Joe Pompliano
Joe Pompliano

@JoePompliano

12 Tweets 13 reads Jun 14, 2023
I asked my audience: "What is the best sports book you've ever read?" — and received more than 1,000 responses.
Here are the Top 10 👇
1) Open, an autobiography by Andre Agassi.
Everyone needs to read this, seriously.
2) Moneyball by Michael Lewis
This book follows the Oakland A's historic 2002 season — 103 wins with one of the lowest budgets in MLB —and details how the Athletics pioneered the use of analytics and advanced statistics.
This is a must-read, plain & simple.
3) The Score Takes Care Of Itself
This book breaks down the leadership lessons Bill Walsh installed as head coach of the 49ers, taking the team from a 2-14 record to Super Bowl Champions in just 2 years.
It's full of great stories.
And it's so good that I've read it 3-4 times.
4) Shoe Dog: A memoir by the creator of NIKE.
This book was ghost-written by J. R. Moehringer, who also wrote Andre Agassi's Open and was paid $1M for Prince Harry's book SPARE.
And it tells Nike's story, from selling shoes out of a car to a $165 billion business.
Great book.
5) Friday Night Lights by H. G. Bissinger
You've problem seen the hit movie or Emmy-Award-winning TV show, but you NEED to read the book.
Friday Night Lights was published in 1990 — but it's still in print today and has sold over 2 million copies.
Highly recommend.
6) How To Build A Car by Adrian Newey
Adrian Newey is the Chief Technical Officer at Red Bull Racing and is widely considered the greatest car designer in F1 history.
This book is fantastic, whether you like F1 or not.
And it's more of a memoir than an engineering guide.
7) Belichick by Ian O'Connor
Bill Belichick is one of the NFL's greatest coaches but also one of the most secretive.
So this book takes you through Belichick's entire life.
It's well-researched, extremely well-written, and a must-read for any NFL fan.
8) The Inner Game of Tennis by Tim Gallwey
This book primarily uses tennis as an example.
But Gallwey is a pioneer of sports psychology and created this book as a guide for anyone to improve their "inner game" — whether it's sports, work, or life.
It's very practical, too.
9) Sacred Hoops by Phil Jackson & Hugh Delehanty
This book gives a peek inside the mystical mind of legendary coach Phil Jackson, providing an entertaining mix of philosophy blended with sports stories.
It's 25+ years old, but still one of my favorites.
10) The Sports Gene by David Epstein
Epstein explores the great sports debate:
Are athletes born great with perfect genetics? Or are they crafted through hard work and determination?
He talks about the 10,000-hour rule and nature vs. nurture, and it's a thought-provoking read.
11) BONUS: Among The Thugs by Bill Buford
An academic from Louisiana, Bill Buford provides a unique perspective on the intense English football hooliganism that occurred throughout the 1980s.
It's equally educational and entertaining.
Highly recommend.
12) Well, there you have it — those are some of the best sports books of all time (crowdsourced from 1,000+ people).
You can download the full list using the link below.
DOWNLOAD: joepompliano.com
And follow me @JoePompliano for more content like this.

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