Sporting Lives: Sport, Heroism and the North of England

Sporting Heroes of the North looks at the remarkable sporting culture and traditions of the north as well as some of the region's sporting greats. Ranging from the North East, Tyneside, Mersyside and Yorkshire to the North West it covers a variety of sports, including cricket, fell running, boxing, rock climbing, football, rugby league, motor cycling and athletics.

The book celebrates northern sporting heroes from the past and the present, from Jackie Milburn, Fred Trueman, Andrew Flintoff, Ellery Hanley, John Conteh and the fictional Alf Tupper to Dorothy Hyman, Beryl Burton and Rebecca Adlington.

Sporting Heroes avoids simple pen portraits, instead it shows in all its richness the historic and changing place of sport and sporting heroes in the culture of the north of England.

Dave Russell is one of the leading academic writers on the culture of the north of England. Formerly Professor of Cultural History at the University of Central Lancashire, he was Professor of History and Northern Studies at Leeds Metropolitan University until his retirement in 2010.
Stephen Wagg is Professor of Sport and Society at Leeds Metropolitan University.