Sports Books

In the March 14, 2019 episode of the Bill Simmons Podcast, Bill and the Sports Repodders go over their list of their favorite sports books, ones they recommend to read for up-and-coming writers and those interested in the craft.

I've been looking for a good list of sports books to read, so I compiled their list of favorite sports books. I will eventually try to get through them.

Must Reads

• The Breaks of the Game by David Halberstam (NBA)
• Wait Till Next Year by William Goldman and Mike Lupica - A Year in New York sports
• Friday Night Lights by H.G. Bissinger - Texas High School football
• Bringing the Heat by Mark Bowden - A year with the 1992 Philadelphia Eagles
• Playing for Keeps by David Halberstam - Michael Jordan and the World He Made
• Moneyball by Michael Lewis - The Art of Winning an Unfair Game

The Rest

• The Last Shot by Darcy Frey - City Streets, Basketball Dreams
• Season on the Brink by John Feinstein - A Year with Bob Knight and the Indiana Hoosiers
• The Summer Game by Roger Angell - MLB Baseball
• Five Seasons: A Baseball Companion by Roger Angell - MLB Baseball
• The City Game by Pete Axthelm - Basketball from the Garden to the Playgrounds
• Loose Balls by Terry Pluto - The Short, Wild Life of the American Basketball Association
• Second Wind: The Memoirs of an Opinionated Man by Bill Russell - Biography
• Under the Tarnished Dome by Don Yaeger - How Notre Dame Betrayed Ideals for Football Glory
• Ghosts of Manila by Mark Kram - The Fateful Blood Feud Between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier
• Life on the Run by Bill Bradley - A memoir from the NBA to the Senate
• Open by Andre Agassi - An Autobiography
• When Pride Still Mattered by David Maraniss - A Life of Vince Lombardi
• Joe Dimaggio: The Hero's Life by Richard Ben Cramer
• Sandy Koufax: A Lefty's Legacy by Jane Leavy
• The Game by Ken Dryden - Life in Hockey
• A Dog in a Hat by Joe Parkin - An American Bike Racer's Story of Mud, Drugs, Blood, Betrayal, and Beauty in Belgium
• Boys will Be Boys by Jeff Pearlman - The Glory Days and Party Nights of the Dallas Cowboys Dynasty
• God's Coach by Skip Bayless - The Hymns, Hype, and Hypocrisy of Tom Landry's Cowboys
• Wilt by Wilt Chamberlain and David Shaw - Just like any other 7-foot black millionaire who lives next door
• Best Seat in the House by Spike Lee - A Basketball Memoir
• Fab Five by Mitch Albom - Trash Talk the American Dream (NCAA)
• Juiced by Jose Canseco - Wild Times, Rampant 'Roids, Smash Hits, and How Baseball Got Big

Bonus

He didn't include his own book, but its been on my list for awhile.

• The Book of Basketball by Bill Simmons - The NBA According to The Sports Guy