Sports Knight

Sports Knight uncovers the life stories behind the nation's sporting knights and dames, offering a compelling alternative history of British sport and society across the past century. By historian Peter Donaldson, author of the Lord Aberdare Literary Prize-shortlisted Sport, War and the British. This book spans all the major sports, including football, rugby, cricket, horse racing, athletics, boxing and motor racing. Inside you will discover a wealth of fascinating sporting stories, including: Gordon Richards - The nation's leading flat jockey for three decades, who broke Fred Archer's long-standing record for wins in a season and capped a glittering career by winning the 1953 Epsom Derby at his 23rd - and last - attempt. Francis Chichester - The 65-year-old sailor who, in 1967, became the first person to single-handedly circumnavigate the globe, redefining expectations of age. Stanley Matthews - One of Britain's greatest footballers, hero of the 1953 'Matthews Final', and astonishingly still playing top-flight football as he approached his 50th birthday. Jack Hobbs - Known as 'the Master', Hobbs amassed 61, 760 first-class runs, surpassed W. G. Grace's record for centuries in a season, and in 1929 became the oldest player ever to score a Test century. Tanni Grey-Thompson - Eleven?time Paralympic champion and, in the 2005 New Year Honours, the first athlete with a disability to join the knightage. Billy Boston - A trailblazer for black sportsmen in the 1950s and 1960s who had to wait until 2025 to become rugby league's first knight. Why were these and other sporting greats held up as national role models? And what does this say about our priorities and values? Sports Knight holds the answers.