Sports Biographies Football

From prison to premiership glory: This is Marlion Pickett’s extraordinary story. It’s the third quarter in the biggest game of the season. A young man lines up for goal. The 100,000 strong crowd leaps to its feet and roars as Marlion Pickett sends the ball soaring through the goalposts for his first ever major, celebrated by every teammate....

When a career-ending injury saw former Ireland and Millwall striker Richie Sadlier retire from football at age 24, his life spiralled out of control. Without structure or a sense of purpose, fuelled by a dependency on alcohol, he spent years running from the dark memories and feelings that had haunted him since childhood. Until one day he hit rock bottom and decided to confront his demons.

Although she's just four feet, 11 inches tall, Gabby Douglas made a larger-than-life impact on the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Gabby dominated the gymnastics all-around competition with her flawless execution and amazingly high flips, winning gold by a landslide. In early 2012, this pint-sized powerhouse was ready to quit gymnastics for good, but she kept going. Competing at the Olympics at just 16 years old, she became the best female gymnast in the world. Hear about this incredible athlete's journey from Virginia Beach to London gold.

Many people believed NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers would quickly become a star when he joined the Green Bay Packers in 2005. But as the backup to Brett Favre, Aaron didn't get to play much during his first three seasons. When Aaron took over as starting quarterback in 2008, he showed that he belonged on the field. Aaron led his team to the playoffs in 2009. The next season, he guided the Packers to victory in Super Bowl XLV. Learn more about this amazing quarterback's journey from his childhood in California all the way to Super Bowl MVP.

When Ole Gunnar Solskjaer returned to Old Trafford as caretaker manager midway through the 2018-19 season, he breathed new life into a team that was drifting. In this new and definitive biography, Jamie Jackson investigates why he was the perfect man for the job to bring back the glory days. After the confusion under David Moyes, the stagnation of Louis van Gaal and the growing trauma under Jose Mourinho, Manchester United were a club increasingly struggling to challenge for major honours, something the fans had been accustomed to during the reign of Sir Alex Ferguson.

In 1967, a 13-year-old girl named Maureen Wilton set the women's world marathon record, running 26.2 miles in 3:15:23. Nicknamed “Little Mo” by her track teammates, Wilton was already a headline-making athlete. But her accomplishment was greeted with controversy and misogynistic accusations of cheating. Wilton receded into the background, left the sport, and kept her achievement secret. This is the story of what happened and how Maureen found her way back to the sport decades later as the mother of a young runner herself.

Peter Reid is one of the most colourful characters to emerge from England over the last 50 years. As a player, he established himself as one of the leading midfielders of his era, being named PFA Player of the Year in 1985 and credited as the fourth best footballer in the world. He won numerous honours with Everton, including two league titles, one FA Cup and one European Cup Winners’ Cup. He also won 13 England caps, playing at the 1986 World Cup – where a date with destiny at the ‘hand’ of Diego Maradona would provide a lasting, painful memory.

El St. Pauli es la constatación de que otra forma de entender el mundo y el fútbol es posible. Es romanticismo en estado puro y es lo más similar al fútbol de barrio, a aquel fútbol popular que nuestros bisabuelos contemplaban desde las gradas cien años atrás. La forma de ser del FCSP ha hecho que personas de cualquier punto del mundo utilicen la bandera y el escudo en los movimientos sociales en los que participan. El año que viene seguirá en la segunda división alemana, pero sus escudos estarán por toda Europa en primera línea de las protestas.

Troy Aikman has always been a winner. In high school, he won the state championship - in typing! Of course, he was a football star in high school, too. And in college. And he was a number one NFL Draft pick. As a quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys, Troy won three Super Bowls - and was once the Super Bowl MVP. Then he became a football analyst for Fox Sports, where millions of fans watch and listen to his commentary. He's even been nominated for four Emmys for sportscasting! What will Troy Aikman win next?

El St. Pauli es la constatación de que otra forma de entender el mundo y el fútbol es posible. Es romanticismo en estado puro y es lo más similar al fútbol de barrio, a aquel fútbol popular que nuestros bisabuelos contemplaban desde las gradas cien años atrás. La forma de ser del FCSP ha hecho que personas de cualquier punto del mundo utilicen la bandera y el escudo en los movimientos sociales en los que participan. El año que viene seguirá en la segunda división alemana, pero sus escudos estarán por toda Europa en primera línea de las protestas.

Percy Tau grew up with seven siblings and a single mom in the mining town of Witbank. For Percy and his family, life is tough, as their mother struggles to make ends meet. But there is one thing that brings the Tau boys together: soccer. At the Mmagobana Primary School, they quickly make a name for themselves on the soccer team. Despite the boys’ enthusiasm for the game, Percy’s mom is against him playing soccer. She wants him to get a ‘real job’ - after all, she doesn’t want to see her son struggle in life.

Wie schafft man es als deutscher American-Football-Spieler in die NFL? Die beeindruckende Geschichte von Sebastian Vollmer zeigt: Talent ist nur eine Voraussetzung. Genauso wichtig sind unbändiger Wille, Training und Liebe zum Sport. Damit lassen sich Hindernisse überwinden - wovon es in Vollmers Karriere einige gab: Sein erster Coach nannte ihn einen "kleinen Fisch in einem großen Teich". Vollmer biss sich durch und ergatterte 2003 ein Footballstipendium an einem US-College.

Johnathan Thurston is widely regarded as rugby league's greatest player. This autobiography will follow Thurston's journey from a Brisbane kid who was written off as too skinny, too slow, and too wild to play professionally, to his debut with the Canterbury Bulldogs in 2003, to State of Origin star, to Dally M and Clive Churchill Medal winner, and the fairytale premierships.

For Devon Still, life has been a journey from one scar to the next. From one challenge to the next. His is a story of pushing through pain and overcoming obstacles of all shapes and sizes - of choosing to fight for the sake of his family, his community, and his faith. Millions of people around the world have been inspired by Devon’s tireless devotion in helping his daughter, Leah, learn how to “beat up cancer”. But in this audiobook, Devon takes listeners behind the headlines to reveal the deeper story of what prepared him for that fight.

Many books have been written about the Cowboys, but there's never been an account like this one. How 'Bout Them Cowboys? tells the story of the NFL's most successful franchise, with special access to its outspoken owner, Jerry Jones, his sons Stephen and Jerry Jr., daughter Charlotte, and dozens of interviews of current and former players and coaches, and characters from across Cowboy Nation.

Marcellus Wiley has never had a problem expressing his opinion, whether it was growing up in Compton with a football tucked under his arm, or going to college at Columbia University, where he learned to survive Advanced Calculus and self-important pseudo-intellectuals. Or making it to the NFL against all odds, where he put together a 10-year career of massive paydays, massive painkillers, and massive sacks of everyone from Steve Young to Peyton Manning. Now, in Never Shut Up, Wiley doesn't hold back as he goes off on everything that's controversial with the game today.

In the fall of 1977, there was an aura about the night, the likes of which none had ever experienced. It was just another Friday night in Azusa, California, or was it? The Gladiators of Gladstone High School were set to kick a late field goal that could solidify a brilliant come from behind victory. It was against the undefeated Walnut Mustangs who were the number one ranked team in CIF Division AA. If successful, the Gladiators would have done what no other Gladiator team had ever done - win a championship.

Former collegiate star, sports agent, and NFL executive Michael Huyghue recounts his journey in professional sports and the challenges that remain for minorities to succeed as front office executives in the multibillion-dollar sports industry. The author's journey as an athlete and lawyer provides a behind-the-scenes glimpse of what goes on behind closed doors in the world of professional sports and collegiate athletic programs. It is also a chronicle not often told of growing up Black and male in white suburban America.

Case Keenum has traveled one of the most unique paths in the NFL. Recruited by just one college, undrafted, and released three times, Case has overcome every obstacle to become a successful starting quarterback. Keenum shares stories from every stage of his life, starting out as a ball boy for his father’s college team in West Texas, going on to win a state title in high school, and rewriting the NCAA record book at the University of Houston. A devastating knee injury almost derailed his football career, but helped him get closer to the woman who would soon become his wife.

They were the first No. 1 seed in NFL history to enter the playoffs as an underdog. Their star quarterback was out with a season-ending knee injury. Five-time Super Bowl champions the New England Patriots towered over them. But public opinion didn't matter to the Eagles. The band of Christian brothers on the team believed in the God of the impossible, and they played for an audience of One. The most extensive book to explore the Christian faith shared by many of the team's players, Birds of Pray details the story behind the Eagles' capture of the Vince Lombardi Trophy.