A Load of Old Balls: The QI History of Sport

by James Harkin, Anna Ptaszynski

SHORTLISTED FOR THE CHARLES TYRWHITT SPORTS BOOK AWARDS

'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
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.

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Published in hardback as Everything to Play For.

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For more from the team behind QI's hit TV show, check out the QI FACTS series of books, @qikipedia, their weekly podcast at nosuchthingasafish.com or visit qi.com.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Audiobook, Sports

400 pages, Paperback

Published February 4, 2025

Reviews

[Olivia Swindler · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book fell in the perfect center of my Venn Diagram—sports and fun facts! If you’re looking for something lighthearted but still interesting, I recommend this one. My favorite fact was that Pickleball was named after the inventor’s dog!

[Meg · Rating 4 out of 5]

i really enjoyed this book, especially the bonus chapter at the end of the audiobook. Just thoroughly entertaining all around.

[James Pappas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sport has been in our DNA since the beginning. As far back as any documents, cave paintings, or hieroglyphics show, humans have made a game out of something.

The book dives into the many facets sports, such as cheating in sports, strange and bizarre games, sports having a political effect, etc. it was a very light-hearted and even humorous read. Some fun tidbits include why a round of golf is 18 holes ; King Henry VIII had the first (documented) pair of soccer boots; in the early days of baseball a home run was a bad thing because immediately outside the stadium there was water, and they couldn’t get the ball back. I recommend this book to anyone who likes sports

[Phil Italiano · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read. Full of interesting stories and facts about sports that no one knows about. The authors pull content through the course of history and develop a work that highlights how sports and mankind have always been intertwined. You learn about things like how sporting rules evolve, the evolution of teamwork and the sports themselves, the history of ball making, the presence of steroids, cheating, the role of fans, significant sporting feats made by forgotten athletes, the existence of novel and unknown sports all around the world and even why tennis balls are yellow.

4/5 stars.

[Max · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think I have lower standards of non-fiction than I do fiction, then again, I also think I read a lot of great non-fiction, like this

[Kirsty · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was sceptical that I'd like this book as I don't particularly read sports stuff at all, but the history behind a lot of different aspects was so interesting! The only reason I didn't give 5 stars was I felt some parts dragged a little (may be the lack of sporty enthusiasm from me, though). But I did really enjoy it, especially since I also love Anna and James from NSTAF.

[Caleb · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5. It's interesting but it feels like if a podcast was a book

[Kirsti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Appealing history of sports all over the world. I didn't know that from 1941 to 1979, it was illegal for women to play soccer in Brazil. The authors try to include U.S. sports, but they have trouble with accuracy. For example, they assume that Puerto Rico is its own country, when the truth is that Puerto Ricans are American citizens. They also make smaller errors, such as repeatedly referring to the ground on which American football is played as a pitch (it's a field) and pronouncing Toledo, Ohio, like the city in Spain.

[Angus Murchie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating and amusing in equal measure. Anyone with a modicum of interest in sport - and quite probably those with no interest at all - will thoroughly enjoy this book.

Rather than simply being a list of quirky or quite interesting facts - and there are certainly plenty of those - each chapter has a well thought out and intelligent theme, encompassing everything that makes sport so captivating to the average human under performer, like me.

[Ian · Rating 5 out of 5]

James and Anna bring their familiar entertaining style from No Such Thing As A Fish to the audiobook version of their book. I'm no sports fan, but I love to learn trivial facts, so I was in my element listening to this. And at the end there was a very nice bonus, which took me by surprise. I can't fault this audio presentation; no notes.

[Cathy Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m not a sports fan. I do watch some sport; the Olympics, Wimbledon, some international football. I say this as my lack of serious interest in sport in no way diminished my enjoyment of this book.
As you would expect from two QI elves, this is jam-packed with fascinating facts and silly stories. Easy and enjoyable reading from start to finish.

[Stuart Shiffman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I give it four stars based upon the incredible amount of meaningless sports trivia that a sports nut such as myself can file away. I will mention just one, Osama Bin Laden while studying in England became an avid Arsenal fan. The book covers sports as diverse as tug of war to football, American and European. A perfect vacation read.

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honestly, all the footnotes drove me nuts. Most of them could have easily been incorporated right into the story being told. Also...found a couple of mistakes in US sports, most notably the Pittsburgh Pirates Baseball Team would never.play the St Louis Blues Hockey team! The St Louis Cardinals play baseball

[Hans Geurts · Rating 4 out of 5]

A funny and heartwarming look at (the history of) sports in all its glory. Some anecdotes are more or less familiar, some are very obscure, but they're always entertaining. And even fierljeppen gets an honourable mention, which makes me - a Dutchman - proud (although I have never played it myself)

[Ed Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

A far as non-fiction goes you can’t get much better. Going over stories rather than stats, the authors cover a huge range of sports, countries and time frames, creating an interesting collection of the building blocks that have shaped sport and society

[Alec S Hurley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely brilliant work! Could not have been more pleased to have received this as a gift and cannot recommend highly enough. The authors are witty, informative, and weave together a compelling narrative.

[Joe Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent facts related to sports. Well structured chapters each with their own theme

[Cameron Avery Roberts · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely fantastic! In the classic QI way, blending facts with funnies in perfect bite size pieces, I’ll be full for fun facts for sure

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun ride through the history of (some) sports... I learned a few things and was eneretained!...

[Tom Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone uninterested in sports this book held my attention well

[Saren Jelonek · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely written, full of trivia, had a ton of fun reading it !

[Varda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely adored this! Anna and James are fantastic and this felt like an extra long episode of No Such Thing As A Fish (minus Andy and Dan). Full of brilliant facts!

[Richard Howard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love NSTaaF and this book reads like an extended episode of that show with all the sparkling wit and love of obscure facts that make it so enjoyable.

[Debra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a fun book. I think any lovers of history, sports, or trivia would love this book!

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some interesting sports trivia

[Lietke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice, light read. History of sport with some interesting trivia laced in.

No heavy lift asked of the reader here. Well researched.

[Kexx · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book to listen to as can break off at any point and start up again. One or true interesting stories but really lives up to it's name: Quite Interesting.

[Monty Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative and entertaining. A shockingly quick read.

[Jesse Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting read! Learned a lot.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

In A Load of Old Balls , James Harkin brings the trademark QI approach to the history of sport, eschewing any attempt at a comprehensive survey in favour of quirky, lesser-known episodes and oddities. Instead of match results and trophy tallies, we get stories about bizarre early rules, forgotten competitions, strange sporting fads, and improbable origins—such as the chaotic violence of medieval football, the surprisingly recent standardisation of many “ancient” traditions, or obscure Olympic events that have long since disappeared. True to the QI ethos, these are the kinds of anecdotes that make you raise an eyebrow and say, “well, that’s quite interesting,” rather than fundamentally reshaping your understanding of sport. Light, mildly informative, and easy to dip in and out of, it’s a pleasant enough diversion without being especially substantial. 6/10