The best sports books coming soon

You heard it here first, here's Pitch's preview of the best sports books coming out this autumn. Look out for them.

1. Obsessed – Johnny Sexton: Retiring from rugby last year, former Irish fly-half and captain Sexton will lift the lid on an impressive career for club and country.
2. My Autobiography – Davy Russell: Continuing the Irish theme is the autobiography of jockey Davy Russell, who rode into the history books on Tiger Roll at the 2018 Grand National.
3. On Cricket – Sir Trevor McDonald: Broadcasting’s national treasure is a cricket devotee and his reflections on the sport are sure to be worth reading.
4. Last Boy of ’66 – Sir Geoff Hurst: From one knight of the realm to another, as the title to Hurst’s forthcoming book alludes, he now represents the last of the 1966 World Cup winning team – his memories more poignant now than ever.
5. Saturday Afternoon Fever – Jeff Stelling: Already the author of several tomes full of his trademark wit and wisdom, the much-loved sports host returns after hanging up his mic at Sky Sports.
6. Tiger, Tiger – James Patterson: A heavyweight combination if ever there was one, noted author James Patterson turns from fiction to biography in an exploration of the life of one of the greatest modern sports stars – Tiger Woods.
7. The Good, the Bad & the Ruby – Alex Payne, James Haskell and Mike Tindall: Talking of heavyweights, rugby stalwarts Haskell and Tindall, along with presenter Alex Payne, will swap the podcast for the pen as they commit some of their memorable tales to paper.
8. Chaos in the Box – David Squires: Football cartoonist Squires has been entertaining readers with his tongue-in-cheek depictions for years, with this latest book set to capture the talking points from 2018 to the recent 2024 Euros.
9. Frank and Fearless – Frank Warren: With a career spanning some four decades in boxing, Warren has worked with some of the biggest personalities in sport, as well as becoming a major player in his own right.
10. Courtside: 40 Years of NBA Photography – Nathaniel Butler: One for the coffee tables and display shelves of sports fans, this collection will bring together some of the most inconic shots in the sport’s history.
11. All About Darts – Russ Bray: The voice of darts since 1996, Bray is as synonymous with the sport as Phil Taylor, the Ally Pally and funk classic ‘Chase the Sun’ and will reflect back on his three decades beside the oche.
12. Believe – Oleksandr Zinchenko: The autobiography of the Ukraine footballer who has spoken passionately about the situation in his home country is sure to be an emotive one.
13. Unfiltered – Guenther Steiner: With the success of his 2023 release, Surviving to Drive, it’s been another crazy twelve months for F1 icon Steiner, so expect another book full of his trademark stories and plenty of swearing.
14. Hardest Geezer – Russ Cook: If anyone merits a book this year, it’s surely the first person to run the entire length of Africa. Reading 300-odd pages is child’s play compared to running the equivalent of 386 marathons.
15. Unbroken – Katarina Johnson-Thompson: There is little detail about this book at present, but in a career of ups and downs, the heptathlete has the chance to write the perfect final chapter this summer in Paris.

All available in the Pitch bookshop here