Two-time winners Mcrae and Hamilton on William Hill Sports Book of the Year longlist

Two-time winners Donald McRae and Duncan Hamilton are in line for a historic treble after making the 14-strong longlist for the £30,000 William Hill Sports Book of the Year 2019.

The nominations were picked from a record 151 submissions for the prize, organisers said.

McRae was nominated for In Sunshine or in Shadow: How Boxing Brought Hope in the Troubles (Simon & Schuster) while Hamilton got the nod for The Great Romantic: Cricket and the Golden Age of Neville Cardus (Hodder & Stoughton).

Memoirs from Eniola Aluko and Andy Lee are also in the frame to be named the winner.

Author, journalist and chair of the judging panel, Alyson Rudd, said: “This award has, over three decades, changed the face of sports publishing. Writing quality has improved and the themes tackled by authors have evolved so that many of the titles submitted are not just entertaining but important. This year’s wide-ranging 14 strong longlist from a record 151 submissions demonstrates this continuing trend in the 31st year of the award.”

The 2019 shortlist will be announced on 22nd October, with the winner crowned at an afternoon reception at The Royal Horseguards Hotel on 5th December. The shortlisted authors will receive a leather-bound copy of their book and a £3,000 cash prize. This year’s winner will receive a £30,000 cash prize and a trophy.

The full longlist is:

They Don’t Teach This: Lessons from the Game of Life by Eniola Aluko (Yellow Jersey)

Unbreakable: The Woman Who Defied the Nazis in the World’s Most Dangerous Horse Race by Richard Askwith (Penguin Random House)

No Win Race: A Story of Belonging, Britishness and Sport by Derek A Bardowell (Harper Collins)

Homing by Jon Day (John Murray)

Rise of the Ultra Runners: A Journey to the Edge of Human Endurance by Adharanand Finn (Faber & Faber)

The Great Romantic: Cricket and the Golden Age of Neville Cardus by Duncan Hamilton (Hodder & Stoughton)

Fighter by Andy Lee with Niall Kelly (Gill Books)

In Sunshine or in Shadow: How Boxing Brought Hope in the Troubles by Donald McRae (Simon & Schuster)

The Beast, The Emperor and The Milkman: A Bone-shaking Tour through Cycling’s Flemish Heartlands by Harry Pearson (Bloomsbury)

Rough Magic: Riding the World’s Wildest Horse Race by Lara Prior-Palmer (Penguin Random House)

Commander in Cheat: How Golf Explains Trump by Rick Reilly (Headline Publishing Group)

How Football (Nearly) Came Home: Adventures in Putin’s Russia by Barney Ronay (Harper Collins)

Recovering by Richie Sadlier (Gill Books)

Position of Trust: A Football Dream Betrayed by Andy Woodward (Hodder & Stoughton)