Hawaiian athlete George Freeth brought surfing to Venice, California, in 1907. Over the next twelve years, Freeth taught Southern Californians to surf and swim while creating a modern lifeguard service that transformed the beach into a destination for fun, leisure, and excitement. Patrick Moser places Freeth's inspiring life story ......
An Irish working-class hero of Pittsburgh, Billy Conn captured hearts through his ebullient personality, stellar boxing record, and good looks. A light heavyweight boxing champion best remembered for his sensational near-defeat of heavyweight champion Joe Louis in 1941, Conn is still regarded as one of the greatest fighters of all time. Andrew ......
There has probably never been a professional baseball player more of a puzzle than Joe DiMaggio. DiMaggio had a talent for keeping his emotions suppressed and his innermost thoughts to himself. Few could say that they really knew him. And even the ones who did found him to be unpredictable. He was a walking contradiction. He was quiet, but not ......
The Untold Story of an Original Harlem Globetrotter and Negro Leagues Al
Ted Strong Jr. (1917-1978) was a two-sport athlete, a major star of the Negro Leagues and one of the original Harlem Globetrotters. His prominence in the Negro Leagues led Branch Rickey and other white baseball league owners to consider Strong as one of several possible players to integrate major league baseball, and he was a key force on the ......
In The 50 Greatest Players in Houston Astros History, sports historian Robert W. Cohen ranks the top 50 players ever to perform for one of Major League Baseball's most iconic franchises. This work includes quotes from the subjects themselves and former teammates, photos, recaps of memorable performances, as well as a statistical summary of each ......
A celebration of the legendary manager, one of the greatest in the history of soccer This lavishly illustratred book charts the enormous success of Sir Alex Ferguson's 27 year reign at Manchester United, with profiles of all the big matches and players that guided the Club to its myriad of trophies. Sir Alex Ferguson was one of the greatest ......
When Rube Foster was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1981, his rightful place alongside baseball's greatest black heroes was at last firmly established. This book tells the story of a man of unparalleled vision and organizational acumen whose passion for justice changed the face of baseball forever.
When Rube Foster was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1981, his rightful place alongside baseball's greatest black heroes was at last firmly established. This book tells the story of a man of unparalleled vision and organizational acumen whose passion for justice changed the face of baseball forever.
Unveiling cricket’s greatest entertainer! The first Australian cricketer to play 100 internationals across all three levels (Tests, ODIs and T20s), David Warner is a champion of his generation; fabulous but flawed. No Australian opener in history has surpassed his rapid-fire strike rate in excess of 70 runs per 100 balls. Only one other has ......