38 American sports novels

Amazons is a novel co-written by Don DeLillo, published under the pseudonym Cleo Birdwell in 1980. The subtitle is An Intimate Memoir by the First Woman to Play in the National Hockey League. The book was a collaboration with a former co-worker of DeLillo's, Sue Buck, and represents a commercial, light-hearted effort between his novels Running Dog and The Names. While the book is widely known to have been written by DeLillo, and is technically his seventh novel, it has never been reprinted and he has only once officially acknowledged writing it. Additionally, when Viking was compiling an official bibliography for the Viking Critical Library edition of White Noise, DeLillo asked the publishers that the book be expunged from the list.

Bang the Drum Slowly is a novel by Mark Harris, first published in 1956 by Knopf. The novel is the second in a series of four novels written by Harris that chronicles the career of baseball player Henry W. Wiggen. Bang the Drum Slowly was a sequel to The Southpaw (1953), with A Ticket for a Seamstitch (1957) and It Looked Like For Ever (1979), completing the tetralogy of baseball novels by Harris.

Bleachers was published on September 9, 2003. The hardcover edition was published by Doubleday and the paperback edition by Dell. The book focuses on whether the famous Eddie Rake, former coach of the Messina High School football team, was loved or hated by his former players.

The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics is a non-fiction novel written by Daniel James Brown and published on June 4, 2013.

The Broken Place is a novel by American author Michael Shaara. It was published by the New American Library in 1968.

Bronc Burnett is the central character in a series of 27 football, baseball, and scouting novels for adolescent boys set in Sonora, New Mexico, written by Wilfred McCormick between 1948 and 1967. The series was published by G.P. Putnam's Sons (#1–11), by David McKay (#12–23), and by Bobbs-Merrill (#24–27). Grosset & Dunlap reissued the entire series with some changes in the order of the books, and with both dust jackets and full-color cover illustrations. Some titles were included in Grosset & Dunlap's "Famous Sports Stories" Collection.

Chinese Handcuffs is a 1989 a young adult novel by young adult writer Chris Crutcher. The story alternates between the two main characters, Dillon and Jennifer, both high school athletes dealing with personal issues. The majority of Dillon’s story is told via a journal he keeps, writing about the death of his older brother.

William "Chip" Hilton is the central character in a series of 24 sports novels for adolescent boys written by the successful college basketball coach and 1968 Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Clair Bee (1896–1983). In addition to Bee's authorship of the Chip Hilton series, he was also the author of several basketball and coaching technique books. The Chip Hilton series was published between 1948 and 1966 by Grosset & Dunlap, with Bee's last manuscript, Fiery Fullback, published in 2002.

The Comeback is a 1985 novel by Edgardo Vega Yunqué, published under his pen name "Ed Vega". The novel is a satirical look at Puerto Rican identity.

Cover Up: Mystery at the Super Bowl is a mystery novel written by sportswriter John Feinstein. It is the third book in the sports beat series, along with Last Shot: A Final Four Mystery and Vanishing Act.

Death in the Afternoon is a non-fiction book written by Ernest Hemingway about the ceremony and traditions of Spanish bullfighting, published in 1932. The book provides a look at the history and what Hemingway considers the magnificence of bullfighting. It also contains a deeper contemplation on the nature of fear and courage. While essentially a guide book, there are three main sections: Hemingway's work, pictures, and a glossary of terms.

Drop Shot is a murder mystery by Harlan Coben. It is the second novel featuring Myron Bolitar. It was published in 1996.

End Zone is Don DeLillo's second novel, published in 1972.

Everybody's All-American is a novel by longtime Sports Illustrated contributor Frank Deford, published in 1981. It was made into a motion picture, directed by Taylor Hackford.

A Fan's Notes is a 1968 novel by Frederick Exley. Subtitled "A Fictional Memoir" and categorized as fiction, the book is semi-autobiographical. In a brief "Note to the Reader" in the opening pages, Exley writes: "Though the events in this book bear similarity to those of that long malaise, my life...I have drawn freely from the imagination and adhered only loosely to the pattern of my past life. To this extent, and for this reason, I ask to be judged a writer of fantasy."

Fat City is a novel by Leonard Gardner published in 1969. It is his only novel. Its prestige has grown since its publication, due to critical acclaim from Joan Didion and Walker Percy, among others. The book is widely considered a classic of boxing fiction.

Football Dreams is a novel by the American writer David Guy.

For Love of the Game is a novel by American author Michael Shaara, published posthumously in 1991. The book tells the story of fictional baseball great Billy Chapel, thirty-seven years old and nearing the end of his career.

The Franchise is a 1983 novel written by former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver/tight end Peter Gent.

Golf in the Kingdom is a 1971 novel by Michael Murphy. It has sold over a million copies and been translated into 19 languages. Golf in the Kingdom tells the story of Michael Murphy, a young traveler who accidentally stumbles on a mystical golfing expert while in Scotland.

Heat is a young adult novel written by Mike Lupica that was published in 2006.

The Hustler is a 1959 novel by American writer Walter Tevis. It tells the story of a young pool hustler, Edward "Fast Eddie" Felson, who challenges the legendary Minnesota Fats.

Infinite Jest is a 1996 novel by American writer David Foster Wallace. The novel has an unconventional narrative structure and experimental use of endnotes.

Ironman is a 1995 novel by young adult writer Chris Crutcher who studied art and literature at the University of Notre Dame in his twenties. He created the novel's cover image himself using the medium of oil pastel.

Last Shot: A Final Four Mystery is a young adult novel by John Feinstein. It tells the story of two young reporters, Stevie Thomas and Susan Carol Anderson, who stumble upon a plot to blackmail fictional Minnesota State basketball player Chip Graber into throwing the Final Four in New Orleans.

The Million Dollar Goal is a children's sports novel by American author Dan Gutman, first published by Hyperion Books for Children in 2003. It is part of the Million Dollar series, in which different sports have a competition involving a million dollar reward. In this book, the sport is ice hockey.

The Million Dollar Kick is a children's story written by American novelist Dan Gutman, another installment in the Million Dollar book series, following The Million Dollar Shot. It was first published by Hyperion Books for Children in 2001.

The Million Dollar Putt is a realistic fiction novel written by Dan Gutman in 2006. It is about a young blind child's quest to learn golf and win a million dollar prize.

My Losing Season is a memoir by Pat Conroy. It primarily deals with his senior season as the starting point guard on the basketball team of The Citadel in 1966–67. Conroy describes his tumultuous relationship with his coach, Mel Thompson, as well as the harsh, malevolent, male-dominated society of The Citadel. Pat Conroy tells the story using flashbacks going back to his rough childhood where he remembers growing up with a tough father. He describes one memory when his mother tried to stab his father with a butcher knife and his father backhanded her and started laughing. The book also deals with the team's experience of losing. In his final season, his team finished with an 8–17 record.

Necessary Roughness (1996) is a drama novel by Asian-American author Marie G. Lee which explores themes of discrimination and a clash of cultures between Korean parents and their children's American ways. It is the story of a young Korean-American boy's transplantation from the city of Los Angeles to the fictional rural town of Iron River, Minnesota and his use of football to escape the bigotry that he faces and the conflict he experiences with his parents.

Playing for Pizza is a short novel by John Grisham, released on September 25, 2007. The novel is about an itinerant American football player who can no longer get work in the National Football League and whose agent, as a last resort, signs a deal for him to play for the Parma Panthers, in Parma, Italy.

The Queen's Gambit is a 1983 American novel by Walter Tevis, exploring the life of fictional female chess prodigy Beth Harmon. A bildungsroman, or coming-of-age story, it covers themes of adoption, feminism, chess, drug addiction and alcoholism. The book was adapted for the 2020 Netflix miniseries of the same name.

The Rookie is a science fiction sports novel by New York Times best-selling novelist Scott Sigler. It is the beginning of Sigler's Galactic Football League Series. It was released in both podcast and print versions in early 2009.

STAT: Standing Tall and Talented is a series of children's books written by NBA basketball player Amar'e Stoudemire. The books are partially autobiographical and tell the story of an 11-year-old Amar'e who discovers his innate talent and has to overcome many obstacles to become the success he is today.

There's a Girl in My Hammerlock is a 1991 young adult novel by Jerry Spinelli.

Two-Minute Drill is a 2007 children's book by Mike Lupica and the first book in his Comeback Kids series.

You Know Me Al is a book by Ring Lardner, and subsequently a nationally syndicated comic strip scripted by Lardner and drawn by Will B. Johnstone and Dick Dorgan. The book consists of stories that were written as letters from a professional baseball player, Jack Keefe, to his friend Al Blanchard in their hometown of Bedford, Indiana.

You Will Know Me is a murder mystery novel set at a gymnastic tournament. The novel is written by Megan Abbott. This is her eighth novel.