Most Popular Books by Sports Illustrated

America''s No. 1 sports almanac since its introduction 16 years ago, the Sports Illustrated Almanac has got it all covered, from football to fencing, hockey to handball, and everything in between. Spanning 864 pages, the Sports Illustrated Almanac features essays by top Sports Illustrated writers, all-time stats and records, and ticketing and venue information for pro baseball, basketball, football and hockey.

Highlighted by dozens of photographs, a celebration of America''s college and professional basketball from some of Sports Illustrated''s finest writers captures the great teams, players, games, memorabilia, artifacts, and important moments throughout the more than one hundred years of basketball history.

Provides up-to-date facts, statistics, and information about all types of sports. Includes 2001 world series.

- Stunning photography chronicles the sports world''s most unforgettable game moments and the eccentric personalities that keep us entertained.- For the first time ever, Sports Illustrated gathers together all the craziest, weirdest and wildest photographs ever taken on a playing field.

A collection of incredible accomplishments in sports.

Celebrate the championship glory, Hall of Fame personalities, and passionate fans that make the San Francisco 49ers one of the most beloved franchises in football The oldest professional sports team in the Bay Area, the San Francisco 49ers have thrilled their loyal fans for seven and a half decades. Founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference, the 49ers joined the NFL when the leagues merged in 1949. Playing in old Kezar Stadium at in Golden Gate Park, the 49ers found fleeting success in their early years, reaching the playoffs just once in the 1950s and ''60s. From those humble beginnings emerged one of the NFL''s most successful franchises. Seven Super Bowl appearances, five Super Bowl victories. A head coach in Bill Walsh who forever changed the sport. And a roster of Hall of Famers: Y.A. Tittle, Joe Montana, Steve Young, Jerry Rice, Ronnie Lott, and more. Sports Illustrated™ celebrates the franchise with The San Francisco 49ers at 75, an extraordinary collection of classic stories and photographs from the pages of SI. This commemorative book also solutes, in words and pictures, the 49ers'' dedicated fans. From Kezar to Candlestick to Levi''s, fans will unearth golden nuggets from the 49ers''s past on each page of this diamond celebration.

The NFL has never been hotter--witness the $21.4 billion it will rake in on the TV-rights deals now in place (not to mention its own network), the proliferation of football news and information and the game''s booming popularity among sports fans, including the 23 millioin who read SPORTS ILLUSTRATED every week. These 320 pages capture, in breathtaking words and pictures, the essence of America''s game: the players and performances, the crucial moments and classic matchups, the enduring dynastics and unique characters that have made pro football the new national pastime.

For the past 49 years Sports Illustrated magazine has been putting fans on the sidelines of the greatest, flashiest spectacle in sports - The Super Bowl. Now, as the game approaches its 50th anniversary, and what promises to be its biggest and most-marketed ever, Sports Illustrated celebrates the grandeur and spirit of the Big Game in a way only they can - in a deluxe edition featuring the magazine''s iconic photography, summaries from each game, never-before-told anecdotes from players and coaches, and classic stories from the magazine''s legendary writers: Super Bowl Gold. Along with overviews of each championship, this deluxe gift book includes a ranking of every Super Bowl from worst to best, based on SI''s unique insight, weighing the quality of the game, context surrounding the matchup, closeness of the score, upset factor, stirring performances, and overall excitement. Also included will be year-by-year game summaries, commentary from players on every winning and losing team, reviews of every halftime show, with special attention paid to what we all really love the most - the commercials, and pictures of every ticket stub and champion ring. This will be the ultimate examination of the ultimate sports event. Bringing every Super Bowl back to life by diving into the legendary SI archives, Super Bowl Gold is essential for every football fan, no matter what team.

When Sports Illustrated was launched in 1954, baseball was, indisputable, the national pastime, its stars America''s epic heroes, its rivalries the era''s mythology. As baseballs fortunes rose and fell over the next 50 years - and then rose again to new heights, drawing more than 65 million fans to ballparks in 2004 - the game never failed to produce great drama and inspired storytelling. This collection is a virtual Hall of Fame from the pages of SI, bringing together the stories of baseball''s greatest heroes (Mickey Mantle, Ted Williams, Sandy Koufax) and villains (Ty Cobb, Pete Rose, Denny McLain) and characters (Casey Stengel, Max Patkin, Yogi Berra); its legendary quests (the home run chases of Roger Maris, Hank Aaron, Mark McGwire, and Barry Bonds; the thrilling pennant races, from the Dodgers - Giants in 1951 to the Yankees-Red Sox in 1978); its world-class writers (Frank Deford, Mark Kram, George Plimpton, Peter Gammons, and Tom Verducci) and its own players writing from the inside about their game (Ted Williams, Jim Brosnan, and Jim Bouton). In the wake of SI''s acclaimed Fifty Years of Great Writing comes this baseball anthology worthy of Cooperstown.

From its inception, Sports Illustrated has chronicled baseball''s greatest spectacle: the World Series. Now, SI celebrates the grandeur and spirit of the Fall Classic with a deluxe commemorative book featuring the magazine''s iconic photography alongside classic stories from legendary writers. Along with overviews of notable teams and championships, this new volume includes stats, facts, and anecdotes spanning World Series history. The nostalgic past meets the electric present in this ultimate examination of baseball''s storied event. Bringing MLB history to life by diving into the legendary SI archives, Sports Illustrated The World Series is essential for every baseball fan''s collection.

Features essays, player profiles, and statistics for the 1998 sports year, covering football, baseball, hockey, tennis, boxing, and other sports; and includes month-by-month event listings for 1999.

Sports Illustrated, the most respected voice in sports journalism, has covered Major League Baseball for over seven decades, documenting its heroes, villains, great characters, and iconic moments. A wide-ranging portrait of America''s pastime, this anthology features the best baseball writing from the SI archives by nationally renowned journalists including Frank Deford, Mark Kram, George Plimpton, Peter Gammons, and Tom Verducci.

Complemented by more than one hundred photographs, this close-up look at the upcoming NASCAR season provides complete statistical breakdowns for every race on the 2004 schedule, along with a retrospective of the 2003 season, profiles of the elite drivers on the circuit, memorable moments in the hist

Sports Illustrated, the most respected voice in sports journalism, has covered the National Football League for over seven decades, documenting its heroes, villains, great characters, and iconic moments. A wide-ranging portrait of America''s game, this anthology features the best pro football writing from the SI archives by nationally renowned journalists including George Plimpton, Frank Deford, Rick Reilly, and Paul Zimmerman.

America''s favorite sports almanac, now in its 19th year, is as fact-filled and fun as ever. Packed with stats, standings, and historical data from SPORTS ILLUSTRATED''s award-winning staff, this is the essential reference book for every fan. Includes the 2009 baseball playoffs and World Series. 88-page pro football section incudes year-by-year NFL standings back to 1920 as well as game recaps for Super Bowls I to XLIII. Year-in-review calendar revisits the highlights and low points of 2009. Annual results from many professional and amateur sports, including Little League baseball, lacrosse, volleyball, and many more. Year-by-year and 2009 results from NASCAR, IRL, and Formula One. AND MUCH MORE

Sporting Halls of Fame have been the repositories for the memories, highlights and legends of Americas favorite games since 1939, when the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum was established in picturesque Cooperstown, New York.Now for the first time, all of the history, color and lore of the 12 most prominent Halls of Fame in North America are collected in one handsome volume.

Celebrating a New Orleans icon and one of football''s most beloved superstars Drew Brees describes his arrival in New Orleans as "a calling." Following a catastrophic shoulder injury and a handful of years with the San Diego Chargers, Brees hit the ground running with the Saints, leading the team to the playoffs in his very first season and building toward the ultimate prize: the franchise''s first ever Super Bowl title. By the time he hung up his cleats in 2021, the Saints QB had won 172 games as a starting quarterback, led the NFL in passing yards seven times, and fashioned more than 50 game-winning drives. He won the 2004 Comeback Player of the Year award and was named to 13 Pro Bowls. These moments and memories are collected in Drew Brees: A Tribute to the Saint of New Orleans, a fully illustrated gift book commemorating the 20-year career of one of the most beloved Saints players in history. Featuring more than 100 photographs and unparalleled written coverage from the pages of Sports Illustrated™, this new volume provides readers a complete portrait of the ultimate team player whose impact on the Saints franchise cannot be overstated—from his earliest days in New Orleans to the euphoria of Super Bowl XLIV and beyond. This commemorative book also features SI''s best written coverage of Brees''s career, including pieces by Tim Layden, Greg Bishop, and more.

This exciting sports almanac will tell kids everything they want and need to know about the previous year in sports. It includes major sports (basketball, baseball, football, hockey); "secondary sports" (golf, tennis, swimming, auto racing); and action sports (BMX, snowboarding, motocross, skateboarding). Illustrated with fabulous action photos, the book will also feature an all-new sixteen-page, fourcolour insert that contains photos of the year''s most thrilling moments and memorable athletes.

As the University of Texas Longhorns begin their 117th football season, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED pays tribute to this Lone Star treasure with a book that draws on 55 years of award-winning magazine coverage. SI tells the Longhorns'' story with excerpts from classic articles and with vintage photographs, as well as rare images from the team''s earliest years. Inside you''ll find our selections of 20 great moments in Longhorns history (including the opening of Memorial Stadium) and10 of the program''s most historic victories, as well as profiles of five giants of University of Texas football. In addition, you''ll get an all-access pass that takes you behind the scenes of coach Mack Brown''s current program. Legendary sportswriter Dan Jenkins introduces the book, which includes contributions from SI''s Walter Bingham, Tim Layden, Austin Murphy, Bruce Newman, Pat Putnam, Roy Terrell, John Underwood and Jenkins himself. James Street, the former quarterback, provides the valedictory. This hardbound edition also includes a bonus 16-page section with some of the most vivid Longhorns images that have appeared in SI. This is Texas football.

Nothing in sports history has so stirred the blood of diehard fans as a good rivalry. Here, gathered in a single volume, are some of the most legendary, from Ohio State-Michigan in college football to Bears-Packers in the pros; from Celtics-Lakers in basketball to Rangers-Bruins in hockey; from Giants-Dodgers in baseball to Nicklaus-Palmer in golf; from Navratilova-Evert in tennis to Ali-Frazier in boxing. Illustrated with unforgettable photos of the key moments in the rivalries and filled with informative essays on how the rivalries took shape, this book highlights those contests which were the most dramatic and which personalities became pivotal. Greatest Rivalries also includes statistics, sidebars and excerpts from the pages of Sports Illustrated.

So you''ve become a football fan and now you want to take your passion for the game to the next level? Then The Ultimate Football Fan Handbook is just what you need. Filled with fun facts to dazzle your friends, important numbers and milestones, the unique lingo of the game, the strategies that teams employ, and much, much more, this book will have its readers sounding like experts and dazzling their friends with their knowledge.

Featuring thrilling full-color action photos and insightful commentary, this book lets you revisit all the memorable moments in sports from the past year whenver you like.

For more than 50 years, Sports Illustrated has been the gold standard of sports writing, and during that time, football—once a popular college pastime but only a rag-tag professional game—has moved to center stage, taking its unquestioned place as America’s most popular sport. This book brings together dozens of football classics from the pages of SI, featuring the work of such esteemed writers as John O’Hara and Jack Kerouac, Dan Jenkins and George Plimpton, Don DeLillo and John Undrwood and John Ed Bradley. And, of course, the collection includes many of the longtime favorites of SI readers: Frank Deford and Rick Reilly, Steve Rushin and Gary Smith, Peter King and Rick Telander and the inimitable Dr. Z, Paul Zimmerman. Covering more than half a century of the game at every level from high school to the Super Bowl, this volume will be indispensable reading for serious football fans.

Celebrate the championship glory and Hall of Fame personalities that make the Los Angeles Lakers one of the most iconic franchises in all of sports Standard-bearers for basketball greatness, the Los Angeles Lakers have thrilled their loyal fans since the franchise moved west in 1960. Led by Elgin Baylor and Jerry West, they raced to the top of the league and refused to slow down, with superstars like Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O''Neal and LeBron James carrying the torch on the way to 17 NBA championships.Sports Illustrated™ now celebrates the Lakers with an extraordinary collection of classic writing and photographs from the pages of SI. This commemorative book also spotlights the players, championships and stats that have made the Lakers the greatest show on earth.Featuring a foreword by Howard Beck and stories by Frank DeFord, Jack McCallum, Chris Ballard and more, this is an essential volume for Lakers fans.

Collection of stories from Sports illustrated, 1954-1990.

Everything You Need to Become a Hardball Know-It-All The next book in the Fanbook series from Sports Illustrated Kids, The Baseball Fanbook has all the nerdy-cool insider knowledge that fans ready for next-level, in-depth stats need to know to impress their friends, family, coaches, and any season ticket holders they may meet. Tailor-made for baseball fanatics ages 8 and up who know the basics of the sport they love, may play it, and are looking to become super fans, this new fanbook is filled with fun trivia, unique lingo, and illustrated behind-the-skills how-to''s. Chapters include Team Tidbits (salient baseball facts about every MLB team), Think Like a Manager (essential strategies to understand), He Reminds Me Of (compares current players to legendary greats of America''s favorite pastime), and much more!

Vince Lombardi''s Green Bay Packers. The Yankees with Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle. The Celtics in the Bill Russell and Larry Bird eras. The Montreal Canadiens with Maurice Richard and Jacques Plante. Here, from the leader in sports news and coverage, is a tribute to the best teams ever to play pro football, basketball, hockey and baseball -- as well as a handy compendium of championship records and key statistics.

The history of college basketball is a tale of giants (Mikan, Russell, Alcindor), mammoth personalities (Wooden, Knight, Krzyzewski) and larger-than-life moments (N.C. State''s upset in 1983, Laettner''s shot in 1992 and, just last year, Butler''s near-miss at a championship miracle). With over a half-century of experience covering the game, Sports Illustrated is uniquely positioned to tell that story, and in 256 super-sized pages, continuing in the tradition of its annual sport-specific coffee-table series, it has found just the right format to capture the enormously entertaining wonder of it all. Hall of Fame writers, including Frank Deford, Curry Kirkpatrick, Alexander Wolff and Gary Smith, have covered all the great back-door plays, morality plays and passion plays of perhaps our most emotional sport. They were there for North Carolina''s triple overtime takedown of Wilt Chamberlain and Kansas in 1957, for Texas Western''s historic upset of Kentucky in 1966 and for Villanova''s brilliant upending of Georgetown in 1985. Having chronicled all the madness from the fall (Midnight) through the spring (March) year after year, SI''s award-winning photographers have captured the indelible images of buzzer-beating shots, of court-storming celebrations and of some of the world''s largest men bawling over heartbreaking defeats. Those memorable stories and pictures are presented here as never before in this magnificent, must-have book for any college hoops fan.

This colorful book celebrating fifty years of America''s most prominent sports magazineis certainly more practical than hoarding 2,500 issues. The six-part book plays to the strength of the magazine: "The Stories" and "The Photographs" sections are the largest. The 35 articles are truncated, often just whetting your appetite for more. The companion book Fifty Years of Great Writing offers many of these in their full glory. On the other hand, the pictures are often bigger than they were in the magazine (or could ever have been with the smaller size). Lose minutes staring at Michael Jordan or Walter Payton frozen in midair. Examine the juxtaposition of a close play at the plate with the bizarre styles of a 60s women''s track team. Try not to be swept away at a shot of Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain defining basketball. If you have picked up the special issues released during SI''s anniversary year, you already seen a decent portion of this book. The notable new writing is Richard Hoffer''s essay about the world (both sports and at large) when the magazine began in 1954 and senior editor Frank Deford''s pitch-perfect introduction about why the magazine is special and how it grew up in the age of television. The section most folks will spend their coffee table moments is "The Covers," a listing of the entire magazine''s cover images, both in chronological order and grouped in similar topics (Scandals, Presidents, Deja Vu). Punctuated by the best sport quotes, SI''s "Signs of the Apocalypse," fascinating lists of athletes and teams that were on the cover the most times, and other sport tidbits through the ages, this area is sure to launch a thousand sport memories. Yes, all the swimsuit covers are in one place, too. One quibble: why is their "Sports Person of the Year" in the book not the same as their well-known "Sportsman of the Year?" --Doug Thomas

My First Book of Basketball, the sixth book in the best-selling Rookie Book series from Sports Illustrated Kids, coaches young kids through the game of basketball with a visual retelling of a professional basketball game--from the jump ball to the game-winning basket! Dribbling, passing, traveling, shooting, dunks, and more are all explained using a fun mix of Sports Illustrated action photography, simple text, a full glossary of terms, and awesome graphics. Illustrated "Rookie" characters--a girl, Gabby, and a boy, Sprat--appear on every page, providing fun facts and simple explanations to help kids better understand the game. Perfect for emerging readers from preschool up, My First Book of Basketball is meant to be a shared reading experience between parents and their little rookies before, during, and after the game.

For decades, Sports Illustrated has chronicled hockey''s greatest spectacle: the pursuit of the Stanley Cup. Now, SI celebrates the incomparable grandeur and spirit with a lavish commemorative book featuring the magazine''s iconic photography alongside classic, archival stories from legendary writers. Along with overviews of notable teams and championships, this new volume includes stats, facts, and anecdotes spanning Stanley Cup history. The nostalgic past meets the electric present in this ultimate examination of hockey''s storied event. Bringing NHL history to life by diving into the legendary SI archives, Sports Illustrated The Stanley Cup is essential for every hockey fan''s collection.

Fully revised and updated!My First Book of Football, a Rookie Book from Sports Illustrated Kids, coaches young kids through the game of football with a visual retelling of an actual NFL game--from the nail-biting coin toss to the exhilarating winning touchdown! Rules, plays, and basics of the game are all explained using a fun mix of Sports Illustrated action photography, simple text with engaging graphics, and a full glossary of essential terms and phrases including punt, tackle, kickoff, end zone and more. An illustrated rookie player character also appears on every page, providing fun facts to help the next generation of fans better understand the game. Perfect for beginning readers, My First Book of Football is meant to be a shared reading experience between parents and their young minor league rookies before, during, and after game day.

Sports Illustrated followed The Great One''s career right from the very beginning. Starting in 1978, when Gretzky was a young phenom playing for the Soo Greyhounds, they had their best writers cover his rise to fame and subsequent dominance of the sport. His staggering career stats tend to overshadow the struggles he faced in his career -- the early days in Edmonton, when he was establishing himself as the greatest player, but could not lead his team to a cup. The years after the trade that shook the hockey world he spent years trying to lead a new team to glory, only managing to reach the final once more, in 1993, and losing in five games. Covered as well are his forgotten goal-droughts, the thoughts that he had lost his touch in the early nineties. His struggles with injury and playing though his father''s near death. The Great One reads not like a sports book, but a biography of one of the greatest athletes of all time. Sports Illustrated''s greatest writers all contribute articles, EM Swift, Michael Farber, Jack Kalla, to tell the complete story of Wayne Gretzky''s career.

A must-have book for inquisitive young sports fans, this collection of sports trivia entertains as it informs, presenting insider knowledge from the world of sports in the distinct Sports Illustrated Kids style. More than simply a list of questions and answers, this full-color, interactive book details the answers to sports'' curious questions — Why is the NHL''s trophy called the Stanley Cup? Who was baseball''s first designated hitter? When were the first Olympics held? Why is San Francisco''s football team called the 49ers? — complete with photos and illustrations that entertain as they inform. Featuring hundreds of questions, young fans will be stumping the adult sports fans in their lives with their expert insider knowledge.

Fully revised and updated!My First Book of Baseball, a Rookie Book from Sports Illustrated Kids, coaches young kids through the game of baseball with a visual retelling of an actual MLB game--from the first pitch to the game winning hit! Strikes, outs, steals, foul balls, home runs and more are all explained using a fun mix of Sports Illustrated action photography, simple text with engaging graphics, and a full glossary of essential baseball terms and phrases. An illustrated rookie player character also appears on every page, providing fun facts to help the next generation of fans better understand the game. Perfect for beginning readers, My First Book of Baseball is meant to be a shared reading experience between parents and their young minor league rookies before, during, and after the ball game.

My First Book of Lacrosse, the fifth book in the best-selling Rookie Book series from Sports Illustrated Kids, explains this fast-growing sport to young readers. A fun guide for beginning readers, My First Book of Lacrosse introduces kids to the plays, positions, and basics of lacrosse through a visual retelling of a professional game. From the face-off to the game-winning goal, checking, scooping, passing, and more are all explained using simple text, cool graphics, and real Major League Lacrosse and college level photography to help young kids feel like they are on the field experiencing the game. Illustrated "rookie" characters-a girl and a boy-appear on every page to guide kids through the book as they read alone or along with their lacrosse loving (or bewildered) parent.

Features essays, player profiles, and statistics for the 2002 sports year, covering football, baseball, hockey, tennis, boxing, and other sports; and includes coverage of the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Games, and month-by-month event listings for 2003.

Big Book of WHO is a book your young sports fans will return to again and again! Football is a game of stars. From gridiron greats such as Joe Montana and Jim Brown to Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes, this newly revised and updated edition of The Big Book of Who: Football is a collection of the 101 football stars every fan needs to know, past and present. Featuring the latest NFL photography and the most current information about football''s best players, this Sports Illustrated Kids reference book for young sports fans is written in a fun and easy-to-navigate question and answer format. Player profiles, facts, and stats are organized into five comprehensive categories: Champions, Personalities, Record Breakers, Super Scorers and Yardage Kings.Completely redesigned to match the modern look of Sports Illustrated Kids, this fun collection of questions and answers will have kids stumping their friends and adult sports fans with their expert knowledge of football''s brightest stars.