Mark Spitz is arguably the most famous and successful Olympic athlete of all time because of his legendary performances at the 1972 Olympics, where he won seven gold medals while breaking seven world records. His amazing life story is told for the first time in the authorized biography Mark Spitz: The Extraordinary Life of an Olympic Champion.This exclusive account follows Spitz’s roller-coaster career: age-group prodigy, four-medal "flop" at the 1968 Olympics, outstanding...

In her extraordinary swimming career, Shirley Babashoff set thirty-nine national records and eleven world records. Prior to the 1990s, she was the most successful U.S. female Olympian and, in her prime, was widely considered to be the greatest female swimmer in the world.Heading into the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal, Babashoff was pictured on the cover of Sports Illustrated and followed closely by the media. Hopes were high that she would become the female Mark Spitz.”

He's the face of the Calgary Flames, but there's much more to Jarome Iginla's story than just being the first black captain of an NHL team. He's also renowned for his social commitment and generosity off the ice.Jarome (nicknamed Iggy) grew up in a single-parent household in St. Albert, Alberta. It was thanks to support of his grandparents that he started to play hockey. His hard work paid off and, in 1996, at the age of 18, Iggy was drafted into the NHL. He went on to become a mult...

Some samples: 1) The Boston Celtics basketball team scored a couple of notable firsts in opening doors to talented African Americans. In 1950, Walter Brown drafted Chuck Cooper, an African-American forward who played for Duquesne University. Another owner of an NBA team tried to convince Mr. Brown not to become the first team owner to draft an African-American player, but Mr. Brown replied, "I don't give a damn if he's striped or polka-dot or plaid—Boston takes Charles Cooper of Duquesne."...

Some samples: 1) Notre Dame football player George Gipp was athletically gifted in more than one sport. In a baseball game, he was ordered to bunt, but instead he hit a home run. Why? He explained that he didn't want to spend much time standing on the bases because it was too hot. When he was a star football player, he talked to a newcomer to the varsity team, Roger Kiley, giving him a thrill because a star was noticing him. Unfortunately, Mr. Kiley dropped the first forward pass that Mr. ...

For the last 20 years, Sports Illustrated has collected and featured weekly signs from the world of sports that the Apocalypse is upon us: Tales of frenzied fans, egomaniacal coaches, Hall of Famers who run afoul of the law, mind-boggling bureaucracy, violent behavior and tastelessness run amok�In his new book, Sports Illustrated Book of the Apocalypse: Two Decades of Sports Absurdity, Jack McCallum (Sports Illustrated writer and New York Times bestselling author of Dream Team), co...

This latest collection of Chicken Soup honors all that is good in the world of sports. From major leaguers to little leaguers, from hockey stars to figure skaters, and from horseracing to mushing, the stories in this book highlight the positive and transformative nature of sports.

My Marathon: Reflections on a Gold Medal Life is a revealing memoir by Frank Shorter, the father of American distance running. After winning the 1969 NCAA title in the 10,000 meters during his senior year at Yale, Shorter went on to win a staggering 24 national titles on track, road, and cross-country courses, but it was in the marathon that Shorter achieved his greatest fame and recognition.At the 1972 Munich Games, Shorter won the Olympic marathon finishing more than 2 m...

The Summer Olympics are chock full of epic athletic achievements across hundreds of disciplines, especially Track and Field, Gymnastics, and Swimming. These are the sports that gave us Jesse Owens and Carl Lewis, Wilma Rudolph and Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Olga Korbut and Mary Lou Retton -- tremendous athletes whose Olympic accomplishments thrill us now just as much as they did when they occurred. Now readers can relive those moments in this fact-filled volume just right for young sports enthu...

Ask most Olympians how their story begins and they will answer, "When I was young, I always dreamed of going to the Olympics. . ." Some will then go on to tell of their great athletic triumphs. Others will recall agonizing near-misses. But for most, the very fact that they reached the Games at all was a dream come true. For the Olympic Games offer athletes something few others sporting events can: the chance to be recognized as the best in the world at a chosen sport.With stories o...

A few samples: 1) The father of Boston Celtics great Bill Russell didn't want money from his son, even though Bill was making good money as a star for the Boston Celtics. Whenever Bill wanted to give him money, he would say, "I got a job. I got my own d*mn money." Bill would then say, "But that's a terrible job. You work in a foundry. All your pants have holes in them from the sparks. There's dust and metal particles in the air. And you're by furnaces and then you go outside and it's freez...

Learn how eight of the greatest male swimmers in recent swimming history progressed from summer league swimming to collectively win 28 Olympic Gold Medals.Included are technique tips from the swimmers themselves and practice samples from each stageof their development. The legendary swimmers included are:Matt Biondi - Olympics 84, 88, 92Dave Berkoff - Olympics 88, 92Mike Barrowman - Olympics 88, 92Josh Davis - Olympics 96, 2000Lenny Kr...