Bøger udgivet af Pitch Publishing Limited

A trip across America to track down the great fighters from yesteryear who vanished from the limelight, and hear their incredible storiesIn the era of boxing's pay-per-view superstars, Tris Dixon invested in a Greyhound bus pass and spent several months traversing America on a shoestring budget, tracking down fighters from yesteryear who had vanished from the limelight. Venturing from New York to Las Vegas and from Toronto to Miami, the young writer--himself a former amateur boxer--sought out coulda-been-contenders and cult heroes from the 1950s to the 2000s, all now faded from popular memory. He visited old people's homes, gyms, and too many prisons, discovering that life after boxing can be a cruel place when the ropes are no longer in place to keep fighters safe from the outside world. Dixon meets men who shaped boxing history, fighting the likes of Sugar Ray Robinson, Muhammad Ali, and Mike Tyson. He shares their memories and weaves together their forgotten tales over the course of a remarkable American journey.

The compelling life stories of seven former professional boxers who fought between the 1930s and 1960s. This was a golden age when our top fighters were working-class heroes and boxing was as popular as football. It covers such subjects as booth fighting, exploitation in boxing, East End poverty, World War II London, crime and the Kray twins.

The year 2015 was a historic one for the England women's cricket team: their first full year as professional players and with every ball of their Ashes series live on television and radio. As the dramatic events of the summer unfolded, David Tossell was given exclusive access to follow at close quarters, from freezing training mornings in the dead of winter to the dressing room and team meetings in the heat of battle against Australia. Under the guidance of a coach who cared deeply about their performance and welfare, a diverse group of girls came together in the pursuit of international glory and personal achievement, united by a remarkable love for each other and a passion for their profession. As Girls of Summer reveals, they would need every piece of resilience and resolve those bonds could offer. With a foreword by England captain Charlotte Edwards.

Filipe Stilwell d'Avillez takes us on a fascinating journey into the colourful world of the Portuguese Cup. Each year the country's top teams battle it out hoping to reach the cup final held at Jamor: Portugal's equivalent of Wembley Stadium. The book provides a unique window into the footballing culture of a country that lives and breathes the beautiful game. Starting with the away supporters of Graciosa, Filipe then follows the exploits of fans from Casa Pia, Angrense, Tondela, Leixões and the previous year's winners, Aves, before focusing on the famed Lisbon derby between Benfica and Sporting - a match which divides the nation, whole families and even couples. Filipe's quest culminates with the Jamor experience. Sited amid a dense forest, the stadium is swamped by fans on cup final day. Hordes of them sing and drink in sweltering heat as pigs roast on skewers and ticketless families picnic around camper vans. One Thousand Miles from Jamor immerses the reader deep within the customs and culture of a truly football-mad country.

From 1981 to 1986, Pakistani squash great Jahangir Khan went undefeated to herald the longest unbeaten run in sport. In the 30th anniversary of his incredible achievements, the book dissects his five-year run, the extent his rivals went to even to win a game and, tellingly, brings to an end the long-held belief that he went 555 matches unbeaten.

Discover the secrets of the game model developed by Pep Guardiola that sets Manchester City apart from the rest. When Guardiola joined Manchester City in 2016 there were doubts that he could replicate his successful model in the English game. But after a single season of acclimatization we saw those doubts shattered as City won the Premier League in 2017/18 with a record 100 points. Beyond the trophies and the records, however, lies a yet more intriguing story--of how Guardiola adapted and perfected the tactical principles that had made him so successful at Barcelona and Bayern Munich, who played the key roles on the field, enabling Manchester City's successes of 2017-19, and why the other Premier League sides were unable to stop the City juggernaut sweeping aside all in its path.

Johnny Hubbard was a tricky little winger and a huge Rangers star, one of the last surviving members the great 50s side. Known as "The Penalty King" in recognition of his record 65 goals from 68 spot kicks, one of his goals was described by Sir Alex Ferguson as "easily the best I've ever seen!" Aged just 18, he swapped the sunshine of Pretoria for the grey streets of Glasgow, leaving behind the flames of apartheid for a land where another chasm ran deep through society--religious bigotry. Hubbard's story provides an insight into life through a golden era in Rangers' history, and he also recalls his time with Bury when he was almost drawn into the world of match-fixing. When Johnny gave up the game in 1964, he turned to community service and was rewarded for his good work with an Honorary MBE.

A People's History of Tottenham Hotspur is the story of how fans helped create the identity of a world-famous club and tells a story from a perspective rarely acknowledged. Drawing on social history, contemporary press reports and first-hand interviews with the fans themselves, authors Martin Cloake and Alan Fisher trace the club's development from being the team of the suburbs and the rising south, through the glory years and the arrival of mass, popular culture, and into the modern era of the game. It is not a tale of trophies won and lost, of players bought and sold. Instead, it is the story of how one of the game's oldest and most famous teams was formed and established by its fans and how its identity was created by them. It evaluates how the fans' relationship with the club has evolved, as the game has changed: from those bygone days, when a club was at the heart of a local community, to the modern era, where the world's leading football clubs have to compete as multinational 'brands', appealing to fans on a global scale, stretching much further and wider than the north London footprint than the club's founders would have ever imagined.

They called Max Baer the "Clown Prince of Boxing," but trainer Ray Arcel remembered a night in 1933 when he worked Baer's corner in what was probably Max's greatest triumph, the night he smashed Max Schmeling to defeat in 10 brutal rounds. That was no clown. A year later, Baer was heavyweight champion of the world. From a $4 a day foundry worker, Baer's rise was rapid. He bought so many suits he couldn't keep track of them; wore a new hat every week; bought a house like a hotel. Arcel cried like a baby when he read in the New York Times that Max had died from a heart attack in November 1959, at just 50 years old. This is the fascinating story of an iconic boxing figure who achieved so much in a life too short.