Taking the reader from the birth of sports cards in the 1880s to the present, Williams investigates the success in the shady world of baseball cards. At the center of the industry is Upper Deck, the largest manufacturer, with sales of over $260 million each year. Williams exposes how the power brokers in the game of baseball have changed this once-innocent hobby forever. Published in 1995 when Williams was a writer and columnist for USA Today Baseball Weekly, Card Sharks has been frequently cited by other authors and remains the definitive investigative look into the trading card business.

Card Sharks: How Upper Deck Turned a Child's Hobby into a High-Stakes, Billion-Dollar Business

Sports & Outdoors

Williams, Pete

Miscellaneous

Macmillan General* Reference

An explosive look at the NFL Draft from the inside out that exposes the multilayered feeding frenzy that swarms around America's top college players. The Draft follows a handful of NFL hopefuls through the ups and downs of the 2004 college football season and the predraft process, culminating with the 2005 draft. Among the prospects are Virginia defensive end Chris Canty, who overcomes a devastating early-season knee injury to reestablish himself as a top draft hopeful, only to suffer a detached retina in a nightclub skirmish; and Fred Gibson, a talented but rail-thin Georgia wide receiver who struggles to put on the weight needed to go over the middle in the NFL. It's a complex environment, with college coaches attempting to protect their "student-athletes" from exploitation (while fully aware that they can only remain competitive if they attract NFL-caliber players to their schools), along with sports agents and NFL scouts trying to stay a step ahead of their competition. These parties provide a multi-angled view of the world of emerging NFL talent. The reader follows the season through the eyes of a host of power players and scouts, from veteran agent Pat Dye Jr. to Jerry Maguire clone Jack Scharf, to the coaching divisions of Florida State University and the University of Virginia---headed by longtime Bill Parcells disciple Al Groh. Also central to the narrative are the Atlanta Falcons and executives Rich McKay and Tim Ruskell (now with Seattle), who use a character-based evaluation system to set their draft board. These parallel stories weave together, culminating in draft weekend, to create a gripping and fascinating look at a world few see from the inside.

The Draft: A Year Inside the NFL's Search for Talent

Football (American)

St.Martin's Press

An explosive look at the NFL Draft from the inside out that exposes the multilayered feeding frenzy that swarms around America's top college players.
The Draft follows a handful of NFL hopefuls through the ups and downs of the 2004 college football season and the predraft process, culminating with the 2005 draft. Among the prospects are Virginia defensive end Chris Canty, who overcomes a devastating early-season knee injury to reestablish himself as a top draft hopeful, only to suffer a detached retina in a nightclub skirmish; and Fred Gibson, a talented but rail-thin Georgia wide receiver who struggles to put on the weight needed to go over the middle in the NFL. It's a complex environment, with college coaches attempting to protect their "student-athletes" from exploitation (while fully aware that they can only remain competitive if they attract NFL-caliber players to their schools), along with sports agents and NFL scouts trying to stay a step ahead of their competition. These parties provide a multi-angled view of the world of emerging NFL talent. The reader follows the season through the eyes of a host of power players and scouts, from veteran agent Pat Dye Jr. to Jerry Maguire clone Jack Scharf, to the coaching divisions of Florida State University and the University of Virginia---headed by longtime Bill Parcells disciple Al Groh. Also central to the narrative are the Atlanta Falcons and executives Rich McKay and Tim Ruskell (now with Seattle), who use a character-based evaluation system to set their draft board. These parallel stories weave together, culminating in draft weekend, to create a gripping and fascinating look at a world few see from the inside.

St. Martin's: Griffin

Do you have a million-dollar idea but aren't sure how to make it a reality? Young entrepreneur Pete Williams can show you where to start!Pete Williams has been referred to as Australia's Richard Branson. At just 21 years of age, Pete embarked on a highly publicised and successful entrepreneurial venture, to sell the Melbourne Cricket Ground, in pieces!In How to turn your million dollar idea into a reality, Pete passes on the techniques he used to sell the G, including:developing your idea to reach a hungry marketachieving maximum sales for minimal expense using publicity and leveragestructuring your business to suit your lifestylepricing your products and services for maximum salestapping into a worldwide market onlineusing networking and team force to build your business.Readers will also gain access to a wealth of free material on Pete's website, including discounts on his marketing seminars and products.

How to Turn Your Million-Dollar Idea Into a Reality: From Imagination to Implementation

Business & Money

Business Development & Entrepreneurship

John Wiley & Sons Australia, Limited

Lists the ten most collectible athletes of all time, as well as resources for additional information, and encompasses helpful tips on finding the best sports collectibles, avoiding fake purchases, and properly pricing items on the market. Original.

Sports Memorabilia for Dummies (For Dummies Series)

John Wiley&Sons, Inc.

Major League Baseball has compiled the definitive instruction manual on learning to play the game. Fully illustrated with action photos of MLB stars illustrating key points and drills for each defensive position, this book also includes special tips from MLB players on batting, base running, the rules of the game, and coaching. Easy-to-follow instructions and diagrams of all the skills beginning players need to master the game--how to throw, hit, and field all the positions--while also promoting good sportsmanship. Each skill and position is presented separately, with photographs and drawings of a player executing the specific skill, advice on how to perform it, and when to use it, and the most common mistakes. Written and compiled by the best baseball instructors, coaches, and players in the world, this comprehensive how-to is informative enough to help even the brightest young stars shine brighter. With keen insights from instruction and developmental coaches, the need to create a positive environment in practice and encourage creativity as well as technical correctness is stressed. Most importantly, the coaches understand that kids are not just small adults--and they back up their understanding with advice on how to help kids fall in love with "America's pastime." Model training sections construct excellent practice sessions--from warm-up through cool-down exercises and hundreds of drills and games to reinforce--this is an essential tool for all coaches as a guide to improving performance and enjoyment of practice and playing the game. This must-have resource covers it all: Batting, Pitching, Base running and sliding, Specific drills for playing all defensive positions, Coaching and rules, Offensive and defensive strategy. Partial list of Big League tips on How to Play the Game: Tony Gwynn (hitting), Sammy Sosa (judging fly balls), Bernie Williams (playing the outfield), Mark Grace (approach to hitting), Alex Rodriguez (fielding ground balls), Jeff Bagwell (hitting), Roberto Alomar (fielding ground balls), Jaret Wright (pitching mechanics), Edgar Renteria (how to play SS), John Lackey (improving your pitching), Carlos Delgado (mastering 1B), Rocco Baldelli (basic approach at plate), Cristian Guzman (fielding ground balls), Danny Kolb (good approach on the mound), Dontrelle Willis (pitching strategies), Torii Hunter (playing the outfield), Jason Marquis (pitching with control), Chone Figgins (sliding), Orlando Cabrera (improving your game), Gary Bennett (becoming a better catcher), Ervin Santana (pitching under pressure), Mark Teixeira (playing 1B), Ryan Howard (hitting), Joey Gathright (playing the OF), Troy Tulowitzki (succeeding at the plate), Joel Zumaya (pitching with poise), Josh Johnson (pitching with confidence)

Baseball: How To Play The Game: The Official Playing and Coaching Manual of Major League Baseball

Reference

Major League Baseball

Encyclopedias & Subject Guides

Universe

You probably look at elite athletes and think they have something you don't. Certainly, they can do things the rest of us can't, but they have the same muscles and require the same food. They have to strike a balance between exercise and recovery, or they'll wear down. They need to get leaner and stronger without compromising their endurance or flexibility. And if they don't train intelligently and cautiously, they'll get hurt. Same as you. 
Of course, athletes have hours a day to train, and you're probably lucky if you can squeeze in 60 minutes. So it's no wonder that you focus on one or two types of exercise--aerobics, bodybuilding, Pilates, yoga, kickboxing, or Tae-Bo--and assume you don't have time to work on all the other aspects of fitness. 
Core Performance is the first program that delivers strength and muscle mass, endurance and a lean body, balance and flexibility, athletic quickness and power--all in less than an hour a day. How? By giving you a personal coach who has worked with some of the most famous and successful athletes in the world today. 
Mark Verstegen, owner of Athletes' Performance in Tempe, Arizona, and Carson, California, has trained the best of the best: Nomar Garciaparra. Mia Hamm. Roberto Alomar. Mary Pierce. When Verstegen trains an athlete, millions of dollars in salary and signing bonuses are at stake. Bottom line: If he didn't deliver, he'd be out of business. And he's busier than ever. What works for these gifted athletes will work for you. Sure, you can't do as much exercise as they do, but you don't need to. It takes less than an hour a day to build the type of fitness that improves your life in almost every way. You can straighten your posture, eliminate aches and pains, sleep better, and approach everything you do with more vigor and a better attitude. Sure, you will get bigger muscles, a tighter waist, and more strength and power. But the biggest benefits come from the inside. The intense focus on the muscles of your core--abdominals, lower back, hips, and thighs--will help you stand taller and prevent the back pain from which most people eventually suffer. The detailed nutrition section guarantees that you'll feed your muscles, starve your fat, and get boundless energy when you need it most. And the attention you'll pay to recovery from your workouts will give you a straight path to the results you want. 
li0The potential is within you, and the power to unleash that potential is within Core Performance.

Core Performance: The Revolutionary Workout Program to Transform Your Body and Your Life

Health, Fitness & Dieting

Verstegen, Mark

Diets & Weight Loss

Rodale Books

Maverick marketing whiz Mike Veeck presents his simple, no-fail formula for business success: make work fun and you'll create a culture where the best people will want to work and customers will want to spend their money. Mike Veeck runs six minor-league baseball teams, and for each of them he's drafted a business plan that begins with three simple words: "Fun is good." The fun-is-good philosophy not only has worked to make an evening at one of his ballparks--full of laughs, zany promotions, and free giveaways--enjoyable for everyone; it has transformed a half-dozen money-losing or start-up teams into a thriving $25 million business. In this book Veeck, son of legendary baseball owner Bill Veeck, shows why an injection of fun, creativity, and passion is so essential to business success. We learn: o Why customer service, the lifeblood of any business, suffers when employees aren't having fun at work o How just a few people with the fun-is-good attitude can transform an entire workplace o What companies should look for when hiring people and how employees can forge a fun-is-good career path. Throughout, the book is peppered with vignettes, where we hear firsthand from people who have benefited professionally and personally from the fun-is-good philosophy and how they have applied it specifically to their own industries and careers.

Fun Is Good: How To Create Joy & Passion in Your Workplace & Career

Veeck, Mike

Business Culture

Core Performance - by Mark Verstegen and Pete Williams - the breakthrough fitness program that has already shipped more than 50,000 copies in hardcover, is the first program that delivers strength and muscle mass, endurance and a lean body, balance and flexibility, athletic quickness and power--all in less than an hour a day. How? By giving you a personal coach who has worked with some of the most famous and successful athletes in the world today. The intense focus on the muscles of your core--abs, lower back, hips, and thighs--will help you stand taller and prevent the back pain from which most people eventually suffer. The detailed nutrition section guarantees that you'll feed your muscles, starve your fat, and get boundless energy when you need it most. This program is like nothing you've ever seen before--it enables you to totally transform your body in just 12 weeks. The potential is within you, and the power to unleash that potential is within Core Performance.

Core Performance Essentials

Rodale Press

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Williams, Pete. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Williams, Pete

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Williams, Pete. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Card Sharks: How Upper Deck Turned a Child's Hobby into a High-Stakes, Billion-Dollar Business

The Draft: A Year Inside the NFL's Search for Talent

The Draft: A Year Inside the NFL's Search for Talent

How to Turn Your Million-Dollar Idea Into a Reality: From Imagination to Implementation

Sports Memorabilia for Dummies (For Dummies Series)

Baseball: How To Play The Game: The Official Playing and Coaching Manual of Major League Baseball

Core Performance: The Revolutionary Workout Program to Transform Your Body and Your Life

Fun Is Good: How To Create Joy & Passion in Your Workplace & Career

Core Performance: The Revolutionary Workout Program to Transform Your Body and Your Life

Core Performance Essentials