Links to books that I have recently reviewed on this blog (or planning to do so) can be found below:
- Football’s Great War: Association Football on the English Home Front 1914-18 by Alexander Jackson, Pen & Sword (2022)
- The History of Women’s Football by Jean Williams, Pen & Sword (2021)
- 71/72 Football’s Greatest Season? by Daniel Abrahams, Pitch Publishing (2021)
- LOST: Football in the 1980s by David Featherstone (ed Phil Brennan), Victor Publishing (2021)
- The Weird & Wonderful World of Motherwell Collectables by Matthew Johnstone, Curtis Sport (2021)
- Before the Premier League: A History of the Football League’s Last Decades by Paul Whittle, self-published (2021)
- An A-to-Z of Football Collectibles: Priceless Cigarette Cards and Sought-After Soccer Stickers by Carl Wilkes, Pitch Publishing, Durrington (2019); & An A to Z of Sporting Collectibles: Priceless Cigarettes Cards and Sought-After Sports Stickers: Priceless Cigarettes Cards and Sought-After Sports Stickers by Carl Wilkes, Pitch Publishing, Durrington (2021)
- The Beautiful History: Football Club Badges tell the Story of Britain by Martyn Routledge & Elspeth Wills, Pitch Publishing (2021)
- British Football’s Greatest Grounds: One Hundred Must-See Football Venues by Mike Bayly, Pitch Publishing (2020)
- Football Fans by Ian Beesley, Café Royal Books (2019)
- One Year, Two Seasons by Richard Wardell, City Gent Publications (2018)
-
All Aboard the Bradford Train by Andrew Rishworth, Silverwood Books (2018)
- How Football Began by Tony Collins, Routledge (2018)
- Kick Off! The start of spectator sports by Dr David Pendleton, Naked Eye (2018)
- The Beautiful Badge: The Stories Behind the Football Club Badge by Martyn Routledge & Elspeth Wills, Pitch Publishing (2018)
You will find other of my reviews on Amazon as ‘Nomad‘. (This was the pen name of a nineteenth century Bradford sports journalist, William Schutt who had been an early member of Bradford FC in the late 1870s. He wrote for the Bradford Observer and The Yorkshireman in the 1880s and was known for being forthright in his comments. NB The same identity was later adopted in tribute to Schutt by Sam Holdsworth, editor of the Yorkshire Sports, 1920-51.)
Having written about Bradford football and the origins of sport in Bradford I have a particular interest in the subject. Probably my favourite book in this category is A GAME THAT WOULD PAY: A BUSINESS HISTORY OF PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL IN BRADFORD by AJ Arnold, Duckworth (London, 1988) which I can highly endorse. Surprising given the explosion of new titles in the last thirty years, before 1987 books about Bradford sport were as rare as trophies at Valley Parade. The classic publication however remains the history of Bradford City AFC written by William Sawyer and published by the Bradford City Shareholders’ and Supporters’ Association in 1927 which was sold at its bazaar in that year to raise money for the parent club.
Invariably the various books published about Bradford football / sport have been of mixed standard. A particular frustration of mine is that a number have been inaccurate in their content and misleading in their conclusions. This prompted me in 2014 to commit to the publication of a series of new books to provide a definitive record of Bradford football from its origins to the present day. Published by BANTAMSPAST and entitled the HISTORY REVISITED series there have been seven volumes to date written by myself, Jason McKeown, Rob Grillo and George Chilvers.
Follow the links in the menu above for free, accessible history about BCAFC with the assurance of it having been thoroughly researched, substance rather than soundbites!
Wool City Rivals 