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As participants or spectators we all have our favourite sports, whether it’s the rough and tumble of rugby or the hushed theatres of snooker, the ‘beautiful game’ of soccer or the glamour of world tennis, we’re on the ‘fan scale’ somewhere. Country House Library has picked a match-winning squad of ten vintage volumes on sport and games to help you with the festive period shopping.
OBSERVER'S BOOK OF SOCCER 1980
Association football, or soccer, is the most popular sport in the world, played and watched by young and old, men and women. With the FIFA football World Cup in Qatar in 2022, interest in the ‘beautiful game’ is sure to continue at a frenzied level. This Observer book takes us back to perhaps a more innocent era of the game. In the year of publication, second division Southampton FC pulled off a shock defeat of Manchester United in the FA Cup and it was the last time the Queen attended the final and presented the trophy. Franz Beckenbauer won the Ballon D’or and Kevin Keegan became the England captain. Observer’s Books are one of the most successful prints of reference books in the English language and rare editions of the oldest issues (there have been over 800 in total) fetch high prices among avid collectors. Look to find your favourite sport in our Observer collection here.
LADYBIRD HOW TO SWIM AND DIVE, HENRY MARLOW, 1971
British swimmers enjoyed their most successful Olympics ever in the Tokyo 2021, bringing home eight medals with Adam Peaty winning gold in the 100m breast-stroke. Add in Tom Daley’s gold and bronze medals in diving and the strength of British swimming-pool sports are obvious. This vintage edition from one of world’s most successful publishers of reference books makes for a wonderful, synchronised pair. Jump into the Country House Library pool of other Ladybird books here.
The ‘Know the Game’ (or KTG) books published by Educational Productions have been in print for over half a century and were written for anyone who wanted to know the rules and basic skills of many sports and pastimes. Country House Library currently boasts almost 50 separate titles and formats on sports as diverse as Inn Games, Orienteering, Camping and Trampolining to the more mainstream such as Golf, Table Tennis, Swimming and Netball. These would be the basis for an inexpensive vintage sports book collection with some of the more available issues starting at less than £5.00 each.
COLLECTION - PLAY BETTER GOLF, ILLUSTRATED
Originating in Scotland in the 15th century with the first official course constructed in St Andrews, Scotland, in 1764, the game of golf might well lay claim to be the oldest sport, and certainly one of the most popular around the world. This set of six hardback volumes in their original slipcase is a rare gem in the Country House Library of vintage sporting books. Author, Beverley Lewis, was the first female captain of the PGA (Professional Golfers Association) and winner of two tour events. In later life she also became a qualified R&A golf referee. Not only will this set look the part of your vintage bookshelves, they’ll also be an invaluable guide to improving every aspect of your game from that opening drive to the winning putt! View the Country House Library of vintage golfing books here.
MODERN LAWN TENNIS BY TONY & JOY MOTTRAM
After 18 year old Emma Raducanu’s amazing entrance onto the world stage of tennis, winning the 2021 US Open, tennis is sure to experience a new surge of interest. Written by British tennis stars of the 1950’s, husband and wife team, Tony and Joy Mottram, this vintage book from 1957 is still relevant with it’s expert advice on training, tactics and stroke-play. The Mottram’s son, Buster Mottram, represented the UK Davis Cup team on eight occasions and achieved a world ranking of 15 – testament to his parents coaching and encouragement. This is a vintage sports book any tennis fan would love to include in their collection. View the Country House Collection of tennis books here.
PRIDE IN ENGLAND: A RUGBY AUTOBIOGRAPHY BY ROGER UTTLEY WITH DAVID NORRIE
In 1980, England beat Scotland at Murrayfield to achieve their first home championship win since 1963 and their first triple crown since 1960. That famous day for Rugby fans was the climax to Roger Uttley's outstanding career as one of the stalwarts of England's mighty scrum. For lovers of rugby union and collectors of famous sporting autobiographies, this personal insight into the game by one of England rugby’s most experienced of players, coaches and managers will be ‘front row’ on the bookshelves. Scrum down with Country House Library’s rugby collection here.
Unsure which sporting book to buy? Feel safer letting your loved ones pick their own favourite? Run out of time to order in and catch the post? Why not send them a Country House Library gift token? We have thousands of vintage books for them to choose from including an impressive array on games, sports and pastimes.
THE ART OF WINNING GAMES WITHOUT ACTUALLY CHEATING BY STEPHEN POTTER 1956
We might be forgiven for thinking that the dark art of ‘gamemanship’ is a relatively modern phenomenon, but this manual on how to play slightly less than fairly was published in the more innocent time of the 1950’s. An unusual and engrossing vintage book for any sports fan, these pages reveal psychological warfare in all its gory detail. Nowadays of course, the ‘mental side’ of winning takes as much prominence as what happens on the sports field. This collectable hardback by the master of parody Stephen Potter, will provide that head start in your favourite sport. Take a sneaky first look at our other Potter books here.
QUEST FOR THE ASHES BY KEN MACKAY 1967
With the Ashes due to begin in late 2021, we couldn’t put together a reading list for sports fans without the inclusion of cricket. The author of this 1967 hardback publication, Ken ‘Slasher’ Mackay, was a perennial Australian all-rounder who, under the captaincy of Richie Benaud,brought Australia out of its late-fifties doldrums in two remarkable series, against the West Indies in 1960/61 and England in 1961. Mackay held the dubious honour, until surpassed by Shane Warne, of scoring the most runs for Australia without having scored a century. Catch this sitter off Country House Library’s collection of cricket books here.
BOOK OF MOTOR RACING BY MAXWELL BOYD 1959 - FIRST EDITION
“Grand Prix racing is like Punch (magazine). It is never as good as it was”
An ironic quote from the author of this 1959 first edition hardback. Packed with black and white and full colour action pictures, this is a true vintage guide to our enduring fascination with racing cars, the circuits and heroic drivers. Boyd’s name is seldom heard these days but in his day, he covered motor racing for the Sunday Times newspaper and for the BBC’s home service. A treasure from a bygone era of motor racing, it deserves pole position in any true petrol-heads book collection. View Country House Library’s paddock of motorsport books here.
SUMMARY
Sport has long been one of the leading genres in non-fiction publishing, reflection our passion for friendly (and sometimes not so friendly) competition. We revere the leading men and women who carry their sport to the top echelons of entertainment and love to read about their lives and achievements. This first team of vintage books has something for everyone, and hyperlinks to our subs bench will open up hundreds of other opportunities to ‘score’ when it comes to gifts for sports fans.
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