Sports Knight: A Hundred Years of Sporting Knights and Dames

Sports Knight uncovers the stories behind Britain's sporting knights and dames, offering a compelling alternative history of British sport and society over the past century.

Why were these sporting figures elevated as national role models? What do the honors they received reveal about the values, priorities, and ideals of the times in which they lived?

The answers are often revealing. Inevitably, the list of sporting knights and dames includes more men than women, more wealthy individuals than those from modest backgrounds, and more white recipients than Black recipients. These imbalances tell an important story of their own. Whatever one thinks of the honors system--described by one national newspaper as "an utter crapshoot"--the athletes chosen for recognition provide a unique lens through which to view the history of British sport and society.

As six-time Olympic champion Chris Hoy once remarked, "To become a knight from riding a bike--it's mad!" And in many ways, he is right. Yet, as Sports Knight demonstrates, there is often a method behind the madness.

Through the lives of the nation's most celebrated sporting figures, this fascinating book explores achievement, recognition, identity, and the changing relationship between sport and public life in Britain.