Brian Halford is a British sports journalist and author based in Warwick. He has covered cricket and soccer for newspapers, radio, and online publications since 1995. His newspaper experience includes reporting for The Courier and Weekly News. His books include histories of Warwickshire cricket, a biography of Percy Jeeves, and accounts of English soccer. Individual lives and the communities surrounding clubs are recurring subjects.
His sports bibliography extends from 100 Years of Test Match Cricket at Edgbaston, published in 2002, to Kicking Off Again: Football’s Greatest Season, published in 2026. Between them are a calendar of Warwickshire history and collaborations about players’ experiences. Halford has also written Remembering Mary: A Story of Love, Laughter and Inspiration, a memoir about his late wife. His work therefore includes personal life writing alongside reporting and sports history.
Brian Halford Books
| Book | Year | Amazon |
|---|---|---|
| 100 Years of Test Match Cricket at Edgbaston | 2002 | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| Warwickshire CCC on This Day | 2012 | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| Real Jeeves The Cricketer Who Gave His Life For His Country And His Name To A Legend | 2013 | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| Cricket Man | 2024 | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| Kicking Off Again | 2026 | Description / Buy at Amazon |
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
The research for Kicking Off Again drew on historical newspapers and assistance from libraries around Britain. In an interview before publication, Halford credited library staff and the British Newspaper Archive with helping reconstruct the Football League’s return after World War II. The book uses the matches of August 31, 1946, to investigate clubs and the communities to which they belonged, connecting sporting renewal with the continuing difficulties of postwar life.
The biographies approach cricket from contrasting periods. The Real Jeeves concerns a promising career interrupted by war, while A Cricket Man follows a life that continued through playing and coaching. The later memoir includes a foreword by Chris Woakes and considers Perryman’s influence on both Woakes and Moeen Ali. These books supplement Halford’s club and ground histories with accounts centered on individual experience.
Cricket Books
100 Years of Test Match Cricket at Edgbaston: This illustrated history marks the centenary of Test cricket at Edgbaston, from the ground’s first Test in 1902 through a hundred years of international matches. Halford assembles an account of the Birmingham venue’s place in the game, accompanied by photographs and scorecards. The volume was published in 2002 as a commemoration of that anniversary and its cricketing history.
Warwickshire CCC on This Day: History, Facts and Figures from Every Day of the Year: Arranged with an entry for each day of the year, this collection revisits events and personalities from Warwickshire’s history. Championship achievements, unusual incidents, club administration, and matches at Edgbaston appear alongside stories of prominent players. The format combines major milestones, including the 1994 treble, with less familiar details from the county’s past. Published in 2012.
The Real Jeeves: The Cricketer Who Gave His Life for His Country and His Name to a Legend: Halford traces Percy Jeeves’s life from childhood and county cricket to military service and death on the Somme. His brief Warwickshire career ended when he enlisted during World War I. The biography also explains the connection with P. G. Wodehouse, who saw him play in 1913 and later used his surname for a fictional character. Published in 2013.
A Cricket Man: The Life and Love of Steve Perryman: Steve Perryman recounts his life in cricket with Halford, covering his playing ambitions, experiences as a county bowler, and later work developing other players. The memoir also addresses his marriage to Carol, her death, and the process of rebuilding his personal life. Cricket and bereavement form interconnected parts of an account of professional work and family relationships. Published in 2024.
Soccer Books
Kicking Off Again: Football's Greatest Season: Halford examines the Football League’s return on August 31, 1946, after seven years of wartime regional competition. Each of the day’s forty-four scheduled matches receives a chapter. Newspaper accounts and community histories connect the games with the damage, hardship, humor, and resilience of postwar Britain, showing how soccer resumed within a country still recovering from war. Published in 2026.