So, I was thinking about this topic now for some time, and decided to go ahead and write about what sports-themed books I had found particularly informative or entertaining, or both. And I think I came up with a pretty decent list. These are not simply glossy coffee-table books glowing over the accomplishments of one particular team or player in a sport. I read some of those, too - most especially about the 1986 Giants, when I was a kid. But those just glamorize one team, for one particular season, and as such, team members are always the good guys, their opponents always either the bad guys, or the incompetent, unworthy opponents. Those books might be enjoyable for a kid to read and, in a sense, relive the old memories of glories from his favorite team, but they hardly make for very stimulating reading.
I also did not choose any books specific to strategy. Their is an old book that I derive great pleasure in leafing through every now and then. It is called something like 'Pro Football Rules in Pictures", or something like that (don't hold me to that title, because I might not be remembering accurately). In any case, that book was something that my mom got me one time when I went with her to her work in New York City, and I like it more for the memories of that day, than anything else. I remember seeing Giants Stadium, perhaps for the first time, on that day, and that was where both of my two favorite pro football teams played. So, although that might make my personal list of favorite sports books, I cannot truthfully claim it to be brilliant writing, or to belong on a list like this.
For that matter, there are certain books that I have about specific sporting events - the Olympics, the World Cup, the Stanley Cup, the Super Bowl, that do not make the list, probably because they are too focused on one particular thing, which means that they tend to be restricted in interest specifically to a certain audience only. So, those really cannot be on my list of best sports-themed books, because they generally lack any human interest story separate from the sport itself.
Likewise, there are other books that I have that did not make the list. One that might someday, if I ever get around to reading it, would be Norman Mailer's book on the huge fight between Ali and Foreman. There are other sports themed books that I would like to read, as well. But for now, I am working with those books that I have read.
One book that, upon it's release, i would have expected to make the list was Faithful, co-written by Stephen King, with Stewart O'Nan. But that was so intensely focused on baseball, on the day-to-day of an entire baseball season, that admittedly it often failed to really capture my attention. Admittedly, although i am a huge Stephen King fan, I am not a huge baseball fan, and so that proved to be too limited in interest to make it on this list. I do not fault Stephen King for that, since this seemed more of a side project, than anything else. It was not bad. But it also did not come close to making this list of really great sports-themed books, because you really have to be a baseball fan to appreciate the book, I think.
These books, on the other hand, are a different story. Or rather, they each tell a story, and sometimes, that story falls far from the tree of what we think of when we think of the individual athlete. I found these following books to be very well written (in a couple of cases, even exceptionally well-written), which broadened their appeal significantly to far beyond sports. You get to see the real people, and not just glossy pictures of colorful uniforms and spectacular athletic feats. Instead, you get to glimpse the real person behind those feats. You get to know, in a sense, the real person. And that makes it transcend the specific athlete, or sport, or sports in general.
I have not read tons and tons of sports themed books, so maybe you know some sports books that you feel would definitely make your list. If so, I welcome you to share your thoughts. Who knows? Maybe I'll pick your suggestion up as my next reading project? Please do share any thoughts!
With that, let me get to the list, and explain why, specifically, I chose these books that I did.
The Last Great Fight by Joe Laydon - I really, really enjoyed this book, and that is why I put it at the top of this list!
I was not entirely sure that I would enjoy it because, really, how interesting would a book about one particular boxing match (even one as huge as Tyson-Douglas) be, anyway?
But it is an absolutely fascinating read, on every level.
I picked it up around the time that Tyson was celebrating the twentieth anniversary of his fight against Michale Spinks, and I began to reminisce quite a bit about his earlier career. I had always been fascinated by the Tyson-Douglas fight but, admittedly, had really had taken great joy in Douglas emerging victorious. At the time, I looked at Tyson almost as an inhuman monster of sorts, and some him (mistakenly) as in cahoots on every level with Don King, not realizing that he was being exploited big time.
You get to understand the background behind the fight from the camps of both fighters. The dominance of Mike Tyson, and the seeming ease with which he was tearing through the heavyweight division at the time, his aura of invincibility. That, contrasted with the struggles of Buster Douglas, who's career just kept having drawbacks, and who never quite shined as brightly as he seemingly could when at his best, up to that point.
Then, the tragedy of his losing his mother before the fight, and the extra determination that he had in preparing for it, contrasted with Tyson, who seemed to have been guilty of largely overlooking his opponents, or at least this opponent in this particular case. Tyson seemed to be getting used to his own dominance, and perhaps was beginning to believe in his own invincibility, precisely at the same time that Douglas was beginning to believe that he would be the one to expose Tyson's vulnerabilities, and show that this man was not unbeatable.
Open by Andre Agassi- If you thought you knew what was going on with Andre Agassi during his famed tennis career, think again. There was a lto going on that probably nobody but him, and maybe his closest inner circle, could have known or understood. Like how he essentially willingly lost the French Open Final one year because he was afraid that his hairpiece, or whatever that thing was, might fall out, and expose him at a time when his image truly was everything - particularly his wild hair. All of those years when he seemed to be a great tennis player, but just could not win the biggest matches, and you begin to understand a little more what was going on. We see the distractions with the women, who always seemed to love Agassi.
Ultimately, Agassi of course began to change all of that. He wore less colorful clothes, he began to grow up in visible ways - and none more visible than simply being honest and shaving all of that hair off, revealing an already rapidly receding hairline. But that liberated him, and allowed him, finally, to focus on tennis, and on winning. Not surprisingly, this was when he enjoyed his most successful run in tennis. We see him going through relationships without knowing what he really wants, and then finally finding his apparent true love with fellow tennis icon Steffi Graf. Finally, Agassi is a very decent man, and in reading this book, we catch a glimpse into the man behind the image. We also catch a bit of a glimpse into what it must be like to be groomed your entire life for tennis, and then struggle to find an identity outside of it. Great book!
The Game That Changed Pro Football by Stephen Hanks - This was a surprisingly good book that gave some good background on the game that really helped to make the Super Bowl what it has since become: an epic event, and perhaps the single biggest annual sporting event in the world, or at least in the United States.
What interested me was his different take on the New York Jets, a team that represented change in a time of change, with this being part of their draw. They were, of course, from the AFL, which was challenging the established and powerful NFL. And brash Joe Namath made his famous guarantee, as well as claiming that five AFL quarterbacks were better than the Colts quarterback, Earl Morrell.
But Namath did other things, and he represented change in other ways. You begin to see the impact that he had on this Jets squad, and how the New York Jets began to rise, until they reached that one pivotal, unforgettable moment in their history, and won what still remains their only Super Bowl championship to date.
If you are like me, someone who pulls for the Jets but is constantly frustrated by their consistent lack of huge success, and you were born after their legendary Super Bowl win, then this book helps to move that title out of the realm of myth, and make it somehow more real, more accessible. A solid and entertaining read for any football fan (especially fans of the Jets, though, of course), or even sports fan in general!
Dr J: The Autobiography of Julius Erving - This was a surprisingly fascinating book that does not get so detailed into basketball that it would turn off people that are not fans of hoops. Erving describes his childhood growing up in Long Island, and his first taste of organized basketball.
You get a glimpse into his first taste of sexual experiences, and then the explosion of wealth and fame, and his getting rather carried away in overindulging with the women, specifically. You also see just how important family is to him, something that he returns to again and again in the book.
For basketball fans, you can read as Erving's accomplishments grow and grow, as he begins to stand out on every level that he reaches. You get a look at his ABA days, when he first got a taste of ABA success, even as the league itself struggled, even wobbling on it's last legs. And finally, his Philadelphia 76ers days, and reaching the NBA Finals several times, constantly being turned away disappointed, before finally winning that elusive NBA title in 1983, as well as his retirement tour. And finally, we see the man emerge, independent of any sport, to see his life since basketball ended.
No Medals For Trying: A Week in the Life of a Professional Football Team by Jerry Izenberg - I read this one when I was still just a teenager, and very much into sports. I remember really enjoying this one at the time.
It documents a week in the life of the 1989 New York Giants, with a particular emphasis on the head coach, Bill Parcells. The Giants were a contender that year, thre seasons removed from their first ever Super Bowl championship, and a season away from rising to the top again, for the second and final time under Parcells, and with some of the core and iconic players of the eighties and early nineties.As you read this book, you get a feel for the subtle concerns of a coach and the players, and get to feel a bit what it must be like to prepare a team for a big game during the course of a typical week in an NFL season, as well as what it is like on the sidelines. Parcells focused on many small things, including playing mental games with his players, in order to get the most out of them. But there are concerns with injuries, with playing styles of, and match ups with, opposing teams. The weather is a bigger factor perhaps than most passive fans realize, and we see Parcells preparing for all of these, as he gets his team tries to rebound from a big loss to the then defending champion San Francisco 49ers that dropped their record to 9-3, ready for a big showdown (that they ultimately lost) to the Philadelphia Eagles, in a game that appeared likely to determine who the division winner would be (it actually wouldn't, as the Giants would go unbeaten the rest of the way, and the Eagles would lose one more, dropping their record below the Giants).
This was a really, really enjoyable read, as I remember it, and I think it gives a good glimpse of what life is like for those privileged few who make it into the big leagues in pro sports, and their concerns in preparing for the next contest, in trying to stay focused from day to day, with their eyes always on the big picture.
McMahon - This book was surprisingly modest and, also, quite humorous. It was an entertaining read, and this from a quarterback who I had admittedly presumed to be full of himself at the time. But he was different than I had expected him to be. It was a good read, and it was informative, at least if you are interested in football, and especially if you are a fan of those incredible 1985 Chicago Bears, who I still think were the most dominant team in North American sports that I had ever seen. The one knock on it, which is more or less acknowledged within the book, was that this was written right smack in the peak of McMahon's career, just a year or so removed from the Bear's Super Bowl season, and not too long before he departed for San Diego, and other teams, including the Minnesota Vikings and, finally, Green Bay, where he won his second, and last, Super Bowl ring with the main rivals for his old team, the Packers, only this time as the backup for Brett Favre. Very entertaining read, as I remember it!
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