10 Must-Read Sports-Themed Books

So many of the narratives in sports are fundamentally visual—stories told by plays, opportunities missed and seized—that the art of writing a compelling book about a sport is easy to take for granted. Sports journalism condenses and retells the multitude of narratives that unfold among the people and events in sports, but the news cycle and other constraints mean that fans rarely get the whole story.

Books that dive deep into the stories behind the most significant moments in sports, or transform a personal experience into a fascinating picture of a life and career of an athlete, can fill the void. And across the catalog of sports-themed books available, there are some titles that stand apart from the rest.

These are 10 must-read sports-themed books.

'When Pride Still Mattered: A Life of Vince Lombardi'

Images courtesy of Simon & Schuster, AP

Author: David Maraniss

Published: 1999

Perhaps the most storied coach in American sports history, When Pride Still Mattered: A Life of Vince Lombardi tells the story of legendary Packers coach Vince Lombardi, who is today more myth than man. He’s now been gone almost 45 years, making it easy to forget Lombardi is, was and will always be more than a trophy. As a first-generation Italian-American, Lombardi was the living embodiment of the American Dream.

Ambitious, disciplined and driven, he had worked as a coach at every level for 20 years before being hired by the Packers at age 46. Lombardi won five championships in nine seasons in Green Bay—an unprecedented level of team achievement, led by a man who has been described as a, “success-obsessed tyrant, a great leader, a bully who browbeat his players into submission, [and] a masterly motivator who drew the best out of his team.”

'The Yankee Years'

Images courtesy of Doubleday, AP Photo/Kathy Willens

Authors: Joe Torre, Tom Verducci

Published: 2009

Given the irritatingly storied history of the Yankees franchise, there are countless memoirs out there worth reading. Though you can’t go wrong with the offerings of all-time superstars like Joe DiMaggio and Derek Jeter, former manager Joe Torre’s The Yankee Years is one of the best. The book chronicles the highs and…highs…of his 12 seasons in New York, in which the Yanks made the playoffs 12 consecutive times, winning six pennants and four World Series.

Torre doesn’t hold back his disdain for the late owner George Steinbrenner or his bitterness about how his tenure ended. Torre also addresses the erosion of the Yankees farm system, the result of Steinbrenner’s focus on bringing in high-priced free agents, rather than developing their own talent, to the detriment of the organization. It's really a great read. 

'Those Guys Have All the Fun: Inside the World of ESPN'

Images courtesy of Little, Brown & Company, AP Photo/Chris Carlson

Authors: James Andrew Miller, Tom Shales

Published: 2011

When it comes to ESPN, it doesn’t matter if you love it or hate it (although based purely on Twitter, you almost certainly hate it), Those Guys Have All the Fun: Inside the World of ESPN provides a behind-the-scenes look at nearly three decades of broadcasting by the Worldwide Leader in Sports.

At times, the picture it paints is bleak and unflattering, reflecting back on a time when it was truly a boys club and sexual harassment ran rampant. But the commentary from on-air talent and the various powers that be/have been is oftentimes both insightful and entertaining.

'Pros & Cons: The Criminals Who Play in the NFL'

Image courtesy of Grand Central Publishing

Authors: Jeff Benedict, Don Yaeger

Published: 1998

Published 17 years ago, Pros & Cons: The Criminals Who Play in the NFL is a book that “analyzed 264 criminal complaints filed against NFL players on rosters during the 1997 season, and found that 47 of them involved alleged domestic violence. NFL players were charged with domestic violence more often than with any other crime. Yet time and again, the NFL took no action,” per an op-ed by author Jeff Benedict in the Los Angeles Times.

Looking back at Benedict’s concern about the NFL’s “willful ignorance” on the subject of domestic violence is particularly interesting and insightful given the various incidents that played out very publicly in 2014, when the issue finally took center stage. It's also quite frustrating to realize, much like the concussion issue, just how long the NFL has been ignoring a growing problem. 

'Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant ‘Roids, Smash Hits, and How Baseball Got Big'

Images courtesy of Harper Collins, AP Photo/Mary Altaffer

Author: Jose Canseco

Published: 2005

It’s probably fair to say that former MLB slugger Jose Canseco hasn’t proven himself the most dignified or trustworthy former athlete out there. But what he lacks in credibility, he more than makes up for in entertainment value. Canseco’s controversial tell-all, Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant ‘Roids, Smash Hits, and How Baseball Got Big, isn’t particularly well-written, and many of the claims he makes are unsubstantiated.

But much like the man himself, the book is big, bold, dramatic and ridiculously off the rails. Anyone who enjoys following Canseco on Twitter, where he is constantly making an ass of himself, will love his “scorched-earth” memoir, in which nobody comes out looking worse than the author.

In case you were wondering about Canseco’s 2008 follow-up, Vindicated: Big Names, Big Liars and the Battle to Save Baseball, skip it. It’s similarly self-indulgent, but not nearly as fun.

'Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team, and a Dream'

Images courtesy of DA CAPO PRESS

Author: H.G. Bissinger

Published: 1990

Before Friday Night Lights was a television show, it was a movie. And before it was a movie, it was a novel entitled Friday Night Lights: a Town, a Team, and a Dream. Although the film adaptation is impressively solid and quite well-received by critics, the book is even better. It transports the reader to Odessa, Texas, which for many of us is such an unfamiliar world it might as well be another country—if not another planet.

Odessa is a town divided: socially, economically and racially. Unemployment is high, and the crime rate is higher. The only thing that brings this struggling community together is the Permian Panthers high school football team, the winningest in state history.

'Baseball’s Natural: The Story of Eddie Waitkus'

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Author: John Theodore

Published: 2002

The 1984 baseball classic The Natural, a film starring Robert Redford, was based on Bernard Malamud’s novel of the same name. The story centers on a (fictional) young baseball prodigy named Roy Hobbs, who was actually based on a real ballplayer, Eddie Waitkus.

Naturally, the movie is inspired by the story of Waitkus, but it takes plenty of liberties in telling the story, perhaps because there’s a lot about his life that simply isn’t known. That being said, Baseball’s Natural: The Story of Eddie Waitkus is a fascinating read, which tells the real story of a real man who, despite being largely a footnote in baseball history, lived through something truly extraordinary.

'You Can't Make This Up'

Images courtesy of Harper Collins, AP/Nick Wass

Authors: Al Michaels, L. Jon Wertheim

Published: 2014

These days, sportscasters are some of the most polarizing figures out there—Cris Collinsworth, Joe Buck and Chris Berman, for example—you either love these guys or hate them, but almost definitely hate them. One rare exception is the legendary Al Michaels, who, after more than four decades on the job, remains generally well-liked among sports fans.

Michaels’ relatively recent memoir, You Can’t Make This Up: Miracles, Memories, and the Perfect Marriage of Sports and Television, is an endlessly entertaining look back at an extraordinary career. Front and center for many of the biggest sporting events of the last 40 years, including the game that history will forever know as the Miracle on Ice, Michaels’ collection of stories and personal anecdotes is like nothing else you’ve ever read.

'The Game: 30th Anniversary Edition'

Images courtesy of Triumph Books, AP

Author: Ken Dryden

Published: 1983, 2013

Hall of Fame goaltender Ken Dryden, who won six Stanley Cups with the Canadiens over his eight-year career, wrote The Game during his final season in the NHL. Republished by HarperCollins with a foreword by Bill Simmons to commemorate its 30th anniversary in 2013, The New York Times called The Game, “the best book written about the sport, and perhaps any sport, in the English language.”

'Clemente: The Passion and Grace of Baseball’s Last Hero'

Images courtesy of Simon & Schuster, AP

Author: Dave Maraniss

Published: 2007

One of the most beloved players in MLB history—and not just in Pittsburgh, where he played 18 years with the Pirates—Roberto Clemente’s life off the field was even more remarkable than it was on the field. A perennial All-Star, Clemente won four batting titles in Pittsburgh over the course of his Hall of Fame career, leading the Pirates to World Series championships in 1960 and 1971. Clemente: The Passion and Grace of Baseball’s Last Hero tells a story that extends well beyond sports.

Born in Puerto Rico, he was the league’s “first Latino superstar” and ultimately “propelled baseball’s ‘southern strategy’ for finding talent,” per a gushingly rave review in The New York Times. A passionate humanitarian with a deep-rooted desire to give back, Clemente never forgot his humble beginnings. The book trace’s Clemente’s story to its tragic end, when he died in a plane crash while on a mission of mercy to deliver vital supplies to earthquake victims in Nicaragua.