Backpage Sports Stories

Blog

NEW BOOK ANNOUNCEMENT! Football 2.0: How the world’s best play the modern game

We have been fans of Grant Wahl’s writing for many years. I read his first book, The Beckham Experiment, when it came out and have followed his writing closely for Sports Illustrated. Read More →

Podcast

Between the Lines #3: How Sports Illustrated made the greatest long-shot in sportswriting history

In 2014 Ben Reiter wrote a cover story for Sports Illustrated. The headline ran: Your 2017 World Series Champs. The picture was of George Springer, then a rookie for the Houston Astros, then the worst team in baseball and maybe the worst in the history of the sport. Read More →

Blog

Rodgers’ Invincibles have already secured their place in history

“Have you started writing Invincible II?” I’ve been asked that question several times over the last six months as Celtic continued their unbeaten domestic record under Brendan Rodgers. My answer has always been the same: “No, because it won’t be another Invincible season.” Read More →

Podcast

NEW PODCAST! Between the Lines: The Stories Behind Great Sports Writing

Today we launch a new podcast – Between the Lines: The Stories Behind Great Sports Writing. The premise is simple: we interview the authors of great sports writing – from classic sports books to brilliant pieces of long-form journalism and huge sports news stories. Read More →

Blog

Father’s Day? How about a book of nostalgic football poetry that funds a brilliant charity?

A few years ago, we got involved with a project called Football Memories. Run by Alzheimer Scotland, these groups help improve the lives of people with dementia by using old images to start discussions about players, teams and matches from years ago. I’ve sat in on a few of these sessions and the transformation in the people present is staggering. Read More →

Blog

NEW BOOK ANNOUNCEMENT! Invincible: Brendan Rodgers’ historic first season at Celtic

We spent the first six weeks of 2017 planning out the rest of the year and the first half of 2018. We got our production schedule locked down and it looked like being a packed 12-18 months. One day during this six-week period, my phone rang. It was David Friel, a friend and football writer for the Scottish Sun. He had started writing an ebook on Celtic’s 2016/17 campaign, which was shaping up to be trophy laden under new manager Brendan Rodgers. Read More →

Blog

How football’s greats lined up for legend Fallon

On the eve of a BT Sport documentary on Sean Fallon’s remarkable life, his biographer, Stephen Sullivan, tells how mention of the great man’s name opened doors to the greats of British football Read More →

Secret Diary of a Sports Publisher

Secret Diary of a Publisher #7 The book no-one knows we published

The word ‘niche’ tends to suggest an area of nerdy special interest, undeserving of great attention. In fact, niche audiences are gold-dust for content creators. Niches are populated by people who are very passionate about their subject area. Read More →

Blog

“Gilz-e-a-n, Gilz-e-a-n – Born is the King of White Hart Lane”

To mark Spurs’ last game at White Hart Lane against Manchester United on Sunday, author of In Search of Alan Gilzean, James Morgan, reflects on the emotional return of Gilzean – the original King of White Hart Lane – to the ground in 2012 after a 38-year absence Read More →

Secret Diary of a Sports Publisher

Secret Diary of a Sports Publisher #6 Economics of the Madhouse

In 2009, just as we were starting BackPage, we read a blog by Iain Dale, the MD of Biteback Publishing, who specialise in political titles. Eight years later, it remains an interesting read, but it was his use of the phrase “economics of the madhouse” that resonated with us. At that time, we were attempting to find a viable business model for an industry which was shifting on its axis. Read More →