My Father And Other Working Class Football Heroes

Oct 3, 2024 9:25 PM

Author:Gary Imlach

WINNER OF THE WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD

A poignant and moving account of the author’s search for the man his father was and the life he led as a well-known footballer, blending the personal and the historical into an unforgettable story

Stewart Imlach was an ordinary neighbourhood soccer star of his time.

A brilliant winger who thrilled the crowd on Saturdays, then worked alongside them in the off-season; who represented Scotland in the 1958 World Cup and never received a cap for his efforts; who was Man of the Match for Nottingham Forest in the 1959 FA Cup Final, and was rewarded with the standard offer - £20 a week, take it or leave it.

Gary Imlach grew up a privileged insider at Goodison Park when Stewart moved into coaching. He knew the highlights of his father's career by heart. But when his dad died he realised they were all he knew. He began to realise, too, that he'd lost the passion for football that his father had passed down to him. In this book he faces his growing alienation from the game he was born into, as he revisits key periods in his father's career to build up a picture of his football life - and through him a whole era.

‘The most emotionally charged and moving sports book I've ever read’ Daily Mail

Reviews

The most emotionally charged and moving sports book I think I've ever read - Harry Ritchie, Daily Mail

—— Daily Mail , Harry Ritchie

One of the most deserving William Hill winners in the award's history ... The book of the year

—— Christopher Maume , Independent

A remarkable book... Imlach is a gifted writer, pungently aware, admirably combative, knowledgeable and compassionate

—— Brian Glanville , Sunday Times

My Father and Other Working-Class Heroes immediately joins the Football Classic Club - whose members are bonded by using football as a backdrop for something entirely different... A beautiful personal history

—— Rick Broadbent , Times

If I could have my memories of Stewart Imlach surgically extracted, I would wrap them carefully, put them in a box, and send them to his son. Unlike me, Gary Imlach never saw his father play football... But that has not prevented the son from producing one of the best sports books of recent years. A book to treasure

—— Richard Williams , Guardian

A book every millionaire Premiership player should read... One of the most heartfelt, hard-hitting insightful football books I have ever read

—— Hunter Davies

Diverting, evocative and provocative

—— Independent

His style has energy that takes my breath away it's so fresh and unexpected

—— Elmore Leonard

A lovely book

—— Washington Post

As fascinating as it is at times utterly disturbing

—— Entertainment Weekly

Powerful

—— The Sun

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