The shortlist has been revealed for the much sought after William Hill Sportsbook of the Year award 2016, and it includes stories from the worlds of football, horse racing, cricket, swimming and athletics.
Graham Sharpe, William Hill
Amongst the more bewildering of the subject matter to make the list is Oliver Kay’s ‘Forever Young: The Story of Adrian Doherty’; a re-telling of the life of the young footballer who after being offered a contract by Manchester united aged 17 died in mysterious circumstances.
This year’s shortlist also marks a hat-trick appearance for Rick Broadbent for his latest offering ‘Prize for Endurance’, which is about the life of the Olympic track legend Emil Zatopek. ‘Mr Darley’s Arabian’ by Christopher McGrath meanwhile is a horse racing story and follows the bloodline of 25 thoroughbreds, from a colt bought from Bedouin tribesmen over 300 years ago to the modern champion Frankel.
The full list can be seen below:
Endurance: The Extraordinary Life and Times of Emil Zatopek by Rick Broadbent (Wisden)
Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life by William Finnegan (Corsair)
Forever Young: The Story of Adrian Doherty, Football’s Lost Genius by Oliver Kay (Quercus)
