Can We Have Our Balls Back, Please?

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This highly entertaining narrative explores how the British invented modern sports and nearly forgot how to play them. Long before Drake famously ignored the approaching Armada to continue his game of bowls, the British had a deep-rooted passion for games. Julian Norridge delves into the evolution of major sports like boxing, cricket, horse racing, and hockey, highlighting stories from across Britain. From Major Walter Clopton Wingfield, who created lawn tennis with rubber balls, to an apocryphal football match played with a severed Viking head, and Scottish shepherds inventing golf over 700 years ago, the book captures the quirky essence of British sporting history. It goes beyond sports to provide a humorous look at popular history and mythology, featuring tales of hunting parsons, prize-fighting ex-slaves, corrupt princes, and cuckolded husbands. The narrative chronicles the ongoing struggle between fair play and gambling, amateurism and professionalism, as well as the fine line between innovation and cheating, such as using an oversized cricket bat. The book reveals much to be proud of in British history, suggests the origins of a peculiar sense of superiority, and explains why losses are disappointing yet rarely surprising.