ALEX DALEY WINS REG GUTTERIDGE AWARD

Pitch Publishing is a fantastic imprint – they do all the great Got, Not Gots and retro sports titles.

James Brown, The Late Tackle, talkSPORT

Pitch Publishing show the way for enterprising sports book publishers and remains a beacon of hope for sports authors aspiring or established.

The Sports Bookshelf.com

Pitch Publishing, an outfit whose "pitch perfect" commissioning of boxing material stands as a rebuke to more established houses

Boxing Monthly

Pitch capture the real spirit of sport with entertaining and clever ideas. They work out what the aficianado would want to read, then deliver it with great verve.

Paul Hayward, The Daily Telegraph

Pitch have enabled me to write in the ways I enjoy most. Their production support is superb, delivering eye-catching designs, attentive proof-reading, energetic marketing and helpful advice.

Tim Quelch, Bent Arms & Dodgy Wickets, Underdog!

Pitch are willing to back out-of-the-blue and innovative ideas and turn them into viable, entertaining books. They do so with great presentation and editorial flair.

Justin Parkinson, Then Came Massacre

Pitch saw the potential in my story, used their expertise to polish it, published it and helped inspire thousands around the world to get into triathlon.

Andy Holgate, Can’t Swim, Can’t Ride, Can’t Run

The process of working with Pitch to produce Picking up the Threads was enjoyable and rewarding, with the final edition surpassing expectations and becoming a resounding success.

John Chandler, Picking up the Threads

Pitch will take a chance on books that other publishers won't and realise that interest in football extends beyond the Premier League and the top 20 countries in the FIFA rankings.

Steve Menary, Outcasts!

Pitch have the vision to look beyond the obvious, seeking out interesting ideas and subjects and matching them with the right target audience.

David Tossell, Tony Greig, The Great English Final, Grovel!

Pitch have been an absolute joy to work with, contributing their passion, expertise, knowledge and experience to help produce a brilliant book.

Sam Pilger, Ashes Match of My Life

Pitch took our original concept and further enhanced it, using their knowledge, experience and expertise, and helped make Got, Not Got one of the football books of the year for 2011.

Derek Hammond, Got, Not Got

Pitch bought into the concept of development through football, channeling profits and proceeds from Eleven into helping some of the most disadvantaged young people in the world.

Steve Fleming, Eleven

In the highly competitive world of sport publishing,
Pitch have consistently demonstrated the happy
knack of spotting, nurturing and promoting winners.

Neil Dunkin, Anfield of Dreams

27 Feb

ALEX DALEY WINS REG GUTTERIDGE AWARD

Pitch Publishing author Alex Daley has been honoured with a prestigious boxing writers’ award.

The Reg Gutteridge Award for services to boxing media was presented to Alex by Colin Hart of The Sun, renowned boxing journalist and International Boxing Hall of Fame inductee, on behalf of the London Ex-Boxers Association at the group’s annual awards dinner.

The event, held at the De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms in London on 18 February, was attended by numerous former world, European and British champions, along with other boxing luminaries such as Hall of Fame promoter Frank Warren.

Alex is the first person under 40 to receive the award. Previous winners have included Colin Hart, Alan Hubbard (former Observer sports editor), Steve Bunce (Box Nation and the Independent), Hugh McIlvaney OBE (former Observer and Sunday Times sports writer) and Jeff Powell of the Daily Mail.

Alex writes the history-themed Yesterday’s Heroes column for the trade magazine Boxing News. He is also the author of Pitch Publishing title Fighting Men of London: Voices from Inside the Ropes.

Alex’s latest book is Born to Box: The Extraordinary Story of Nipper Pat Daly. It chronicles the life and unique career of Alex’s paternal grandfather, a lost legend of boxing who was arguably the sport’s greatest ever prodigy. A pro at age ten, by 14 Nipper Pat Daly was beating grown men in 15-round fights and at 16 ranked in the world’s top ten. Tragically, though, he was overworked and forced to retire at 17.

Read Born to Box and you will discover:

How children were allowed to enter the dangerous world of professional boxing in the 1920s and 30s
How Nipper Pat Daly (real name Patrick Daley) started fighting pro at the age of ten (he is thought to be the youngest ever professional boxer)
What happened when Daly (aged 14) sparred with the reigning world middleweight champion, the legendary ‘Toy Bulldog’ Mickey Walker
The stories of Daly’s ring battles with stars of yesteryear such as Seaman Tommy Watson, Dick Corbett, Johnny Cuthbert, Bert Kirby and Kid Pattenden
How a British Boxing Board of Control rule barred Daly from fighting for a British title because he was underage, even though he was allowed to fight champions in non-title bouts
How at 16 Daly had an astonishing 33 pro fights in 11 months (mostly 15-rounders)
How Daly’s manager scuppered his chance of fighting in America and contesting a world title at a record age
The truth behind Daly’s sudden exit from the sport he seemed destined to rule – aged just 17
What happened to him after he left boxing, including his years as a professional ‘all-in’ wrestler and his time running his own Irish dance hall

Click here for more information or to read a sample from Born to Box.