Books published by Pitch Publishing Ltd

In 1983, an unknown 23-year-old from Suffolk called Keith Deller took the darts world by storm, defying the odds and sporting conventions to become a most unlikely world champion. Deller was the diametric opposite of the beer-swigging, chain-smoking, paunch-bellied darts player fans were used to. He was slim, well-spoken, athletic and didn't smoke or drink. And he looked like a boy next to his flabby, middle-aged opponents. A TV audience of 10 million watched transfixed as this angelic newcomer beat world number-one Eric Bristow in the final. Almost overnight, Keith had breathed new life into a game whose traditions had been hewn in the nation's smoky pubs and clubs. Deller was a new breed of darts player whose appeal transcended this gritty working-class sport, piquing the interest of intellectuals such as Martin Amis and Stephen Fry. In 138, Keith takes the reader on an intimate journey as we relive his rapid rise from complete obscurity to lifting the game's greatest prize as one of the youngest world champions in history.

Leeds United Minute By Minute takes you on a fantastic journey through the Whites' matchday history. Relive all the breathtaking goals, heroic penalty saves, sending offs and other memorable moments. From Clarke to Lorimer and from Viduka to Becchio, all the club legends are here. An absolute 'must' for United fans.

Rangers Minute By Minute takes you on a fantastic journey through the Gers' matchday history. Relive all the breathtaking goals, heroic penalty saves, sending offs and other memorable moments. From McCoist to Baxter and from Gascoigne to Cooper, all the club legends are here. An absolute 'must' for Gers fans.

Accidental Olympian is the uplifting story of a judo athlete who wasn't afraid to dream big. Colin Oates trained in the wilds of Norfolk, at a village hall club run by his father. Entering the Olympics seemed an impossible dream, but Oates defied the odds to qualify for and compete at two Olympic Games. The boy born in Harold Wood, Essex, battled not only local prejudices within the judo fraternity but took on and beat many of the world's top players. Under the coaching and guidance of his father, Oates travelled the globe to fight in places he'd never heard of. Discover how Oates, supported by a judo-crazy family, smashed his way to being the British number-one under-66kg player for nearly a decade before qualifying for the Olympics. At London 2012, Oates defeated an ex-world champion and was only stopped by the eventual gold medallist. At Rio 2016, he faced the heartbreak of an early exit but was soon appointed a Great Britain elite coach. This is a genuine David and Goliath story where the underdog comes out on top.

And Bring the Darkness Home is a haunting exploration of how the mental scars of war destroyed an international cricket career, tore a family apart and left destitute a man who seemed to have it all. Tony Dell was the only Test cricketer to fight in the Vietnam War. His journey to the summit of the game, playing for Australia against England in the Ashes, was as unlikely and meteoric as any in cricket history. His descent was painful and harrowing. It was in his mid-60s, living in his mother's garage, that he learned the truth about what had led him on a path of self-destruction. A diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder allowed him to piece together the ruins of his life and also to search for answers, for himself and the thousands of other sufferers. The restlessness and urgency that once drove him to the top of the game was turned on authorities who refused to learn the lessons from history. PTSD robbed Tony Dell of memories of his playing career and left a palpable sense of loss. It also gave him a life-changing mission.

Black and White is a definitive history of boxing's pioneering years. Brian Dobbs exposes the racism, brutality and trickery of this fascinating era, bringing to life the fights and fighters that transformed the sport from underground sleaze to fashionable spectacle - including Jack Johnson, Jack Dempsey, Jimmy Wilde, Ted 'Kid' Lewis and many more.

King of the Journeymen is the gripping autobiography of Peter Buckley, a pro boxer who fought 300 times and was a 'stepping stone' for world champions such as Naseem Hamed and Duke McKenzie. As a boy, Buckley shone as an amateur boxer, but outside the ring he was heading for trouble. He was suspended numerous times from school and sent to prison at age 15 for assault and robbery. Whilst inside, his father died. His life felt hopeless and seemed to be going nowhere. But after his release he turned to professional boxing and things started to improve. Labelled a journeyman, he fought often and lost often, whilst earning more money than he'd thought possible. Buckley never refused a fight, often accepting bouts at a few hours' notice or after a night out. King of the Journeymen is an inspirational tale of a man tenaciously fighting for a better life. Although he lost more fights than he won, Buckley persevered with his career and attained widespread respect from boxers and fans alike.

Beautiful Bridesmaids Dressed in Oranje: The Unfulfilled Glory of Dutch Football is the story of a dazzling football dream. Built on the club successes of Ajax and Feyenoord, it's a utopian ideal that blazed with a bright but ephemeral Oranje flame, scorching the football pitches of the world in the 1970s. Although Dutch clubs dominated the European Cup from 1969 to 1973, until 1974 the Oranje had failed to qualify for a World Cup for 36 years. Two finals then followed in successive tournaments, as 'totaalvoetbal' burst from its chrysalis, proudly revealing to the world its wings adorned with vivid shades of Oranje. The winners were the brides. It was their day, but the Dutch sides were more beautiful, yet so fragile, and football loved them for it. This isn't merely a tale of bridesmaids who came so close yet failed gloriously. It is the celebration of a footballing counter-culture, a revolution, a flame that burned so brightly, but so briefly. It's the story of those Beautiful Bridesmaids Dressed in Oranje.

The Miracle is the inside story of how Greece shocked the footballing world by winning the 2004 European Championship. This incredible underdog tale shows how these 150-1 outsiders went from a team given no chance to being crowned kings of Europe, defeating the host nation in the final. Vasilis Sambrakos retraces Greece's journey by meeting most of Otto Rehagel's squad 15 years after their momentous triumph. The book is both an enthralling football story of victory against the odds and an in-depth look at how a winning team is constructed from the bottom up. It examines the values and methods needed to create a sporting unit along with the roles of the team's key players. The Miracle brings you the untold story of one of the greatest sporting achievements in history.

Trailing George Best: The Manchester Haunts of United's Greatest takes a forensic look back at the locations in and around Manchester where George Best worked, rested, partied and played during the Swinging 60s and the dubiously stylish 70s. Despite the questionable fashions, it was the best of times. George Best lived in the city for nearly 15 years and this book chronicles, with numerous images, the places where he lived, the avenues and alleyways he explored, the boutiques he managed, the nightclubs he both frequented and helped to run, and of course the football grounds where he ran amok. Having tracked down the people who knew George best during this period - people who lived with Best, the pals he hung out with, colleagues who worked with him, his business partners and personal managers - lifelong Manchester United supporters Stuart Bolton and Paul Collier unearth the stories that other writers could not reach.

Benny Leonard was arguably the greatest lightweight champion of all time. With superb boxing skills and potent punching power, he fought over 200 times and suffered just five defeats. He spent his boyhood in a crime-ridden ghetto in Manhattan's Lower East Side and was the greatest of a long line of Jewish boxers to emerge from the slums. Leonard was still only 19 when he knocked out Freddie Welsh to become world lightweight king in 1917. He defended the title eight times and retired as undefeated champion in 1925, to please the only woman he loved, his mother. But the 1929 Wall Street Crash wiped out his fortune and he was forced to make a comeback at 35. Leonard fought the best of his era: Johnny Dundee, Johnny Kilbane, Rocky Kansas, Jack Britton, Ted Kid Lewis, and Lew Tendler among them. Apart from being a sublime boxer, Benny was a first-class showman who helped to put boxing on a higher plane. He died as he lived - in the ring - while refereeing a fight at age 51. This is the definitive account of his remarkable life and career.

A complete study of the American prodigy whose career seemed to be crashing as spectacularly as it had soared until relocating to England redeemed him. His streamlined seat and acute judgement of pace - validated by the innovative sectional timings of the author, a trailblazing advocate of their value to race analysis - inspired others.

Taking its name from a Liverpool fan's message to buck-toothed Brazilian Ronaldinho, Cilla Wants Her Teeth Back draws together all the football world's best banners and stadium announcements, glorying in the anarchic, partisan humour which can arise when supporters and club DJs are intent on getting their message across to a wider audience.

Enable is a modern day racing heroine, a Queen of the Turf, and she has stirred the emotions of racing fans like few before her. She has won 11 Group Ones to date including the Epsom Oaks, the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes three times, the Prix de l''Arc de Triomphe twice and the Breeders'' Cup Turf. She is partnered by Frankie Dettori, the world''s most famous jockey and she is his ''big girl'' and his favourite racehorse. His trademark flying dismounts seem to now be accompanied by tears and by the time of publication, she will have attempted a historic third ''Arc'' which Frankie wants to win ''for her'' and not himself. As well as looking at her close bond with ''Frankie'' the book looks at how Enable''s masterful trainer, John Gosden, managed her from the beginning and how her connections cherish her. Her full story is told through the lens of the Racing Post - its best writers, most astute analysts and unrivalled photographers.

Iberia Chronicles is a fascinating compendium of all things Spanish and Portuguese football. From the glory and grandeur of Spain's biggest clubs, Real Madrid and Barcelona, to the rise of Portugal's Boavista and Braga along with everything in between, this is a comprehensive guide to the highs and lows of the game in two football-mad countries. The two nations have a vast history in the sport - Portugal started playing in 1875 and Spain 15 years later. Today they are two of the world's top footballing nations. Despite political issues, the Basque region dominated Spanish football in the 1980s, while great managers such as John Toshack and Luis Aragones made their mark in the country. In nearby Portugal, the late bloomers in the sport had an era to be proud of in the 1990s, but it wasn't until 2016 and the European Championships that they tasted true glory. Iberia Chronicles is penned by a collective of 22 writers. Learn about the key players, managers, glories and downfalls that have shaped the sport in Spain and Portugal.

Even the Defeats is the story of how Sir Alex Ferguson drew inspiration from the lows, to lead Manchester United to the highs. From a heavy defeat to cup glory, from struggles in Europe to the treble, from losing the league to Leeds United to winning a first title in 26 years, using failure to fuel success was arguably Ferguson's greatest strength.

The Racing Post Desk Calendar is the perfect office accessory. It is a tent-folded, wiro-bound desk calendar featuring one month to view with the most up to date race meeting information in the UK and Ireland at the time of publication - jumps, flat and the all-weather. It also includes the principal races and bloodstock sales dates.

In a unique first, Celtic Minute by Minute takes you on a fantastic journey through the Bhoys' matchday history and records the historic goals, Old Firm classics, penalty saves, sendings off and other memorable moments and the minute they occurred. Unforgettable moments captured by time, goals from Dalglish to Larsson and from Nicholas to Petrov.

Ricky Hill grew up beneath the shadow of Wembley Stadium, where he sold programmes at England games as a boy. When he was seven, he was told by a teacher that only two in every hundred boys could possibly make it as a professional footballer. Ricky told her he would be one of the two. Ten years later, this gifted midfielder scored on his debut for Luton Town. Ricky stayed with Luton for 14 years, made 508 appearances and became a club legend. Emerging at a time when racism was rife, he was only the fourth black player to represent England. Later, as a coach, he had to fight to smash down barriers holding back black managers, and devised an equivalent of the NFL's 'Rooney Rule' to help BAME applicants secure senior coaching jobs in English football. While Ricky has won trophies and awards overseas, he has been overlooked in this country. In Love of the Game, he tells the shocking story behind his short spell in charge of Luton, and reveals just how much the football decision-makers in England have ignored him and other black coaches.

In the early 1970s in Scotland, women's football existed in the margins. Unrecognised by the Scottish Football Association, banned from playing in stadiums and with no recognised national team. Arrival tells the fascinating, inspiring and uplifting story of how Scotland's women footballers fought for their right to play, battling hostility, prejudice and intolerance in order to create a national side that the country could be proud of. Drawing on illuminating interviews with Scotland players and managers past and present, including Anna Signeul and Shelley Kerr, it tells the inside story of the remarkable journey that the Scotland women's national team made from formation to eventual qualification for the European Championship and World Cup. It reveals the passion, commitment and determination that enabled Scotland to build a squad capable of competing with the best in the world and inspiring a generation. Arrival is the true story of a team battling against the odds to take their place on the world stage.

Too Black to Wear White is the compelling story of Krom Hendricks, the first black South African sporting hero. One of the world's best fast bowlers, he was barred by Cecil Rhodes from playing for his country on grounds of race. In challenging the establishment, Hendricks became the central figure in the evolution of sports segregation.

Marcelo Bielsa: Thirteen Steps to the Premier League is the story of the tactical evolution of Leeds United under their legendary coach Marcelo Bielsa. It offers an insight into the game model of the Argentinian coach and allows us to break down the key tactical concepts behind Leeds' success in regaining their position in the English Premier Leag

The story of David Robertson, tracing his life from its council estate origins to his emergence as one of the finest attacking full-backs of his generation. A hero to the followers of Aberdeen and Rangers and an esteemed figure in the political hotbed of Kashmir, this is the explosive story of the career of one of football's great characters.

The son of a plantation owner and a free woman of colour, Andrew Watson was not only the first black football player, he was one of the best in the world. He was carelessly lost to history for more than 100 years, and only recently have we come to terms with his influence on the development of the game and recognised his remarkable achievements.