Did you know that Henry VIII owned the first pair of football boots?
Or that David Attenborough is responsible for yellow tennis balls?
A Load of Old Balls is the curious story of us and sport. It's about our mind-blowingly determined attempts to be the fastest, the strongest, the most skilful.
In this endlessly entertaining tale of play and belonging, astonishing violence and jaw-dropping cheating, we learn what led ancient Egyptian athletes to have their spleens removed and discover why Michael Palin was disqualified from a conker tournament.
Crossing millennia, continents and cultures, Harkin and Ptaszynski - the brainy researchers for BBC's QI and co-hosts of No Such Thing As A Fish - show us sport as we've never seen it before.
REVIEWS
'Top Bins! A personal best, a lap record and a hole in one for when rain has stopped play.' ALAN DAVIES
'The trivia book of the season . . .magnificent.' SPECTATOR
