The intersection between maths and sports

The intersection between maths, stats and sports has become an evermore blurred line as the years have gone by. Numbers men have become so important in understanding sports as technology advances. But what are the most outstanding books about the advancement of maths role in sports.

Mind and Matter: A life in Math and Football
Mind and Matter follows mathematician and former offensive lineman for the Baltimore Ravens, John Urshel tells us his story. By the time John was a teenager he was at college-level calculus. Soon after, he developed a keen interest in football. By the time he got to university he lived the most unlikely double life as a Mathematician and Football player. Against the odds, he made it to the NFL and played for the Baltimore Ravens whislt simultaneously pursuing a PhD in Math in MIT. He describes this journey in captivating detail.

Moneyball: The art of winning an unfair game
Moneyball which was made famous by the movie starring Brad Pitt follows the low budget Oakland Athletics, larger than life manager Billy Beane. This is potentially the single most important book ever written on sports and business. The story of moneyball concerns a small group of undervalued professional baseball players and executives who had turned themselves into one of the MLBs most successful franchises. Oakland Athletics used math to become the poorest team to win. It really is that simple. The numbers generated by mateur baseball enthusiasts: software engineers, statisticians, Wall Street analysts, lawyers and physics professors helped the Oakland Athletics management to find undervalued players. Billy Beane experimented with buying these undervalued players and finding their full potential. This is one of the most impressive narratives of how math and sports cross paths with a successful end. These are two of the best books ever written on the intersection between sports and money