The History Press [new releases]

This book charts the story of Navy football and steers readers through the reemergence of an iconic program representing our nation's finest.

Navy football holds a unique place in college athletics as one of the oldest and most prestigious programs the game has ever known. During the 1950s and 1960s, the Midshipmen were nationally recognized by the major bowl games they played and Heisman Trophy-winning players Joe Bellino and Roger Staubach. Although the program struggled mightily to maintain relevance in subsequent years, Athletic Director Chet Gladchuk kick-started the renaissance of Navy football by hiring Coach Paul Johnson in 2001. The team's current coach, Ken Niumatalolo, once fired by the academy in the dining room of a McDonald's in 1998, returned to become the winningest coach in school history. Cameron charts the story of Navy football and steers readers through the reemergence of an iconic program representing our nation's finest.

Pittsburgh is synonymous with winning. From the Penguins and Steelers to the Pirates and Panthers, the Steel City knows championships.

There must be something special in the water to make Pittsburgh so particularly gifted with its sports teams. The most famous teams in the city's history would most likely be the 1970s Steelers, known as the Steel Curtain for obvious reasons, and the Penguins who raised the Stanley Cup five times. Names such as Lemieux, Crosby, Roethlisberger, Bradshaw, Clemente and Stargell are legends of American sport and members of Pittsburgh's most cherished franchises, but for every sports legend and multi-million dollar franchise, there are a dozen more talented players and long-past teams that have been forgotten to history; the Negro League's Crawford and Homestead Grays are too often overlooked in the city's sports history but were as talented as any team that has played there. Author Dave Finoli ranks the fifty greatest teams that won trophies, brought glory and lifted the hearts of Pittsburgh's devoted sports fans.

Author and sports historian David Finoli's inside look at the 50 greatest male and female athletes in Pittsburgh history.

Greatness in sport is both undefinable and immediately recognizable. Though it is rare, Western Pennsylvania has been graced with a long history of athletes who embody the essence of greatness. They have proudly represented the region in sports such as boxing, golf and track; carried their collegiate teams to victory; and worn the black and gold of the Steelers, Pirates and Penguins. Pittsburghers still recall how Mario Lemieux glided effortlessly through an opposing defense before befuddling the goalie or Arnold Palmer's unique swing that made the everyday duffer feel like he was one of them. Fans debate whether Terry Bradshaw or Ben Roethlisberger is the better quarterback and what the legacy of Barry Bonds is, while keeping Roberto Clemente among their most cherished icons. Take a deep dive into all of that and more and re-discover the best of the best in Pittsburgh sports history.

Trace a legend's route from an orphan train to the College Football Hall of Fame .

Go inside the making of the 2018 Clemson Tigers football team, the one that vaulted to the top and became the biggest thing in college football.

From the beginning of the season, head coach Dabo Swinney's rallying cry was "joy." Each week for opponents, though, was another joyless occasion against a big orange machine that found its high gear midseason. The results shook the foundation of college football. In 2015 and 2016, the Tigers needed to bring their own guts to achieve great things. In Swinney's 10th season, they brought their own sledgehammers. Author Larry Williams, who has covered Clemson and Swinney since 2004, unearths revealing anecdotes from Dabo's tenure like you've never seen before and shares how a season dominated by Alabama hype ended up overwhelmed by a Clemson tide and a new college football dynasty.

Join author Ken M. Blomberg as he recollects nearly half a century of the hunt in his backyard grouse paradise.

Marshaling years of experience, he explains how logging roads often lead to grouse and, just as often, to nowhere. He paints an uplifting portrait of an old hunter dragging his creaky body through unforgiving terrain. And with spirit and humor, he tells of boon companions sharing stories around a campfire or nervously slumbering to a wolf country lullaby. The Badger State's thriving upland bird population beckons hunters from across the country. Novice and veteran hunters alike will draw delight and inspiration from a relatable love affair with gun dogs, upland birds and Wisconsin.

Inside the life of Amos Alonzo Stagg, a man who not only witnessed great change, but was responsible for much of it in college football.

The arc of Amos Alonzo Stagg's life spanned the presidencies of Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy. His career flourished on the Chicago Midway and found an encore on California's Pacific coast and in Pennsylvania's Susquehanna Valley. Stagg pioneered use of the tackling dummy, the huddle, the forward pass, the shift, the man-in-motion, the quick kick and the short punt. He developed the raw talent of young men with little or no athletic background long before the age of scholarship athletes, and his championship teams at the University of Chicago established the school's national reputation before it became famous for producing Nobel laureates. He helped shape the modern Olympic Games, and the coaching tree he nurtured continues to bear fruit in football programs across the country. Author Jennifer Taylor Hall traces the remarkable life of the "Grand Old Man of Football."

Champion Race Horses of the Empire State

From Saratoga to Belmont Park, New York hosts some of horse racing's most important races, but many of the most successful thoroughbreds of the past five decades also have called the state home. Say Florida Say seemed to only improve with age, winning thirty-three times throughout a seven-year career that made him a regional favorite in the 1990s. The first ever New York horse to win the Kentucky derby, Funny Cide, rose to national prominence in 2003, winning both the Derby and the Preakness in incredible fashion. The thoroughbred Audible shared owners with triple-crown winner Justify, and though embroiled in some controversy as a result, was also an elite race horse during a brief career.

Author Allan Carter highlights the stories behind the greatest New York thoroughbreds of the past half-century.

Relive the Ups and Downs of the Storied Saga of the Nomadic Nets

The Nets have led a wandering existence spanning over five decades. The team has been known as the New Jersey Americans, New York Nets, New Jersey Nets and now Brooklyn Nets, while constantly relocating throughout the New York metropolitan area. Though often plagued by instability and futility, the franchise has celebrated iconic moments in the course of ABA and NBA history. Julius Erving's legendary play led the team to a pair of ABA titles in 1974 and 1976. The meteoric rise of European superstar Dražen Petrović followed by his tragic death in 1993 is etched into basketball fans' hearts worldwide. Jason Kidd's uncommon will steered New Jersey to back-to-back NBA Finals appearances in 2002 and 2003. An enlightening phone call from NBA commissioner David Stern in 1997 paved the way for the team's move to Brooklyn in 2012.

Author Rick Laughland charts the brutal lows and exuberant highs throughout the history of the Nets.

Relive the most unforgettable moments - even those that diehards have longed to forget - of the New York Mets.

Since their inception in 1962, the New York Mets have not traveled the straight and narrow path. These top 10 lists chart the many highs and lows over that journey - from World Series victories in 1969 and 1986 through an injury-shattered 2017 season. The team's passionate fans lovingly embrace the triumphs, like when Mike Piazza's post-9/11 home run lifted a devastated city, just as they endure the frustrations, caused by such culprits as Chipper Jones and Chase Utley. From the greatest left-handed pitchers to the worst trades to the best single-game hitting performances, author Brian Wright ranks the most unforgettable memories in the history of New York's inimitable baseball franchise.

Montana State's Golden Bobcats celebrates a storied history from the hardwood

Ashworth "Cat" Thompson and brothers Frank and Orland Ward didn't know what to expect when they left southern Utah in the Fall of 1926. They arrived in Bozeman to play on the Montana State College basketball team under charismatic coach and fellow Utah native Ott Romney and Assistant Coach Schubert Dyche. Teamed with Montana products Brick Breeden and Max Worthington the following season, the core formed one of the best teams in the country. Despite Romney returning to Provo at the end of 1928, the Bobcats persevered in '29 under Schubert to win the consensus college national basketball championship, with Cat and Frank Ward earning All-American honors.

Author Paul R. Wylie recounts the on and off court challenges and triumphs of the Bobcats' Golden team

From Pensacola to Jacksonville to the Everglades, fishing by paddle craft in the Sunshine State offers seemingly endless journeys.

Whether in the cypress dugouts of the Calusa, Dimock's wood-and-canvas tarpon fishing canoe or modern fiberglass and plastic, humans have been paddle fishing in Florida for thousands of years. Sprinkling colorful history throughout, author John Kumiski highlights the state's best paddle fishing destinations, both freshwater and saltwater, including the bass of Farm 13, the redfish and trout along the Big Bend Paddling Trail and the snook and tarpon of the Everglades. Learn the locales and what to do when you get there, including launch points, shuttles, rentals, tackle, techniques and more.