Biographies Titles

For the past 40 years, Steve Simmons has had the best seat in the house, documenting the greatest sports moments in Canada and around the world. He was there when Wayne Gretzky won his first Stanley Cup. When Tiger Woods hit the first drive of his career at the Greater Milwaukee Open. When Usain Bolt crossed the Olympic finish line in an ecstatic blur.<br /><br />He was there when Sidney Crosby scored the Golden Goal in 2010. When Kawhi Leonard hit the shot. When Joe Carter hit the home run and when Jose Bautista flipped his bat. When Michael Jordan retired in Chicago and when he came out of retirement to play his first game in Indianapolis.<br /><br />In <em>A Lucky Life</em>, Simmons shares a selection of columns from his prolific career which celebrate sport at its best and most impactful. Added postscripts further illuminate historic events and towering figures with modern perspective and behind-the-scenes anecdotes.<br /><br /><strong>Covering both larger-than-life achievements and quieter personal victories, this collection captures those moments in sport that stay with you long after the final buzzer.</strong>

<strong>A Stanley Cup champion and modern legend of the game, in his own words</strong><br /><br />Mari&aacute;n Hossa&rsquo;s life is a lesson in the value of determination and perseverance. Born into a hockey family that included his father, a former player and coach of the Slovakian national team, Mari&aacute;n and his brother, Marcel, quickly fell in love with the sport. Before long, they began to display the level of skill that could lead to a professional career. But the odds of reaching the NHL from Tren#&269;&iacute;n, a town of 50,000 people nestled among the mountains of Slovakia, remained long.<br /><br />Determined to follow their dreams, the Hossas persevered and were each eventually drafted in the first round. After some outstanding years in Ottawa and Atlanta, Mari&aacute;n moved on to Pittsburgh in 2008, where he helped lead the Penguins to the Stanley Cup Final against Detroit, a series his team lost.<br /><br />Prioritizing winning over dollars, Hossa signed with the Red Wings the following season, where he again reached the Final only to find heartbreak again, improbably against the team he had just left, the Penguins. It seemed that perhaps he would never raise Lord Stanley&rsquo;s Cup above his head.<br /><br />But Hossa persevered, refusing to give in. In 2009, he signed with the Chicago Blackhawks, and played a key role in the team&rsquo;s dynastic run the following decade, winning championships in 2010, 2013, and 2015. Then, yet another obstacle appeared in his path: an unusual and debilitating skin condition that compelled him to retire years before he&rsquo;d planned.&nbsp;<br />#&8203;<br />In this inspiring and entertaining autobiography, Hossa brings readers inside the dressing room, onto the celebratory team plane, and alongside one of hockey&rsquo;s greatest stars as he makes the biggest decisions of his career.<br /><br /><strong>Also featuring photos from Hossa#&39;s personal collection, this is an essential read for all hockey fans.</strong>

In the run-up to the NHL Entry Draft in 1992, the Buffalo Sabres interviewed Matthew Barnaby. John Muckler, Buffalo&#39;s coach, asked him, &quot;What happens at 8:05 on Saturday night in Detroit when Bob Probert asks you to fight?” When the teenager responded, “That’s easy. At 8:03, I’d have already asked Probert to fight,” they knew they had to draft him. <br /><br />Through 14 NHL seasons after that exchange, Barnaby never stopped fighting. <br /><br />In <em>Unfiltered</em>, the former right wing reflects on the adventures of a high-profile life and the determination that got him there, from getting drafted last in juniors to carving out a role for himself on each new NHL team, to discovering new joys and passions in retirement. <br /><br />Barnaby also opens up about the memorable hijinks, the larger-than-life hockey characters, and the very real challenges and risks that come with the sport&#39;s physicality. <br /><br /><strong>Both hilarious and heartrending, this is an unvarnished story of battles fought and lessons learned.</strong>

Across more than a thousand games in the National Hockey League, Bernie Nicholls made his mark with flamboyant style and dynamic scoring prowess. In this new autobiography, Nicholls reflects on his life on and off the ice, sharing candid anecdotes and personal insights from across the hockey landscape. From his childhood in the small Northern Ontario town of West Guilford, to his sensational 70-goal season in Los Angeles, and his recent years in coaching and retirement, this is a refreshing chronicle of a legendary career.

In Philadelphia Flyers orange and black, Chris Therien cut an imposing figure on the ice, a stalwart physical presence for over a decade in the NHL. But by the end of his playing career, he was concealing a much greater battle with alcoholism which bled into his professional and family life. <br /><br />The defenseman-turned-analyst now opens up candidly and completely, reflecting on his life and career with perspective gained from over 10 years of sobriety. Therien takes readers from the blue line to the broadcast booth, sharing untold stories from life in pro hockey while laying bare his private struggle with addiction, including his ultimate low in 2006 after the death of his sister. <br /><br /><em>Road to Redemption</em> also details Therien&#39;s deep bond with the city of Philadelphia and his new path helping others find recovery from drug or alcohol abuse. <br /><br /><strong>Hockey fans will not want to miss this heartfelt and vulnerable tale.</strong>

<div>Shawn Thornton was an unlikely NHL success, to say the least. The Oshawa, Ontario native was picked late in the OHL and later thought he was being pranked when the Toronto Maple Leafs called him to say he&#39;d been selected in the seventh round of the 1997 NHL draft. After years spent working and maturing in the AHL, Thornton would go on to play 14 seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks, Anaheim Ducks, Boston Bruins, and Florida Panthers, winning two Stanley Cups along the way. <br /><br />For the first time, in this candid memoir, Thornton opens up about his life in hockey and beyond, from his early days as an unrated prospect to the leadership lessons he learned in the minors, from the most difficult on-ice brawls to the ecstasy of reaching the sport&#39;s most celestial heights. <br /><br /><strong>Fans will not want to miss this story of perseverance and finding one&#39;s own path.</strong></div>

<DIV style="BORDER-TOP-COLOR: ; BORDER-LEFT-COLOR: ; BORDER-BOTTOM-COLOR: ; BORDER-RIGHT-COLOR: ">The Princess of Darkness. Former NFL team executive Amy Trask has held many titles during her career – including chief executive, analyst, and author – but this nickname is what she is first and foremost known by to Raiders fans. Trask joined the Raiders as an intern during law school after the team moved from Oakland to Los Angeles – the position the result of a cold call she made to the team. From there, she worked her way up through the ranks of the organization, to the post she would eventually hold as chief executive. Along the way, Trask worked extremely closely with the late Al Davis, a man who treated her and others on his team without regard to gender, race, and age. Trask may have been the highest-ranking female executive in the NFL during her tenure with the Raiders, but in <EM style="BORDER-TOP-COLOR: ; BORDER-LEFT-COLOR: ; BORDER-BOTTOM-COLOR: ; BORDER-RIGHT-COLOR: ">You Negotiate Like a Girl: Reflections on a Career in the National Football League</EM>, she shares how she found success by operating without regard to gender. Replete with insider tales about being part of the Raiders' front office, behind the closed doors of NFL owners meetings, and Davis himself, Trask's book is a must-read not only for football fans, but anyone who wants to succeed in business.</DIV>

<strong>A multidimensional biography of one of Philadelphia&#39;s ultimate power brokers.</strong><p>Most sports team owners make their money elsewhere and purchase a team as an extravagant hobby—but that is not the story of Ed Snider. One of the few owners in history to get control of a franchise by mortgaging nearly everything to his name, the longtime Philadelphia Flyers chairman would go on to form the billion-dollar empire of Comcast-Spectacor and cement his standing as one of the most influential businessmen in the city’s history. </p><p>Snider was ambitious and entrepreneurial, though extraordinarily demanding of those who worked for him. He was affectionate with his loved ones, yet often showed a surprising lack of emotional intelligence. His staunch capitalist beliefs contrasted his progressive-minded views on the business of hockey and in sharing his wealth with those in need. </p><p><i>The Last Sports Mogul </i>embraces all sides of Snider to form a complex portrait of the unparalleled figure once named Philadelphia’s greatest mover and shaker of the millennium. </p><strong>Thoroughly researched and reported, this is a fascinating business story encompassing humble beginnings, unprecedented success, and the values one chooses at the end of the day.</strong>

<strong>From one of the toughest players ever to strap on a Chiefs helmet comes a memoir of football life and finding home in the Chiefs Kingdom.</strong><br /><br />Tim Grunhard always felt he had something to prove. Born and raised on the south side of Chicago, Grunhard wasn&#39;t initially considered a top recruit. But then-Minnesota head coach Lou Holtz liked what he saw in the young offensive lineman, and made a scholarship offer that carried over when Holtz took the job in South Bend.<br /><br />Grunhard flourished under the Golden Dome, helping the Fighting Irish to the 1988 national championship before being selected by the Kansas City Chiefs in the second round of the 1990 draft.<br /><br />Grunhard was a staple of Chiefs football in the 1990s, paving the way for Marty Schottenheimer’s physical running attack on the field and becoming a prominent member of the Kansas City community off the field.<br /><br /><strong>The retired lineman shares behind the scenes stories from Chiefs Kingdom, from the unforgettable Martyball era and playing alongside superstars Joe Montana, Marcus Allen, and Derrick Thomas to the modern-day championship team led by Patrick Mahomes. It is an essential read for all Kansas City faithful.</strong>

<strong>A compelling memoir at the intersection of baseball and American history </strong><br /><br />Cleon Jones has never forgotten where he came from. As a child, growing up in a Mobile, Alabama shotgun house with no electricity or running water, he yearned to follow the path of hometown heroes Satchel Paige and Hank Aaron, and his community uplifted him. <br /><br />Navigating the perilous norms of the Jim Crow South, Jones ascended to baseball&#39;s highest ranks, leading the 1969 New York Mets with his bat and catching the final out to clinch the &quot;miracle&quot; World Series title. But after 13 years in the major leagues, Jones returned to the place he loves, the neighborhood where it all started: Africatown. <br /><br /><em>Coming Home</em> is Jones&#39;s love letter to his roots in Alabama&#39;s most historic Black settlement, whose origins can be traced back to the last known illegal transport of slaves to the United States aboard the Clotilda. Jones candidly discusses how his Africatown neighbors helped supply him with a bat and glove when his family could not afford equipment, the opposition he faced as a Black player after leaving Alabama, his fond memories of the Miracle Mets, and his post-baseball fight to save his dying community. <br /><br /><strong>Also featuring Jones&#39;s outlook on the modern game and American society, this timely chronicle is a profound slice of history for all baseball fans.</strong>

<strong>An unforgettable look at a lifetime of Cardinals baseball packed with Mike Shannon&#39;s passion for the game </strong><br /><br />Mike Shannon&#39;s voice served as the soundtrack of St. Louis Cardinals baseball for 50 years. Millions of fans have enjoyed his observations, insight, and magical storytelling on radio broadcasts. Now, with the help of Hall of Fame baseball writer Rick Hummel, the St. Louis native and lifelong Cards fan takes fans behind the mic, into the clubhouse, and beyond as only he can.<br /><br />Shannon weaves countless unforgettable tales, from childhood memories growing up in south St. Louis to champagne-soaked World Series celebrations as a player in 1964 and 1967, plus encounters with Cardinals legends ranging from Bob Gibson and Ozzie Smith, to Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina. <br /><br /><strong>This unmissable autobiography gives fans a rare seat to over six decades of Cardinals history, hijinks, and lore.</strong>

<strong>A compelling autobiography from one of Detroit&#39;s favorite sons</strong><br /><br />At 15, Willie Horton received his first contract offer to become a professional baseball player. At 20, he smacked his first major-league home run. At 24, Horton stood in full uniform on the hood of his car, in the midst of burning homes and overturned vehicles, and pleaded for an end to the violence of the 1967 Detroit riots.<br /><br />In this new autobiography, Horton shares the fascinating story of his life and career, from growing up in Detroit&#39;s Jeffries Projects as the youngest of 21 children to winning a World Series with his hometown Tigers in 1968. Horton also candidly discusses the opposition he faced as a Black player, his fond memories of Al Kaline, the joy he felt in returning to the Tigers as a front office executive, and the many ways he still tries to give back to Detroit and his community. <br /><br /><strong>By turns heartrending and hilarious, this timely chronicle is an essential contribution to baseball&#39;s written history.</strong>

<strong>A candid autobiography from the famously reclusive Oakland Athletics owner during the pivotal Moneyball era.</strong><br /><br />As the owner of the Oakland A&#39;s during the 1990s and early 2000s, Steve Schott fostered a front office culture of experimentation, risk, and autonomy that ultimately changed the course of modern baseball. As a founder of Citation Builders, he has been responsible for the construction of over 40,000 individual residences in the state of California.<br /><br /><em>Long Schott</em> is a story about unlikely victories, from that feisty A&#39;s squad that rallied for a historic 20-game win streak to the booming California real estate market and beyond.<br /><br /><strong>Co-authored by renowned <em>San Francisco Chronicle</em> baseball writer John Shea, this is a fascinating business story encompassing humble beginnings, unprecedented success, and the many lessons learned along the way.</strong>

<strong>A heartfelt portrait of Hank Aaron, featuring nearly 40 years of stories plus never-before-told insights from the home run king</strong><br /><br />When journalist Terence Moore was 12 years old, he treasured his poster of Henry Aaron. Years later, Aaron would sign it for him: &quot;Best wishes to Terry.&quot; Later still, Moore would be named an honorary pall bearer at the home run king#&39;s funeral, staying up late into the night with Aaron#&39;s widow, Billye, to get the obituary just right for the program.<br /><br />Friends and family knew Aaron as quick-witted, hilarious, and fiercely opinionated beyond what was shown in public. With the encouragement of Aaron#&39;s family, Moore now shares this intimate perspective on the baseball legend, the culmination of decades of friendship and correspondence. <em>The Real Hank Aaron</em> captures the icon#&39;s contagious laugh and pointed views, from the depth of his admiration for Jackie Robinson to his true thoughts on Barry Bonds and the steroid era. <br /><br /><strong>Also featuring Aaron#&39;s views on race, politics, media, and sports fandom, this is a charming and illuminating glimpse at the man outside the spotlight.</strong>

<strong>An unforgettable look at a lifetime of baseball packed with humor and passion for the game.</strong><br /><br />With a career that has now touched eight decades, Jim Kaat has had a prime front row seat for baseball#&39;s continuing evolution. Not only was he a major-league pitcher for 25 seasons, but his time as a pitching coach and his many years as a broadcaster have given him a singular long view of the game.<br /><br />In <em>Good as Gold</em>, Kaat weaves the tale of a lifetime, taking fans on the field, into the clubhouse, and behind the mic as only he can.<br /><br /><strong>Full of priceless stories from New York, Minnesota, and across the major leagues, this honest and engaging autobiography gives fans a rare seat alongside Kaat on a tour of baseball history.</strong>