As fast-paced as a freefall from a roaring airplane, as thrilling as a towering jump off a ski slope, Being Extreme is a fascinating examination of the adrenaline rush of extreme sports. Here is a world where living life on the edge is the only option, where you are only as good as your last jump . . . and where one false move can take you out of the game permanently. From mountain climbing and freestyle motocross to skydiving and snowboarding and beyond, in the past decade, the world of extreme sports has exploded onto the scene, with daredevils attempting acts of athleticism that leave spectators awed . . . and fearful. Being Extreme explores the motivations and societal impulses behind these high-risk lifestyles through interviews with professional athletes and recreational enthusiasts, as well as with psychiatrists who seek to understand the motivation behind these “Big T” personalities. Authors Gutman and Frederick also explore what heart-stopping sports are around the next curve, because in a world where the “rush” is everything, everyone is always upping their game.
Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington was one of jazz’s greatest innovators. Join Bill Gutman as he explores the fascinating life of this legend from his birth at the turn of the century to his death at the age of seventy‐five. Interviewing Duke’s friends, fans, and fellow musicians, Gutman documents the progress of a man who dedicated his life to crafting the ever‐changing sound of jazz. Gutman plunges into the history of jazz from its origin in the honky‐tonk sounds of the Ragtime Era to the forms that are widely enjoyed today. Jazz has evolved through the years to become one of the most popular forms of music, with Duke Ellington as chief composer, artist, and perfomer. Gutman’s account of Ellington’s life as it parallels the history of jazz provides a fascinating history for both jazz veterans and those new to the art form.
In this thought-provoking alternative view of history, Bill Gutman spins out the maybes and what ifs that might have followed if some of the most iconic sports moments of all time had gone another way. He imagines a world in which Lombardi returns a hero to take the helm of the New York Giants, resulting in a Packers team that never achieves dynasty status and a Giants team that stumbles to glory late in the decade, a world where Muhammad Ali can't struggle to his feet after a huge blow from Liston and winds up a floundering middle-weight who never makes it big, and yes, a world where Babe Ruth never dons Yankee pinstripes but stays in Boston and out of the record books. With a careful eye for detail and a handful of bold predictions, Gutman attacks the sports history books with gusto, outlining an alternate reality that will change the way fans look at sports forever.
Veteran sports writer Bill Gutman not only chronicles the evolution of the home run, but also deescribes what constitutes a hitter ball park, how the baseball itself has evolved over the years.
What do Mark Koenig, Red Rolfe, Frank Crosetti, Sandy Alomar, Bobby Murcer, Wayne Tolleson, and Derek Jeter all have in common? They all wore number 2 for the New York Yankees, even though nearly eight decades have passed between the first time Koenig buttoned up a Yankee uniform with that number and the last time Jeter performed the same routine. The 1929 New York Yankees were the first Major League baseball team to begin regularly wearing uniform numbers. That team, led by superstars Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, was assigned its numbers based on the batting order. This is why Ruth wore 3, Gehrig 4, and so on. Soon other teams in other cities caught on, and before long every team in baseball were wearing numbers. But like many things in baseball history, it all started in the Bronx. Over 1,500 players have worn pinstripes in their careers, makes for a lot of good stories. Yankees by the Numbers tells those stories for every Yankee since ’29—from Earle Combs (the original #1) to Charlie Keller (the only Yankee to ever wear #99)—providing insightful and humorous commentary about the more memorable players, from a fan’s perspective. Each chapter also features a fascinating sidebar that reveals which players were the most obscure to wear a certain number, and also which numbers produced the most wins, home runs and stolen bases in club history. For data seekers, a “Yankees Alphabetical Roster” is a complete listing of every single Yankee since 1929, the numbers they wore, and their years of service at the House that Ruth Built. Updated through the 2014 baseball season, this second edition of Yankees by the Numbers is a book that every Yankee fan, young or old, should own and cherish. Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Sports Publishing imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in sports—books about baseball, pro football, college football, pro and college basketball, hockey, or soccer, we have a book about your sport or your team. Whether you are a New York Yankees fan or hail from Red Sox nation; whether you are a die-hard Green Bay Packers or Dallas Cowboys fan; whether you root for the Kentucky Wildcats, Louisville Cardinals, UCLA Bruins, or Kansas Jayhawks; whether you route for the Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, or Los Angeles Kings; we have a book for you. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to publishing books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked by other publishers and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.
Nobody knows baseball like Kevin Kennedy! Kevin Kennedy was a catcher and a Montreal, coach in the minors, a farm director for the Expos and a bench coach for Felipe Alou before moving on to manage the Texas Rangers and the Boston Red Sox. Now one of the sport's most respected analysts and commentators, he offers a fresh look at baseball from the viewpoint of a "lifer," capturing the intricacies of the professional game with a sharp analytical eye and unabashed candor, including: The lengths to which teams and players will go to gain the competitive edge -- from doctored playing fields to performance-enhancing drugs The politics and egos that keep the managerial carousel spinning The often delicate balance when managing superstar players like Roger Clemens, Pudge Rodriguez, and Jose Canseco The little-known world of the Latin American winter leagues Intelligent, insightful, and engaging, Twice Around the Bases is a treat for anyone who truly loves the game.
New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge burst onto the baseball scene in 2017 like a shooting star of the first magnitude. Standing six feet, seven inches tall and weighing 282 pounds, Judge won the right field job in spring training and proceeded to set the baseball world on fire during the first half of the season. He was not only setting rookie records and hitting more home runs than anyone, but also hitting them higher and farther and with greater velocity than baseball’s other sluggers. That wasn’t all. Judge quickly proved he was more than just a one-dimensional slugger. Not only was he leading the American League in home runs, batting average, and runs batted in during his early-season splurge, he was also proving himself an outstanding outfielder with great range, a rifle arm, and, despite his great size, even showed the ability to steal bases. He looked to be the total package. He captured the imagination of the league as the leading vote getter in the midseason All-Star Game; Judge also participated in the Home Run Derby and electrified the crowd by hitting 47 homers, including 23 in the first round, to win the competition. His longest home run traveled some 513 feet and several more shots hit the stadium’s roof. He was the player people were coming out to see and his jersey was the number one seller in all of baseball. Though his production slowed somewhat after the All-Star Break, he was still having one of the great rookie seasons in many years. Playing for the storied New York Yankees he has begun evoking memories of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, and Mickey Mantle, the team's lineage of all-time greats. So it should be no surprise when you hear the call all around baseball—ALL RISE, HERE COMES AARON JUDGE.
Sports fans in New York will always remember the incredible events of 1969. It was the year that two of the city’s underdog teams would rise above all expectations to be crowned world champions. On January 12, 1969, the underdog New York Jets faced the heavily-favored Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III. Up to this point, no former AFL team had ever won a Super Bowl. Leading the Colts were future Hall of Fame coach Don Shula and quarterback Johnny Unitas (also a future Hall of Famer).The team looked unbeatable finishing the season with a 13–1 record. But then, in historic fashion, “Broadway Joe” Namath, the quarterback of the Jets, made an incredible “guarantee” that the Jets would be victorious. And behind Namath’s strong arm they were, as he led his team to a 16–7 victory. For a city that had not housed a championship team since the Dodgers in ’65, one championship was more than enough. But who would have expected that just seven months later, another New York team would rise to stardom? The New York Mets completed their first season in 1962 and would go down in history with the worst record ever recorded at 40–120 (a record still unbroken). They averaged over 100 losses in their first seven seasons and were seemingly permanent cellar dwellers of the National League. That was until the ’69 season, when the Mets—led by Tom Seaver (a future Hall of Famer) and Jerry Koosman—would complete an improbable run by not only leading their team to a winning record (which they’d never done before), but by defeating the Baltimore Orioles 4 games to 1 for their first World Series championship. Miracle Year 1969 tells the story of how two teams defied almost insurmountable odds to win it all for a city that has always loved champions, underdogs, and its heroes. Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Sports Publishing imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in sports—books about baseball, pro football, college football, pro and college basketball, hockey, or soccer, we have a book about your sport or your team. Whether you are a New York Yankees fan or hail from Red Sox nation; whether you are a die-hard Green Bay Packers or Dallas Cowboys fan; whether you root for the Kentucky Wildcats, Louisville Cardinals, UCLA Bruins, or Kansas Jayhawks; whether you route for the Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, or Los Angeles Kings; we have a book for you. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to publishing books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked by other publishers and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.
Who would have thought that an Asian American who majored in economics at Harvard would become the NBA’s most talked about star? While the story seems more like Hollywood fantasy, it has really happened. Undrafted out of college and waived in short order by the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets, Jeremy Lin was signed by the underachieving New York Knicks in December 2011. In his first twenty-three games, he played only fifty-five total minutes and was close to being cut again. Then, on February 4, 2012, with the Knick decimated by injury, he came off the bench against the New Jersey Nets and scored 25 points, leading the Knicks to victory. He started the following game and topped that with 28 points and eight assists. Linsanity was born! Here Lin’s full story—from the playgrounds of Palo Alto to a high school championship to the Ivy League to sleeping on his brother’s couch to stardom at Madison Square Garden. As he begins the 2012-2013 reason with a new contract totaling almost $30 million for four years, his story will entertain and inspire sports fans and non-sports fans alike.
Race for the record! At the Sydney Games, Marion Jones strove to become the first person ever to win five gold medals in track and field at a single Olympics, making headlines for simply believeing she could do it. Driven to succeed at a very early age, Marion won multiple titiles at the Junior National Championships and set a junior record in the 200 meters. A multisport athlete, she helped lead the University of North Carolina women's basketball team to a national championship during her freshman year and also competed in track and field, until an injury forced her to reevaluate her priorities. Refocused on her track career, Marion quickly became the woman to beat, racking up an impressive thirty-five wims of the thiry-six events she entred in 1998. And after another injury sidelined her hopes of winning four gold medal at the 1999 World Championships, marion fought back in the 2000 season and is once again dominating the field. Get the full story of this amazing runner's race for the record, from her childhood dreams of gold medals to her tough choice between two sports and her determined drive to become the fastest woman in the world.
Seventy million people watch extreme sports on ESPNUs X-Games. This volume includes interviews with top athletes in the world of extreme sports including Jeff Grell, Jimmy Scott, and Circe Wallace (snowboarding); Dave Duncan and Runbe Glifburg (skateboarding); Rick Thorne and T.J. Lavin (BMX).
BACK ON THE BIKE LANCE ARMSTRONG is the premier cyclist in sports history. But the road to victory has not been smooth, which makes his story all the more compelling. In 1991 he was the National Amateur Cycling Champion, and a professional career seemed guaranteed. But a grim diagnosis of cancer in 1996 threatened to cut the career -- and his life -- short. With the help of family, friends, and a dedicated team of doctors, Lance began the hard work not only to beat the disease, but to get back on the bike. By the summer of 1999 Lance was not only back, he was leading the pack to his first Tour de France win. And he hasn't stopped winning since that sweet victory. Here's the story of Lance Armstrong, from his first ride, to his most recent race, and all the twists and turns in between!
In January 2000, shortly after the New York Jets ended their '99 season, their coach, Bill Parcells, retired. By then he had won 149 games, lost 106, tied one, led three major pro football teams out of serious slumps, and taken two of them to the Super Bowl. He had made football history; he'd become the NFL's miracle man. Both intimidating and disarming, with a tongue like a whip and the temperament of a tyrant, Bill Parcells joined the failing New York Giants in 1983. By 1990 he'd twice taken the team to the Super Bowl. Three years later he took in tow the downtrodden New England Patriots, whom he propelled to the Super Bowl in his fourth season. He returned to New York in 1997, this time to rally the Jets. In two seasons the team with a lamentable 1–15 record had won a division title and missed the Super Bowl by only a game. In 1999, beleaguered by injuries to key players, the Jets nose-dived, losing six of its first seven games, but Parcells still managed to salvage the season with an 8–8 finish. While this biography candidly assesses the career of a consummate coach, it also examines the driving force that took hold of Parcells early and never let him go. Call it ambition, a dream, bulldog spirit, or perfectionism, it made him one of the winningest coaches in NFL history.
Biography of the African American who's impressive achievements in both baseball and football remain of great interest to young sports fans.African American.
With emphasis on education, hard work, and sportsmanship, these biographies offer readers fascinating insights into the childhood, career, and personal life of some of their favorite athletes.
Complemented by more than five hundred photographs, illustrations, and diagrams, this easy-to-follow how-to handbook introduces the fundamentals of rock and water gardening and includes a variety of projects, complete with step-by-step instructions and illustrations, shopping lists, plant directories, and dozens of helpful tips. Original. 12,000 first printing.
Focusing on the zany, unbelievable, and mysterious happenings in the world of baseball, these stories come from the past and the present and feature both well-known and obscure baseball stars. A perfect book for the new baseball season. 16 black-and-white photos.
Read all about the Superteams, their strengths, their weaknesses, coaches and star players, and the games and performances that made football history. Meet the greatest teams and players of the last half century in the book no sports fan can afford to be without.
Brief biographies highlighting the careers of six women athletes: Nancy Lopez, Janet Guthrie, Tracy Austin, Diana Nyad, Joan Joyce, and Carol Blazejowski.
It's been called "The Shot Heard Round the World," the miracle home run hit by Bobby Thomson that won the National League pennant for the Giants -- and is considered one of the most dramatic moments in baseball history. Now, in his own words, Bobby Thomson tells the complete story of that incredible event with fascinating details only he can provide.
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