The 15 Best Sports Memoirs of All Time

Written to settle scores, to correct what the headlines got wrong, or because the advance was large. Ghostwriters, lawsuits and confessions included.

1

Courage to Soar

Simone Biles' 2016 memoir about foster care, adoption and the road to Rio.

2

Open

Andre Agassi's 2009 autobiography, which opens by admitting he hated tennis.

3

Ball Four

Jim Bouton's 1970 season diary that broke baseball's clubhouse code of silence.

4

Shoe Dog

Nike founder Phil Knight's memoir of selling running shoes out of a car boot.

5

I Am Zlatan Ibrahimovic

The striker's unfiltered account of Malmo housing estates, Ajax, Barcelona and after.

6

The Greatest: My Own Story

Muhammad Ali's 1975 autobiography, written at the height of his second reign.

7

I Never Had It Made

Jackie Robinson's account of integrating Major League Baseball and what it cost him.

8

Days of Grace

Arthur Ashe's memoir, finished weeks before his death in 1993.

9

Undisputed Truth

Mike Tyson's 2013 autobiography, as unsparing about himself as about anyone else.

10

Rafa

Rafael Nadal's memoir with John Carlin, built around the 2008 Wimbledon final.

11

Second Wind

Bill Russell's reflections on winning eleven titles and on race in 1960s Boston.

12

On the Line

Serena Williams' 2009 memoir on Compton, Wimbledon and life between them.

13

Beneath the Surface

Michael Phelps' autobiography, later revised after Beijing and after his time away.

14

Keane: The Autobiography

Roy Keane's 2002 book, which triggered a suspension for what he admitted in it.

15

It's Not About the Bike

Lance Armstrong's 2000 memoir, now read very differently than it was on release.