Incredible sports stories to rival The Last Dance
Now that Netflix hit The Last Dance is over, it’s time to turn your attention to these legendary sports stars and their incredible stories.
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They are the stories of courage and hope, of single-minded determination to overcome all obstacles and exactly what the world needs now with so many of us living in isolation.
Some of the best sports books on the market remind us that while tough times might rock us for a while, tough people can overcome them.
I have found this to be true from the time I helped train Australia’s most successful boxer Jeff Fenech back in the ’80s and the lessons of staying positive and resilient were reinforced in recent years when I wrote two of Australia’s best-selling sports books The Hornet, about the rise of a bullied Brisbane schoolboy named Jeff Horn to defeat one of history’s greatest fighters, and Able, the story of Melbourne’s Paralympic gold medallist and wheelchair tennis champion Dylan Alcott.
Great sports books take the reader not just into the vast stadiums and arenas of the world but into the hearts and minds of their subjects, revealing their innermost struggles and their methods of overcoming adversity.
I first met Horn when he was a mild-mannered part-time primary school teacher at the Pallara State School in Brisbane’s south-west and I was ringside next to his father and grandfather a few years later as he beat Manny Pacquiao for the world welterweight title before more than 50,000 fans at Suncorp Stadium.
The drive, determination and meticulous preparation he showed in that fight is how we will eventually beat coronavirus.
In the meantime, if you’re stuck in isolation, and wanting some inspiration from some amazing sports stars, here are 10 books that are available online and which will make your spirits soar. Some are even free with an audiobook trial.
In no particular order:
1. King of The World
Superbly written by David Remnick, long-time editor of The New Yorker magazine, it details the rise of Muhammad Ali, the extraordinary times in which he blossomed and the fascinating characters that coloured his life. It charts the way the poor but outspoken boy from Louisville, Kentucky took on the sporting establishment and organised crime – and later the American government – to make himself a legend in his own lifetime.
2. Unbreakable
Former world No. 4 Jelena Dokic, with help from journalist Jessica O’Halloran, details not only her rise to being one of the world’s best tennis players, but her story of survival in war-torn Yugoslavia. She twice spent life as a
refugee and in even more harrowing recollections, details how she survived living with her father, Damir Dokic, long portrayed as the ultimate tennis dad from hell. Dokic’s unbreakable spirit is inspiring.
3. The Greatest Game Every Played
Mark Frost penned the heartwarming and true story of Francis Ouimet, the first amateur to win the US Open. It was a time when amateur golf was a sport only for the wealthy, and Ouimet came from a poor immigrant family. Ouimet (played by Shia LaBeouf in the film of the book) was inspired to take up the game after seeing an exhibition by the Englishman Harry Vardon, the man he beats in the finale.
4. Seabiscuit
The movie was nominated for seven Academy Awards and the original book by Laura Hillenbrand it was based on, is even better. She writes of a small, crooked-legged racehorse who became America’s little hero in the 1930s with the backing of three vastly different characters: millionaire owner Charles Howard, trainer Tom Smith and jockey Red Pollard. Seabiscuit’s clash with the mighty War Admiral remains one of the great sporting contests of all time.
5. The Hornet
Jeff Horn’s rise from bullied schoolboy to world boxing champion would be an improbable fairytale if it wasn’t true.
The mild-mannered, doting father of two small girls admits he was a teenage nerd but having started boxing as a way of learning
self-defence, he won Australia’s biggest ever boxing bout and then triumphed in subsequent battles with Anthony Mundine and in the bloodbath with Michael Zerafa. Horn reveals the insecurities and fears that propelled him to one of the most extraordinary and unlikely sporting careers Australia has seen.
6. Glory, Glory
Written by The Courier-Mail colleague Peter Badel, this is the story of one of rugby league’s toughest men, John Sattler, who by contrast to his brutal tackling, is known as a gentleman off the field. Sattler was one of the most feared footballers of his era, famously playing 77 minutes for the Rabbitohs in the 1970 Sydney Grand Final with a broken jaw, and guiding his team to victory over Manly.
7. Bradman’s War
Esteemed cricket writer Malcolm Knox questions the win at all costs attitude that Australia’s captain brought on the Ashes tour of
war-ravaged England in 1948.
It also celebrates the great players of that era including Bradman, Ray Lindwall, Lindsay Hassett and Arthur Morris. Knox exposes the mixed feelings about the way in which Bradman drove Australia’s unprecedented run of success.
8. Perspective
Ellyse Perry is the only player, female or male, to represent Australia in both cricket and football World Cups, making her international debut in both sports at the age of 16. She shares her insights on creating joy and on the challenges that make you a
better person. Her story
combines the tough lessons of a high-performance athlete’s career with her appreciation for the small things in life.
9. Jonathan Thurston: The Autobiography
Written with journalist James Phelps, it traces the career of one of rugby league’s all-time greats from Thurston’s time as Brisbane kid who was written off as too skinny, too slow and too wild to play professionally, through his great State of Origin performances for Queensland, his Clive Churchill Medal and the Golden Boot for World Player of the Year. Then of course, there’s the premierships with the Bulldogs and his beloved North
Queensland Cowboys.
10. Able
Dylan Alcott is one of Australia’s most remarkable athletes and an inspiring figure like few others. While Alcott was born with a severe disability he says he has always seen himself as “able” – able to conquer just about anything he attempted. He’s won a Paralympic gold medal in wheelchair basketball and has won two gold medals as well as the Australian, US, French and Wimbledon titles in wheelchair tennis.
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