As one of the most successful general managers and team presidents in NFL history, few people understand how to create the blueprint for a winning football team like Bill Polian. After building the Buffalo Bills team that went to four consecutive Super Bowls and taking the expansion Carolina Panthers to the NFC Championship just two years after the team's creation, he was responsible for the Indianapolis Colts drafting Peyton Manning with the first overall pick in 1998 and oversaw the team...

Offering an in-depth look into the private life behind one of the most important athletes of the 20th century, this comprehensive biography of Johnny Unitas explores the man who made the quarterback position the crux of a football team's offense and was an icon to millions of fans across the country. From his upbringing near the Monongahela River and becoming the "Golden Arm" to his retirement and battle with numerous physical ailments, this book reveals how he was affected by his boss's b...

An intimate and freewheeling portrait of John Madden through the NFL legend's own words John Madden is synonymous with football. He was the television face and voice of the nation's most popular sport, the namesake of its best-selling sports video game, and the man with the highest career winning percentage of any NFL coach. Despite his international fame, there was a side of Madden known only to those who listened to morning radio broadcasts in the San Francisco Bay Area. That's where Mad...

How a young man with a solid work ethic carried himself out of poverty to the pinnacle of professional sports and business.Before he turned sixteen, Edgerrin James had already developed the critical thinking and mental discipline required for him to become one of the most astute business minds in professional sports.Acclaimed as one of the greatest running backs of his generation who was inducted into the 2020 Pro Football Hall of Fame, James is a self-made...

Dan Jenkins calls him “the greatest quarterback who ever lived, college or pro.” Slingin’ Sammy Baugh, who played for TCU and the Washington Redskins, single-handedly revolutionized the game of football. While the pros still wore leather helmets and played the game more like rugby, Baugh’s ability to throw the ball with rifle-like accuracy made the forward pass a strategic weapon, not a desperation heave. Like Babe Ruth, who changed the very perception of how baseball is played, Slingin’ S...

**#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLERFirst he rewrote the record book. Now, to mark the NHL's ninety-ninth anniversary, Wayne Gretzky has written the story of our game.**In 99: Stories of the Game, Gretzky looks back on the last ninety-nine years and tells us, from his point of view, about the NHL’s most memorable moments. We already know what he means to the game. Now he shows us what the game means to him.From hockey's fierce early battles on natural ice; through its ...

For twenty-five years, Ken Kaiser was the most colorful umpire in the major leagues. Planet of the Umps is his sidesplitting tale of life behind the plate."Two things nobody wants to grow up to be are an umpire and broke. Thanks to my career in baseball, I got both."After calling balls, strikes, and outs for thirty-six baseball seasons and more than three thousand major-league games, umpire Ken Kaiser finally called it a career. From the first day ...

One of the National Hockey League’s “Original Six,” few teams in professional hockey have enjoyed more success than the Detroit Red Wings. In this newly revised edition, Stan “the Hockey Maven” Fischler profiles over fifty of the greatest characters from this unforgettable franchise. Fans can read about everyone from the legendary Gordie Howe (who was almost killed by a body-check that fractured his skull before he went on to become known as “Mr. Hockey”) to Nicklas Lindström (who became t...

The inside story of the most colorful decade in NFL history—pro football’s raging, hormonal, hairy, druggy, immortal adolescence.Between the Immaculate Reception in 1972 and The Catch in 1982, pro football grew up. In 1972, Steelers star Franco Harris hitchhiked to practice. NFL teams roomed in skanky motels. They played on guts, painkillers, legal steroids, fury, and camaraderie. A decade later, Joe Montana’s gleamingly efficient 49ers ushered in a new era: the corporate, scripted...

Seeing baseball played at Fenway is an experience like no other for Red Sox fans and rivals alike because the park reminds us of what baseball used to be. Fenway may not offer fans the best seats or even adequate parking, but when game-goers walk through the park's gate, the smell of hotdogs and roasted peanuts, the sight of Fenway's brilliant green grass and the roar of the Fenway faithful overwhelms the most jaded of baseball enthusiasts, even Yankee fans.At Fenway celebrates the...

BLOOPER: BALL SQUIRTS THROUGH BILLY BUCKNER'S LEGS.BLUNDER: BILLY BUCKNER'S MANAGER LEFT HIM IN THE GAME.Baseball bloopers are fun; they're funny, even. A pitcher slips on the mound and his pitch sails over the backstop. An infielder camps under a pop-up...and the ball lands ten feet away. An outfielder tosses a souvenir to a fan...but that was just the second out, and runners are circling the bases (and laughing). Without these moments, the highlight reels wouldn't...

The star running back of the NFL. The All-Star center leading his team to the championship. Matt Christopher delves into the life of both of these sports stars, exploring the paths they have traveled, the hardships they have overcome, and the highs and lows of their careers. Each book contains exciting black-and-white action photos, the player's stats, and a list of his career highlights. Real-life sports action plus Matt Christopher's easy-to-read style equals a series not be missed.