A Load of Old Balls

The QI History of Sport

James Harkin, Anna Ptaszynski

• Publisher: Faber & Faber
• eBook ISBN:
  9780571393992
• Year: 2024

SHORTLISTED FOR THE CHARLES TYRWHITT SPORTS BOOK AWARDS

' Top Bins! A personal best, a lap record and a hole in one for when rain has stopped play.' ALAN DAVIES
'The trivia book of the season . . . magnificent.' SPECTATOR

Did you know that Henry VIII owned the first pair of football boots? Or that David Attenborough is responsible for yellow tennis balls?

A Load of Old Balls is the curious story of us and sport. It's about our mind-blowingly determined attempts to be the fastest, the strongest, the most skilful. In this endlessly entertaining tale of play and belonging, astonishing violence and jaw-dropping cheating, we learn what led ancient Egyptian athletes to have their spleens removed and discover why Michael Palin was disqualified from a conker tournament. Crossing millennia, continents and cultures, Harkin and Ptaszynski - the brainy researchers for BBC's QI and co-hosts of No Such Thing As A Fish -show us sport as we've never seen it before.

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Published in hardback as Everything to Play For.

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For more from the team behind QI's hit TV show, check out the QI FACTS series of books, @qikipedia, their weekly podcast at nosuchthingasafish.com or visit qi.com.

Table of contents

• Landing Page
• Title Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Introduction
• 1: Wrestling for the Pharaohs
• 2: The Daredevil Innkeeper of Garmisch
• 3: Why Golfers Hate Rabbits
• 4: Shoeless Joe’s Redemption
• 5: Two Glasses of Wine for Breakfast
• 6: Exploding Billiard Balls and Formula 1 Toothpaste
• 7: The Duke of Suffolk’s Misshapen Knob
• 8: There Aren’t Enough Books About Throw-Ins
• 9: The Globe Girdler’s Wager
• 10: The Archer Who Wouldn’t Let Go
• 11: Eric the Eel, Eddie the Eagle and Paula the Crawler
• 12: The Great Australian Ball-Dodger
• 13: We’re Gonna Deep-Fry Yer Pizzas
• 14: The Premier League of Ploughing
• Epilogue
• Acknowledgements
• Photo Credits
• Index
• About the Authors
• Also from QI
• Copyright