The Sports Book Awards (previously National Sporting Club Book Awards then Telegraph Sports Book Awards) is a British literary award for

sports writing Sports journalism is a form of writing that reports on matters pertaining to sporting topics and competitions. Sports journalism started in the early 1800s when it was targeted to the social elite and transitioned into an integral part of the n ...

. It was first awarded in 2003 as part of the National Sporting Club. Awards are presented in multiple categories. Each category is judged by one of: sports writers and broadcasters, retailers and enthusiasts. The winners from each category are then opened to public vote through a website to choose an overall winner. The other major sports writing award in Britain is the

William Hill Sports Book of the Year The William Hill Sports Book of the Year is an annual British sports literary award sponsored by bookmaker William Hill. The award is dedicated to rewarding excellence in sports writing. It was first awarded in 1989, and was devised by Graham ...

. The award was founded by David H. Willis.

Previous winners

Best overall winner

*2011 ''Promised Land'' – Anthony Clavane (Yellow Jersey Press) *2012 ''Engage: The Fall and Rise of Matt Hampson'' –

Paul Kimmage Paul Kimmage (born 7 May 1962 in Dublin, Ireland) is an Irish sports journalist and former amateur and professional road bicycle racer, who was road race champion of Ireland in 1981, and competed in the 1984 Olympic Games. He wrote for '' T ...

(Simon & Schuster) *2013 ''Bobby's Open: Mr Jones and the Golf Shot that Defined a Legend'' –

Steven Reid Steven John Reid (born 10 March 1981) is a former professional footballer who played as a right back, having previously played most of his career in midfield. He was most recently the first team coach at Nottingham Forest. Reid began his car ...

(Corinthian) *2014 ''The Nowhere Men: The Unknown Story of Football’s True Talent Spotters'' – Michael Calvin (Century) *2015 ''Proud'' - Gareth Thomas and Michael Calvin (Ebury) *2016 ''My Fight, Your Fight'' –

Ronda Rousey Ronda Jean Rousey (; born February 1, 1987) is an American professional wrestler, actress, former judoka and mixed martial artist. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand and is the current SmackDown Women� ...

(Arrow)

Best Autobiography/Biography

*2012 ''Engage: The Fall and Rise of Matt Hampson'' –

(Simon & Schuster) *2013 ''Seven Deadly Sins'' – David Walsh (Simon & Schuster) *2014 ''The Outsider'' -

Jimmy Connors James Scott Connors (born September 2, 1952) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. He held the top Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) ranking for a then-record 160 consecutive weeks from 1974 to 1977 and a career total of 268 ...

Best Autobiography

*2003 ''Niall Quinn: The Autobiography'' –

Niall Quinn Niall John Quinn (honorary MBE; born 6 October 1966) is an Irish former professional footballer, manager, businessman and sports television pundit. As a player he was a striker who played top flight football for Arsenal, Manchester City and S ...

and

Tom Humphries Tom Humphries is a former sports journalist and columnist who wrote for ''The Irish Times'' while volunteering at a North Dublin Gaelic games club. His career as a leading sportswriter was ended after his history of child sexual abuse emerged i ...

(Headline) *2004 ''Woody and Nord'' –

Gareth Southgate Gareth Southgate (born 3 September 1970) is an English professional football manager and former player who played as a defender and midfielder. He has been the manager of the England national team since 2016. Southgate won the League Cu ...

and

Andy Woodman Andrew John Woodman (born 11 August 1971) is an English football manager and former player, who played as a goalkeeper. He is currently manager of Vanarama National League club Bromley. Woodman made league appearances for 10 clubs in England du ...

(Penguin) *2005 ''Playing with Fire'' –

Nasser Hussain Nasser Hussain (born 28 March 1968) is a British cricket commentator and former cricketer who captained the England cricket team between 1999 and 2003, with his overall international career extending from 1990 to 2004. A pugnacious right-h ...

(Michael Joseph) *2006 ''Frank: Fighting Back'' –

Frank Bruno Franklin Roy Bruno, (born 16 November 1961) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1982 to 1996. He had a highly publicised and eventful career, both in and out of the ring. The pinnacle of Bruno's boxing career was winning ...

with Kevin Mitchell (Yellow Jersey Press) *2007 ''Back from the Brink'' – Paul McGrath (Century) *2008 ''My Manchester United Years'' –

Bobby Charlton Sir Robert Charlton (born 11 October 1937) is an English former footballer who played either as a midfielder or a forward. Considered one of the greatest players of all time, he was a member of the England team that won the 1966 FIFA World ...

(Headline) *2009 ''Black and Blue'' –

Paul Canoville Paul Kenneth Canoville (born 4 March 1962) is an English former professional footballer who played as a winger. He was signed by Chelsea from Hillingdon Borough in 1981, and went on to win the Second Division title with the club in 1983–84 ...

(Headline) *2010 ''Open: An Autobiography'' –

Andre Agassi Andre Kirk Agassi ( ; born April 29, 1970) is an American former List of ATP number 1 ranked singles players, world No. 1 tennis player. He is an eight-time Grand Slam (tennis)#Tournaments, major champion and an Tennis at the 1996 Summer Olympic ...

(HarperCollins) *2011 ''Beware of the Dog'' – Brian Moore (Simon & Schuster) *2015 ''Proud'' - Gareth Thomas and Michael Calvin (Ebury) *2016 ''Formula One and Beyond: The Autobiography'' –

Max Mosley Max Rufus Mosley (13 April 1940 – 23 May 2021) was a British racing driver, lawyer, and president of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), a non-profit association which represents the interests of motoring organisations and ...

(Simon & Schuster) *2017 ''No Nonsense: The Autobiography'' -

Joey Barton Joseph Anthony Barton (born 2 September 1982) is an English professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. He made 269 appearances in the Premier League, including 130 for Manchester City. He is currently the man ...

(Simon & Schuster) *2018 ''Unbroken'' - Martine Wright with Sue Mott (Simon & Schuster)

Best Biography

*2003 ''Jack & Bobby: Story of Brothers in Conflict'' –

Leo McKinstry Leo McKinstry (born 1962) is a British journalist, historian and author. Life and career Born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, McKinstry was educated at Portora Royal School, Enniskillen, and Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, where he graduated wit ...

(Collins Willow) *2004 ''Keeper of Dreams'' – Ronald Reng (Yellow Jersey Press) *2005 ''Basil D'Oliveira'' –

Peter Oborne Peter Alan Oborne (; born 11 July 1957) is a British journalist and broadcaster. He is the former chief political commentator of ''The Daily Telegraph'', from which he resigned in early 2015. He is author of ''The Rise of Political Lying'', ''Th ...

(Little Brown) *2006 ''Lance Armstrong: Tour de Force'' – Daniel Coyle (Collins Willow) *2007 ''The Death of Marco Pantani'' –

Matt Rendell Matthew Rendell (18 April 1959 – 28 June 2023) was an Australian rules footballer who played in the Australian Football League and South Australian National Football League (SANFL). Rendell played as a ruckman and made his debut with the W ...

(Weidenfeld & Nicolson) *2008 ''In Search of Robert Millar'' – Richard Moore (HarperSport) *2009 ''Regga – Clay Regazzoni'' – Christopher Hilton (Haynes Publishing) *2010 ''Harold Larwood'' – Duncan Hamilton (Quercus) *2011 ''Trautmann's Journey'' – Catrine Clay (Yellow Jersey Press) *2015 ''Bobby Moore: The Man in Full'' - Matt Dickinson (Yellow Jersey Press) *2016 ''Speed Kings'' –

Andy Bull Andy Bull is an Australian alt-pop singer-songwriter and producer, based in Sydney. He is best known for his singles "Dog", "Keep on Running" and "Baby I Am Nobody Now"; as well as his prolific Australian touring. Bull also provides the singing ...

(Bantam) *2017 ''The Maverick Mountaineer'' - Robert Wainwright (ABC) *2018 ''Ali: A Life'' -

Jonathan Eig Jonathan Eig (born April 26, 1964) is an American journalist and biographer and the author of five books. His most recent book, ''Ali: A Life'', is a biography of Muhammad Ali. Biography Eig was born in Brooklyn, New York and grew up in Monsey, N ...

(Simon & Schuster)

Best International Autobiography

*2016 ''My Fight, Your Fight'' –

(Arrow) *2017 ''Find a Way'' -

Diana Nyad Diana Nyad (née Sneed; born August 22, 1949) is an American author, journalist, motivational speaker, and long-distance swimmer. Nyad gained national attention in 1975 when she swam around Manhattan () and in 1979 when she swam from North B ...

(Knopf) *2018 ''Form'' -

Kieren Fallon Kieren Francis Fallon (born 22 February 1965 in Crusheen, County Clare, Ireland) is a retired Irish professional flat racing jockey and was British Champion Jockey six times. Career Stable jockey to Henry Cecil I ...

(Simon & Schuster)

Best Football Book

*2007 ''Sir Alf'' –

(HarperSport) *2008 ''Provided You Don't Kiss Me'' – Duncan Hamilton (Fourth Estate) *2009 ''Inverting the Pyramid'' – Jonathan Wilson (Orion) *2010 ''Cantona'' – Philippe Auclair (Macmillan) *2011 ''Promised Land'' – Anthony Clavane (Yellow Jersey Press) *2012 ''A Life Too Short'' – Ronald Reng *2013 ''Barca: The Making of the Greatest Team in the World'' – Graham Hunter (BackPage Press) *2014 ''The Nowhere Men'' - Michael Calvin *2015 ''Thirty-One Nil'' - James Montague (Bloomsbury) *2016 ''Cristiano Ronaldo'' –

Guillem Balagué Guillem Balagué (born 2 November 1968) is a Spanish football journalist, author, and pundit. He was a regular pundit on Sky Sports' show ''Revista de la Liga'' and has also written for some of Britain's newspapers as well as several Spanish n ...

(Orion) *2017 ''Forever Young'' - Oliver Kay (Quercus) *2018 ''The Billionaires Club'' - James Montague (Bloomsbury)

Best Cricket Book

*2007 ''Sixty Summers: Cricket Since the War'' –

David Foot David K. Foot is a Canadian economist and demographer. Foot did his undergraduate work at the University of Western Australia and his graduate work in economics at Harvard University, where he was supervised by Martin Feldstein. Following his ...

and Ivan Ponting (Fairfield Books) *2008 ''More Than a Game: The Story of Cricket’s Early Years'' –

John Major Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997, and as Member of Parliament (MP) for Huntingdon, formerly Hunting ...

(HarperPress) *2009 ''The Way It Was'' –

Stephen Chalke Stephen Chalke (born 5 June 1948) is an English author and publisher, particularly of books on cricket and cricketers. Chalke was born in Salisbury, Wiltshire. He has two undergraduate degrees – one in Drama, English and Philosophy, the oth ...

(Fairfield Books) *2010 ''Golden Boy'' – Christian Ryan (Orion) *2011 ''Slipless in Settle'' – Harry Pearson (Little Brown) *2012 ''Fred Trueman'' –

Chris Waters Christopher Waters Dunn, known professionally as Chris Waters is an American singer and songwriter, record producer, and culinary writer. He is the brother of country singer Holly Dunn. Dunn has written and produced many of his sister's singles ...

*2013 ''On Warne'' –

Gideon Haigh Gideon Clifford Jeffrey Davidson Haigh (born 29 December 1965) is an English-born Australian journalist and non-fiction author who writes about sport (especially cricket), business and crime in Australia. He was born in London, was raised in Ge ...

(Simon & Schuster) *2014 ''The Great Tamasha'' - James Astill *2015 ''Wounded Tiger: The History of Cricket in Pakistan'' -

(Simon & Schuster) *2016 ''Chasing Shadows: The Life & Death Of Peter Roebuck'' – Tim Lane and Elliot Cartledge (Hardie Grant) *2017 ''A Beautiful Game: My Love Affair with Cricket'' - Mark Nicholas (Allen & Unwin) *2018 ''Over and Out, Albert Trott'' - Steve Neal (Pitch Publishing)

Best Rugby Book

*2008 ''Ripley's World'' –

Andy Ripley Andrew George Ripley OBE (1 December 1947 – 17 June 2010) was an English rugby union international, who represented England from 1972 to 1976, and the Lions on their unbeaten 1974 tour of South Africa. Early life Ripley was born in Liverp ...

(Mainstream Publishing) *2009 ''Seeing Red: Twelve Tumultuous Years in Welsh Rugby'' – Alun Carter and Nick Bishop (Mainstream Publishing) *2010 ''Confessions of a Rugby Mercenary'' – John Daniell (Ebury Press) *2011 ''The Grudge'' – Tom English (Yellow Jersey Press) *2012 ''Higgy'' – Alastair Hignell *2013 ''The Final Whistle: The Great War in Fifteen Players – Stephen Cooper (The History Press) *2014 ''City Centre'' -

Simon Halliday Simon John Halliday (born 13 July 1960 in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, Wales) is a former English rugby union international. He also played nine first-class cricket matches. He was educated at Downside School, Somerset and St Benet's Hall, ...

*2015 ''Beyond The Horizon'' -

Richard Parks Richard David Parks (born 14 August 1977) is a former Wales international rugby union player turned extreme endurance athlete and television presenter. In rugby he represented Newport RFC, Pontypridd RFC, Celtic Warriors, Leeds Tykes, Perpign ...

(Sphere) *2016 ''No Borders: Playing Rugby for Ireland'' – Tom English (Arena Sport) *2017 ''The Battle'' -

Paul O'Connell Paul Jeremiah O'Connell (born 20 October 1979) is an Irish former rugby union player and coach. When he stopped playing, he was Ireland's third most-capped player (108) and the eighteenth most-capped international player in rugby union histo ...

(Penguin Ireland) *2018 ''Wrecking Ball'' -

Billy Vunipola Billy Vunipola (born 3 November 1992) is a professional rugby union player who plays at Number 8 for Saracens in the Gallagher Premiership and for the England national team. Born in Australia to Tongan parents, he qualified for England throu ...

with Gershon Portnoi (Headline)

Best Horse Racing Book

*2011 ''The Story of Your Life'' – James Lambie (Matador) *2012 ''Beyond the Frame'' – Edward Whitaker *2013 ''Her Majesty's Pleasure'' – Julian Muscat (Racing Post Books) *2014 ''Henry Cecil: Trainer of Genius'' -

Brough Scott John Brough Scott, MBE (born 12 December 1942) is a British horse racing journalist, radio and television presenter, and former jockey. He is also the grandson and biographer of the noted Great War soldier "Galloper Jack" Seely. Scott was ed ...

*2015 ''Cheltenham Et Al'' -

Alastair Down Colonel (United Kingdom), Colonel Sir Alastair Frederick Down (23 July 1914 – 22 October 2004) was a Scottish people, Scottish army officer, accountant, and oilman. He is best known for his tenure from 1975 to 1983 as chairman of Burmah Oil, w ...

(Racing Post)

Best Cycling Book

*2015 ''The Race Against The Stasi'' - Herbie Sykes (Aurum Press) *2016 ''The Racer'' – David Millar (Yellow Jersey Press) *2017 ''Triumphs and Turbulence: My Autobiography'' -

Chris Boardman Christopher Miles Boardman, (born 26 August 1968) is a British former racing cyclist. A time trial and prologue specialist, Boardman won the inaugural men's World time trial championship in 1994, won the individual pursuit gold medal at the 1 ...

(Ebury Press) *2018 ''Tom Simpson: Bird on the Wire'' - Andy McGrath (Rapha)

Best Golf Book

*2012 ''The 100 Greatest Ever Golfers'' – Andy Farrell *2013 ''Bobby's Open: Mr Jones and the Golf Shot that Defined a Legend'' – Steven Reid (Icon Books)

Best Motorsports Book

*2012 ''Ultimate E-Type'' – Philip Porter *2013 ''That Near-Death Thing'' – Rick Broadbent (Orion)

Best Illustrated Book

*2003 ''Peter Alliss’ Golf Heroes'' –

Peter Alliss Peter Alliss (28 February 1931 – 5 December 2020) was an English professional golfer, television presenter, commentator, author and golf course designer. Following the death of Henry Longhurst in 1978, he was regarded by many as the "Voice of ...

(Virgin Books) *2004 ''Football Days: Classic Photos'' – Peter Robinson (Mitchell Beazley) *2005 ''The Olympics Athens to Athens: 1896–2004'' – M Jacque Rogge (Weidenfeld & Nicolson) *2006 ''Speed Addicts: Grand Prix Racing'' –

Mark Hughes Leslie Mark Hughes (born 1 November 1963) is a Welsh football coach and former player who is the manager of Bradford City. During his playing career he usually operated as a forward or midfielder. He had two spells at Manchester United, an ...

(Collins Willow) *2007 ''1966 Uncovered: The Unseen Story of the World Cup in England'' – Peter Robinson and Doug Cheeseman (Mitchell Beazley) *2008 ''Goodbye Gay Meadow'' – Mathew Ashton (GGM Publishing) *2009 ''In The Frame: Great Racing Photographs'' – Edward Whitaker (Highdown) *2010 ''Centre Court: The Jewel in Wimbledon's Crown'' – John Barrett and Ian Hewitt (Vision Sports Publishing) *2011 ''61 The Spurs Double'' (Vision Sports Publishing) *2012 ''Wimbledon'' – Ian Hewitt and Bob Martin *2013 ''21 Days to Glory'' –

Team Sky Ineos Grenadiers () (stylised as INEOS Grenadiers) (formerly Team Sky from 2010 to 2019, and Team Ineos from 2019 to 2020) is a British professional cycling team that competes at the UCI WorldTeam level. The team is based at the National Cycl ...

and

Dave Brailsford Sir David John Brailsford (born 29 February 1964) is a British cycling coach. He was formerly performance director of British Cycling and is currently general manager of UCI WorldTeam . Early life Brailsford was born in Shardlow, Derbyshire, a ...

(HarperCollins) *2014 ''Incredible Waves: An Appreciation of Perfect Surf'' - Chris Power *2015 ''The Age Of Innocence'' - ed. Reuel Golden (Taschen) *2016 ''1/1000: The Sports Photography of Bob Martin'' – Bob Martin (Vision Sports Publishing) *2017 ''The Lane'' - Adam Powley,

Steve Perryman Stephen John Perryman MBE (born 21 December 1951) is an English former professional footballer who is best-known for his successes with Tottenham Hotspur during the 1970s and early 1980s. He has won the FA Cup, League Cup, and UEFA Cup al ...

and Martin Cloake (Vision Sports Publishing) *2018 ''The History Makers'' - Sarah Juggins and Richard Stainthorpe (Pitch Publishing)

Best New Writer

*2003 ''Kings of the Mountains: How Colombia's Cycling Heroes Changed Their Nation's History'' –

(Aurum Press) *2004 ''John Daly: Letting the Big Dog Eat'' – Gavin Newsham (Virgin Books) *2005 '' Feet in the Clouds'' – Richard Askwith (Aurum Press) *2006 ''My Father and Other Working Class Football Heroes'' –

Gary Imlach Gary Imlach (born 1960, at West Bridgford in Nottinghamshire) is a British author, journalist and broadcaster, specialising in sport. After first being known as a sports presenter on TV-am, Imlach has particularly become associated with non-main ...

(Yellow Jersey Press) *2007 ''The Hour: Sporting Immortality the Hard Way'' – Michael Hutchinson (Yellow Jersey Press) *2008 ''The Pyjama Game: A Journey into Judo'' –

Mark Law Mark Alexander Law (born November 1944) is a British journalist and author, known for his book on Judo called ''The Pyjama Game, A Journey Into Judo''. Career Law began his career as a reporter on Woodrow Wyatt’s group of provincial papers ...

(Aurum Press) *2009 ''When Friday Comes'' – James Montague (Mainstream Publishing) *2010 ''Eclipse'' – Nicholas Clee (Bantam Press) *2011 ''Bounce'' –

Matthew Syed Matthew Philip Syed (born 2 November 1970) is a British journalist, author, broadcaster and former table tennis player. He competed as an English table tennis international, and was the English number one for many years. He was three times the me ...

(Fourth Estate) *2012 ''The Ghost Runner'' – Bill Jones *2013 ''Running with the Kenyans: Discovering the secrets of the fastest people on earth'' – Adharanand Finn (Faber and Faber) *2014 ''Land of Second Chances'' - Tim Lewis *2015 ''Night Games'' -

Anna Krien Anna Krien is an Australian journalist, essayist, fiction and nonfiction writer and poet. Career Krien has contributed to a number of Australian publications, including ''The'' ''Monthly'', ''The Age'', ''The Big Issue'', ''The Best Australia ...

(Yellow Jersey Press) *2016 ''Two Hours: The Quest To Run The Impossible Marathon'' – Ed Caesar (Viking) *2017 ''And The Sun Shines Now'' - Adrian Tempany (Faber & Faber)

Outstanding Sports Writing Award

*2014 ''Everest'' - Harriet Tuckey *2015 ''Alone'' - Bill Jones (Bloomsbury) *2016 ''Barbarian Days: A Surfing Tale'' –

William Finnegan William Finnegan is a staff writer at ''The New Yorker'' and author of works of international journalism. He has specially addressed issues of racism and conflict in Southern Africa and politics in Mexico and South America, as well as poverty ...

(Corsair) *2018 ''Centaur'' - Declan Murphy and Ami Rao (Black Swan, Transworld Publishers)

Best Publicity Campaign

*2010 ''The Man Who Cycled the World'' – Campaign by Madeline Toy (Random House) *2011 ''It's All About the Bike'' – Campaign by Mari Yamazaki (Particular Books) *2012 ''Run!'' – Campaign by Clare Drysdale (Allen & Unwin) *2013 ''Be Careful What You Wish For'' – Campaign by Bethan Jones (Yellow Jersey Press) *2014 ''Alex Ferguson: My Autobiography'' - Campaign by Karen Geary and Rebecca Mundy (Hodder) *2015 ''The Second Half'' by Roy Keane with Roddy Doyle - Campaign by Elizabeth Allen (Weidenfeld & Nicolson), with Jane Beaton from Kew Publicity *2016 ''The World of Cycling According to G'' – Campaign by Fiona Murphy (Quercus)

Sports Book Retailer of the Year

*2012

Waterstones Waterstones, formerly Waterstone's, is a British book retailer that operates 311 shops, mainly in the United Kingdom and also other nearby countries. As of February 2014, it employs around 3,500 staff in the UK and Europe. An average-sized Wa ...

*2013

Foyles W & G Foyle Ltd. (usually called simply Foyles) is a bookseller with a chain of seven stores in England. It is best known for its flagship store in Charing Cross Road, London. Foyles was once listed in the ''Guinness Book of Records'' as the w ...

*2014

*2015

Outstanding Contribution to Sports Writing

*2012

Nick Hornby Nicholas Peter John Hornby (born 17 April 1957) is an English writer and lyricist. He is best known for his memoir '' Fever Pitch'' and novels '' High Fidelity'' and '' About a Boy'', all of which were adapted into feature films. Hornby's work ...

*2013

Christopher Martin-Jenkins Christopher Dennis Alexander Martin-Jenkins, MBE (20 January 1945 – 1 January 2013), also known as CMJ, was a British cricket journalist and a President of MCC. He was also the longest serving commentator for ''Test Match Special'' (TMS) on ...

*2015

Michael Parkinson Sir Michael Parkinson (born 28 March 1935) is an English broadcaster, journalist and author. He presented his television talk show '' Parkinson'' from 1971 to 1982 and from 1998 to 2007, as well as other talk shows and programmes both in the U ...

*2016

Brian Glanville Brian Lester Glanville (born 24 September 1931) is an English football writer and novelist. He was described by ''The Times'' as "the doyen of football writers—arguably the finest football writer of his—or any other—generation," and by Amer ...

*2017

Hugh McIlvanney Hugh McIlvanney (2 February 1934 – 24 January 2019) was a Scottish sports journalist who had long stints with the British Sunday newspapers ''The Observer'' (30 years until 1993) and then 23 years with ''The Sunday Times'' (1993–2016). Aft ...

*2018 John Woodcock

References

{{Reflist

External links

British Sports Book Awards
official website. British literary awards Sports writing awards Books about sports Awards established in 2003 2003 establishments in the United Kingdom

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