Sports books coming later in 2023

Nearly 200 sports books coming over the rest of 2023 to look forward to

Hello! Apologies for the lack of newsletter these past few months - real life got in the way of sports books for a variety of reasons. Hopefully get back to monthly posts at a minimum.

For now, I hope you’ll enjoy my regular mid-year update on sports books being published this year. Plenty of great books to come. For those who don’t want to read the entire list (although I don’t understand why not!) my pick of the upcoming books I’m most excited for (or have read and loved) are set out first, followed by the entire list sorted by sport.

https://twitter.com/SprtBookReviews/status/1662112613931646976

Let me know in the comments which books you are most looking forward to. Happy Reading!

Upcoming 2023 Releases I’m Most Excited For:

🏀 Magic: The Life of Earvin ‘Magic’ Johnson by Roland Lazenby. The great basketball biographer on the legendary Magic.

⚽ We Play On: Shakhtar Donetsk's Fight for Ukraine, Football and Freedom by Andy Brassell. Timely book from the excellent Brassell is bound to be fascinating.

⚽ They Always Score: The Unforgettable, Improbable, Iconic Story of Manchester United's Treble Winners by Ryan Baldi. Big fan of Baldi’s previous football books.

🏈 Friday Night Lies: The Bishop Sycamore Story by Andrew King and Ben Ferree. A look at a strange fraud that led to some bizzare high school football mismatches.

🏀 Life in the G: Minor League Basketball and the Relentless Pursuit of the NBA by Alex Squadron. Promises to be fascinating look at those players trying to make it in probably the hardest men’s professional league to break into.

🏀 When the Game Was War: The NBA's Greatest Season by Rich Cohen. Who doesn’t want to read more about Magic, Bird and Jordan?

🚴‍♂️ The Green Bullet: The rise, fall and resurrection of Alejandro Valverde and Spanish cycling's corruption by Matt Rendell

🏌️‍♂️ LIV and Let Die: The Inside Story of the War Between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf by Alan Shipnuck

🏀🏈🏒⚾ The Big Time: How the 1970s Transformed Sports in America by Michael MacCambridge. I love these multi-sport looks at a particular time-period and MacCambridge’s books are always must-reads.

⚾ Why We Love Baseball: A History in 50 Moments by Joe Posnanski. I’m a huge fan of Posnanski’s books, especially his Houdini biography.

And now the full list sorted by sport

⚽ Soccer

• Football And How To Survive It by Pat Nevin. Nevin’s autobiography was a huge success so plenty of demand for this broader look at the sport.

• Revolution: The Rise of Arteta's Arsenal by Charles Watts. Likely to be very popular even if Arsenal couldn’t quite keep the title run going.

• They Always Score: The Unforgettable, Improbable, Iconic Story of Manchester United's Treble Winners by Ryan Baldi. From the author of the excellent The Next Big Thing and The Dream Factory.

• Big Boots to Fill: The New Maradona, Riquelme, Messi and Beyond by David Nolan. Timely book coming after Messi finally won the World Cup he deserved.

• Season in Hell: British Footballers Killed in the Second World War by Nigel McCrery

• Hammer Time: Me, West Ham, and a Passion for the Shirt by Julian Dicks. Biography of the former West Ham player and cult legend.

• Moments That Could Have Changed Football Forever by Peter Prickett

• Nii Lamptey: The Curse of Pele by Joris Kaper. Biography of the Ghanian football wunderkid who became a cautionary tale for putting too much pressure on young players.

• Flamengo: Winning all the Cups by Stephen Brandt

• Echoes of an Italian Summer: Stories from Italia 90 by Paul Grech

• Golden Generations: The Story of the 2006 FIFA Men s World Cup by Michael Gallwey

• Gallus: Scotland, England and the 1967 World Cup Final by Michael McEwan

• We Play On: Shakhtar Donetsk's Fight for Ukraine, Football and Freedom by Andy Brassell

• The Men Who Made Manchester United: The Untold Story by Harry Robinson. A look at the men who founded Man Utd and the pre-war years before they became a global giant.

• Tony Gale - That's Entertainment: My Autobiography by

  Tony Gale with Paul Zanon

• Answered Prayers: England and the 1966 World Cup by Duncan Hamilton. Any book by the great Hamilton is one to look out for.

• El Mas Grande: The Story of River Plate, Argentina's Biggest Club by Mark Orton

• Legally Red by Maurice Watkins. Book by lawyer who was closely connected with Man Utd.

• Red Planet: How Manchester United Took Over the World by Luke Bainbridge. A history of the football club.

• Revolution: Ange Postecoglou: The Man, the Methods and the Mastery by John Greechan. Could he be the Spurs manager by the time this is published?

• Rene Meulensteen: United, Sir Alex & Me: My Life In Football by Rene Meulensteen

• Espana 82: A Hazy Shade of Summer by Stuart Horsfield. A wider look at the tournament from the author of the excellent Brazil 1982.

• United with Dad: Fatherhood, Football Fandom and Memories of Manchester United by Simon Lloyd

• Marcelo Bielsa v The Premier League: Living, Loving and Losing Bielsaball by Rocco Dean

• Got That Lovin' Feelin': From Clark to Cooper, Nottingham Forest's Unique Story of Turmoil and Triumph by Warren Turner

• An Oral History of Football: From 1966 to the Modern Day by Les Scott

• Turncoat: How I Stopped Supporting Arsenal and Found a New Team by Matt Coughlan

• When the Sky Was Blue: The Inside Story of Coventry City's Premier League Years by Rich Chamberlain

• Pretty Poly: The History of the Football Shirt by Alex Ireland

• Tinseltown: Hollywood and the Beautiful Game - a Match Made in Wrexham by Ian Herbert

• My Wrexham Story by Paul Mullin

• A Tale of One City: The World's Most Unique Single-City Derbies by Andrew Flint and Matt Gault

• Match Fit: An Exploration of Mental Health in Football by Johnnie Lowery

• Mucky Boots: Triumphs, Trials and Tragedies of a Football Club Owner by Kevin McCabe

• Mr Corinthian: Pa Jackson and the Casual Corinthians by Llew Walker

• Kammy: My Unbelievable Life by Chris Kamara

• Unfit and Proper Persons: An Alternative Guide to Running a Football Club by Kevin Day ,Kieran Maguire, and Guy Kilty. From the team behind the excellent Price of Football podcast.

• Here to Compete: The Inside Story of Newcastle United and the Era of Eddie Howe by Pete Graves

• Come and Get Me: The Inside Story of Football's Transfer Window by Jim White and Kaveh Solhekol.

• Haaland: The Biography by Lars Sivertsen

• The World's Biggest Cash Machine: Manchester United, the Glazers, and the Struggle for Football's Soul by Chris Blackhurst

• Unico Grande Amore: AS Roma in the 21st century by Marc Lamberts

• A Sprinkle of Magic: Non-League Clubs in the FA Cup by Aaron Moore

• The System: What We Can Learn When Science and Reason Collide with Scottish Football by Graeme McDowal

• The Reign of the Lionesses: How European Glory Changed Women's Football in England by Carrie Dunn

• The King Takes Over: Liverpool and the Dalglish Years 1985-1991 by Shareef Abdallah.

• A People's History of Soccer by Mickaël Correia, translated by Fionn Petch

• Do You Speak Football?: A Glossary of Football Words and Phrases from Around the World by Tom Williams

• Phenomenon: The Incredible Career of Brazil’s Ronaldo by Daniel Williamson.

• Nowhere to Run: The trials of a non-league football club owner by Jonathan Sayer

• 'Green & Golden Boots' by Jason Goldsmith. A look at the 12 Australians who have won Golden Boots in international leagues, covering countries such as England, Scotland, Norway, Belgium, USA, Japan, Malaysia and Iceland!

• Ernie!: Heartfelt Recollections of the Footballing Legend Ernie Moss by Stephen Poxon

• Truly, Madly, Charlie: Adolescence, Obsession and Charlie Nicholas

  by Stewart Taylor

• José Mourinho the Inter Years: How the Historic Treble Was Won by Paul Rowe

• From Hollywood to Wrexham by Peter Read

• When 'Jesus' Came to Hong Kong: The Remarkable Story of the First European Football Star in Asia by Derek Currie

🏈 NFL / American Football

• How ‘Bout Them Dawgs: The Inside Story of Georgia Football’s 2021 National Championship Season by Kirby Smart and Loran Smith.

• Black Knights and Fighting Irish: A Rivalry, a Game, and America One Year After the End of World War II by Richard Cacioppe

• The NFL Off-Camera: An A-Z Guide to the League's Most Memorable Players and Personalities by Bob Angelo and Ray Didinger

• Football Done Right: Setting the Record Straight on the Coaches, Players, and History of the NFL by Michael Lombardi

• The Occasionally Accurate Annals of Football: The NFL's Greatest Players, Plays, Scandals, and Screw-Ups (Plus Stuff We Totally Made Up) by Dan Patrick and Joel H. Cohen

• Friday Night Lies: The Bishop Sycamore Story by Andrew King and Ben Ferree

• Once a Giant: A Story of Victory, Tragedy, and Life After Football by Gary Myers

• Red Brick Magic: Sean McVay, John Harbaugh and Miami University's Cradle of Coaches by Terence Moore

• Coach of a Lifetime: The Story of Lewis Cook Jr., Legendary High School Football Coach by Gaylon H. White

• Football is a Numbers Game: The History of Pro Football Focus and How a Data-Driven Approach Changed Football Forever by Matthew Coller

• 53rd Man: Fighting to Make It in the NFL by John Vampatella

• Kingdom Quarterback: Patrick Mahomes, the Kansas City Chiefs, and How a Once Swingin' Cow Town Chased the Ultimate Comeback by Mark Dent and Rustin Dodd

• The American Football Revolution: How Britain Fell in Love with the NFL by

  Ben Isaacs

• George Allen: A Football Life by Michael Richman

• The Nigerian Nightmare: My Power, My Pain by Christian Okoye with Greg Hanlon

• Rocket Men: The Black Quarterbacks Who Revolutionized Pro Football by John Eisenberg

• Coach Prime: Deion Sanders and the Making of Men by Jean-Jacques Taylor

• Tomlin: The Soul of a Football Coach by John Harris

• Gridiron Legacy: Pro Football's Missing Origin Story by Gregg Ficery

• When Your Back's Against the Wall: Fame, Football, and Lessons Learned through a Lifetime of Adversity by Michael Oher with Don Yaeger

• Lady Ref : Making Calls in a Man's World by Shannon Eastin with Kate St. Vincent Vogl

• The NFL’s 60-Minute Men: All-Time Greats of the Two-Way Player Era, 1920–1945 by Chris Willis

• The 1963 Chicago Bears: George Halas and the Road to the NFL Championship by Charles N. Billington

• Run to Win: My Packers Life from Lombardi to Canton by Jerry Kramer with Bob Fox

• Joe Thomas: Not Your Average Joe: The Authorized Biography ― from Wisconsin to Cleveland to the Hall of Fame by Marc Bona & Dan Murphy

• Chuckin' Charlie Conerly and the New York Football Giants by Lew Freedman

• Without Helmets or Shoulder Pads: The American Way of Death in Football Conditioning by Irvin Muchnick

• The 19 of Greene: Football, Friendship, and Change in the Fall of 1970 by Tony Barnhart

⚾ Baseball

• The Tao of the Backup Catcher by Tim Brown with Erik Kratz. Chronicles the unsung journeymen of baseball.

• The New Ballgame: The Not So-Hidden Forces That Shape Modern Baseball by Russell A. Carleton

• Penguin Power: Dodger Blue, Hollywood Lights and a One in a Million Big League Journey by Ron Cey with Ken Gurnick

• Baseball: The Turbulent Midcentury Years by Steven P. Gietschier

• Sons of Baseball: Growing Up with a Major League Dad by Mark Braff. Interviews with 18 men who grew up with father’s who played Major League Baseball.

• Mallparks: Baseball Stadiums and the Culture of Consumption by Michael T. Friedman

• Smart, Wrong, and Lucky: Scouting Baseball's Unexpected Stars by Jonathan Mayo

• Why We Love Baseball: A History in 50 Moments by Joe Posnanski

• The Last Miracle: My 18-Year Journey with the Amazin' New York Mets by Ed Kranepool with Gary Kaschak

• 62: Aaron Judge, the New York Yankees, and the Pursuit of Greatness by Bryan Hoch

• Road to Nowhere: The Early 1990s Collapse and Rebuild of New York City Baseball by Chris Donnelly. A look at the turbulent years for the Yankees and Mets as they crashed and rebuilt in the early 90s.

• 1934 : The Chatham Coloured All-Stars’ Barrier-Breaking Year by Heidi LM Jacobs

• Save Baseball: A Prescription for the Major Leagues by Larry Hausner

• Let There Be Baseball: The 60-Year Battle to Legitimize Sunday Play by Arthur G. Sharp

• Miracle on the Eastern Shore: The 1937 Salisbury Indians and Baseball's Greatest Comeback by David A. Ranzan

• The Year Without a World Series: Major League Baseball and the Road to the 1994 Players' Strike by Robert C. Cottrell

• Black Stats Matter: Integrating Negro League Numbers into Major League Records by Philip Lee

• Schnozz: The Baseball Life of Ernie Lombardi by David L. Fleitz

• Chuck Tanner and the Pittsburgh Pirates by Dale Richard Perelman

🏀Basketball

• Magic: The Life of Earvin ‘Magic’ Johnson by Roland Lazenby. The great basketball biographer on the legendary Magic.

• Life in the G: Minor League Basketball and the Relentless Pursuit of the NBA by Alex Squadron

• History of Basketball in Fifteen Sneakers by Russ Bengtson

• Boston Ball: Rick Pitino, Jim Calhoun, Gary Williams, and the Forgotten Cradle of Basketball Coaches by Clayton Trutor

• Iceman: Why I Was Born to Score by George Gervin with Scoop Jackson

• Prehistoric by Steven Lebron. A behind the scenes look at the Toronto Raptors

• When the Game Was War: The NBA's Greatest Season by Rich Cohen

• Jumpman: The Making and Meaning of Michael Jordan by Johnny Smith

• Lucky Me: A Memoir of Changing the Odds by Rich Paul

• Every Shot Counts: A Memoir of Resilience by Carlos Boozer

• My Home Team: A Sportswriter's Life and the Redemptive Power of Small-Town Girls Basketball by Dave Kindred

• The Book of James: The Power, Politics, and Passion of LeBron by Valerie Babb

• Sixty-One: Life Lessons from Papa, On and Off the Court by Chris Paul and Michael Wilbon

• Power Forward : My Journey from Illiterate NBA Player to a Magna Cum Laude Master's Degree by Dean Tolson

• Earl the Twirl: My Life in Basketball by by Earl Cureton with Jake Uitti

• By God's Grace by Chris Webber

🚲Cycling

• The Green Bullet: The rise, fall and resurrection of Alejandro Valverde and Spanish cycling's corruption by Matt Rendell.

• 1923: The Mystery of Lot 212 and a Tour de France Obsession by Ned Boulting. The author bought a piece of film from the 1923 Tour de France and becomes obsessed with tracing the story of that year’s race.

• Bloody Minded: My Autobiography by Alex Dowsett

• Coffee First, Then the World by Jenny Graham. The author’s attempt to beat the around-the-world cycling record.

• The Art of Suffering: Capturing the Brutal Beauty of Road Cycling by Kristof Ramon. A look behind the scenes with the teams and riders at all the major cycling tours and classics through the lens of world-class pro-cycling photographer

• Riding With The Rocketmen: One Man's Journey on the Shoulders of Cycling Giants by James Witts

🏏Cricket

• Turning Over the Pebbles: A Life in Cricket and in the Mind by Mike Brearley

• On the Ashes by Gideon Haigh. Latest book from the author of excellent cricket books including The Cricket War.

• White Hot: The Inside Story of England Cricket's Double World Champions by

  Tim Wigmore and Matt Roller

• Legacy by Nick Compton

• Yorkshire Grit: The Life of Ray Illingworth by Mark Peel

• The Last Corinthian: The Cricketing Life of MJK Smith by Mike Thompson

• It's Not Banter, It's Racism: What Cricket's Dirty Secret Reveals About Our Society by Azeem Rafiq. The Yorkshire cricketer who spoke out about racism in the game.

• The Miracle Makers: Indian Cricket's Greatest Epic: Story Behind Indian Cricket's Historic Breach of the Gabba Fortress by Bharat Sundaresan with Gaurav Joshi

🎾 Tennis

• Queen of the Court: The Many Lives of Tennis Legend Alice Marble by Madeleine Blais

• Althea: The Life of Tennis Champion Althea Gibson by Sally H. Jacobs

🥊 Boxing

• Henry Armstrong: Boxing’s Super Champ by John Jarrett

• Fight For Your Life: The Autobiography by Amir Kahn. Autobiography of the British boxer

• Killing the Image: A Champion's Journey of Faith, Fighting, and Forgiveness by Andre Ward

• The Universal Sport : Two Years inside Boxing by Thomas Hauser

• SMASH HIT: Race, Crime, and Culture in Boxing Films by David Curcio

🏉Rugby

• Hope and Glory: Rugby League in Thatcher’s Britain by Anthony Broxton

• Glory in Union: The Rugby World Cup, 1987-2019 by Matthew Bazell

• The Art of Winning: Lessons learned by one of the world's top sportsmen by Dan Carter. Autobiography from the legendary New Zealand rugby out-half

• World in Union: A History of the Rugby World Cup in XV Matches by James Dixon

• Edgar Mobbs: Rugby International, Sportsman, Soldier, Legend by Jon Cooksey & Graham McKechnie. Biography of the rugby player who died during World War I.

• The Men in the Arena: England, Australia and the Battle for the 2003 Rugby World Cup by Peter Burns and Tom English

• Around the World in 80 Minutes: In Search of Rugby Greatness by Robert Kitson

• The Boys of Winter: 2003, The Rugby World Cup, And Everything After by Lawrence Dallaglio and Owen Slot

• Rassie: Stories of Life and Rugby by Rassie Erasmus

• Billy Bush: A front row view on life by Billy Bush

• Black Gold: The story of how the All Blacks became rugby's most valuable asset by Gregor Paul

• Brotherhood: When West Point Rugby Went to War by Martin Pengelly

• Straight Up by Ruby Tui

🏒Hockey

• Freedom to Win: A Cold War Story of the Courageous Hockey Team Who Fought the Soviets for the Soul of Its People—And Olympic Gold by Ethan Scheiner. A look at the Czechoslovakia ice hockey team and their battles with the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

• Legacy on Ice: Blake Geoffrion and the Fastest Game on Earth by Sam Jefferies

• The Game that Saved the NHL: The Broad Street Bullies, the Soviet Red Machine, and Super Series '76 by Ed Gruver

• Behind the Mask: A Revealing Look at a Dozen of the Greatest Goalies in Hockey History by Randi Druzin

• Draft Day: How Hockey Teams Pick Winners or Get Left Behind

  by Doug MacLean with Scott Morrison

• Life in Two Worlds: A Coach's Journey from the Reserve to the NHL and Back

  by Ted Nolan with Meg Masters

• The Heaven and Hell of Playing in the NHL by Morris Lukowich with Geoff Kirbyson

Miscellaneous

• Box! Box! Box!: The Inside Track of the 2022 Formula One Season by Gary Jordan. Look at an incredible season of Formula 1 from author of excellent books on AFC Wimbledon and the 1982 World Cup.

• Max Verstappen: A New Era: The Ultimate Biography of the F1 Sensation by Mark Hughes

• No Pie, No Priest: A Journey through the Folk Sports of Britain by Harry Pearson

• Unfair Play: The Battle For Women's Sport by Sharron Davies and Craig Lord. Former swimmer Davies has been outspoken on the issue of transgender participants in women’s sport.

• Fair Play: How Sports Shape the Gender Debates by Katie Barnes

• The First Kentucky Derby: Thirteen Black Jockeys, One Shady Owner, and the Little Red Horse That Wasn't Supposed to Win by Mark Shrager

• Isaac Murphy: The Rise and Fall of a Black Jockey by Katherine C. Mooney

• How Golf Can Save Your Life by Drew Millard

• LIV and Let Die: The Inside Story of the War Between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf by Alan Shipnuck

• The Pat Browne Jr. Story: A Life Played Well by Jim Fraiser

• Snooker's Bad Boys: The Rebels of the Green Baize by Matt Bozeat

• Game of Edges: The Analytical Revolution and the Future of Professional Sports by Bruce Schoenfeld

• Concussed: Sport's Ticking Timebomb by Sam Peters

• Denied: Women, Sports, and the Contradictions of Identity by Michelle J. Manno

• The Big Time: How the 1970s Transformed Sports in America by Michael MacCambridge

• Sideline CEO: Leadership Principles from Championship Coaches by Marty Smith

• Don't Stick to Sports: The American Athlete's Fight against Injustice by Derek Charles Catsam

• Heartbreak City: Seattle Sports and the Unmet Promise of Urban Progress by Shaun Scott

• Game Changer: The Inside Story of the Sonics' Resurgence, the Trail Blazers' Turnaround, and the Deal that Saved the Seahawks by Bob Whitsitt

• The Race to be Myself by Caster Semenya

• Gold from Iron: A Humble Beginning, Olympic Dreams, and the Power in Getting Back Up by Nick Baumgartner with Jeff Seidel

• Joel Selwood: All In by Joel Selwood

• Tell Me a Story I Don't Know by George Ofman

• More Than a Game: A History of How Sport Made Britain by David Horspool

• The Long Run to Glory by Stephen Lane. The story of the first women's Olympic Marathon.

• Ballyhoo!: The Roughhousers, Con Artists, and Wildmen Who Invented Professional Wrestling by Jon Langmead

• Unforgiving: Lessons from the Fall by Lindsey Jacobellis

• Once Around the Planet: Running 24,902 Miles by Doug Richards

• The Right Call: What Sports Teach Us About Leadership, Excellence, and Decision-Making by Sally Jenkins. A reflection on the various coaches and athletes Jenkins encountered during her career as a sportswriter.

• Cage Kings: How an Unlikely Group of Moguls, Champions & Hustlers Transformed the UFC into a $10 Billion Industry by Michael Thomsen

• This is the Life: Days and Nights in the GAA by Ciarán Murphy

• Completely Mad: Tom McClean, John Fairfax, and the Epic of the Race to Row Solo Across the Atlantic by James R. Hansen

• Money, Power, Respect: How Women in Sports are Shaping the Future of Feminism by Macaela MacKenzie

• The Race that Changed Running: The Inside Story of the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc by Doug Mayer

• The Tigerbelles: The American Team that Changed the Face of Women's Sports by Aime Alley Card

• The Greatest Rowing Stories Ever Told by Göran R Buckhorn

• The Geopolitical Economy of Sport - Power, Politics, Money, and the State. Edited by Simon Chadwick, Paul Widdop and Michael M Goldman.

• Gambler: Secrets from a Life at Risk by Billy Walters with Armen Keteyian

• 9 Lives by 35: An Olympic Gymnast's Inspiring Story of Reinvention by Mary Sanders

• Becoming a Sustainable Runner: A Guide to Running for Life, Community, and Planet by Tina Muir and Zoë Rom

• Hendo: The American Athlete by Dan Henderson with David Kano

• Water’s Gleaming Gold: The Story of Hugh ‘Jumbo’ Edwards by Gavin Jameison

• Out at the Plate: The Dot Wilkinson Story by Lynn Ames