David Fisher is an American author and collaborator whose books include sports memoirs, entertainment biographies, fiction, and history. His early professional work included writing for Joan Rivers’ television program and reporting for Life magazine. He later developed a career working with people whose experiences supplied the subjects of books, including athletes, coaches, umpires, actors, and public figures.
Fisher’s sports bibliography includes collaborations with Ron Luciano, Tommy Lasorda, Terry Bradshaw, Ken Kaiser, Lute Olson, Warren Sapp, and Tom Coughlin. These books cover baseball, football, and basketball from the perspectives of participants with different responsibilities. His 2026 collaboration with Bradshaw, Looking for Terry, revisits the quarterback’s life and the public identity that continued through broadcasting and entertainment after his playing career.
David Fisher Books
| Book | Year | Amazon |
|---|---|---|
| The Umpire Strikes Back | 1982 | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| Strike two | 1984 | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| The artful Dodger | 1985 | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| First down and a billion | 1987 | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| Chamique Holdsclaw | 2000 | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| Lisa Leslie | 2000 | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| Mia Hamm | 2000 | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| It's Only a Game | 2001 | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| Keep it Simple | 2002 | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| Planet of the Umps | 2003 | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| Lute! | 2006 | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| Sapp Attack | 2012 | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| Earn the Right to Win | 2013 | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| Looking for Terry | 2026 | Description / Buy at Amazon |
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Baseball Books
The Umpire Strikes Back: Ron Luciano recounts his career as an umpire in this collaboration with Fisher. Stories from the minor and major leagues explain life behind the plate and encounters with players, managers, and fellow officials. The memoir combines humorous incidents with the practical demands of making decisions in a game whose participants frequently challenge the person responsible for enforcing its rules. First published in 1982.
Strike Two: Luciano returns with further stories about umpiring and the people encountered during eleven years working in professional baseball. Written with Fisher, the collection revisits unusual situations in the minor leagues and the skills officials carried into the majors. Recollections of colleagues and arguments show the unpredictable work surrounding the apparently straightforward job of calling a game. Published in 1984.
The Artful Dodger: Tommy Lasorda looks back on more than forty years associated with the Dodgers as player, scout, coach, and manager. His collaboration with Fisher brings together personal recollections and stories about people within the organization. The account presents a participant’s perspective on baseball work and the relationships connecting successive stages of a long career with one franchise. Published in 1985.
Planet of the Umps: A Baseball Life from Behind the Plate: Ken Kaiser recounts his life and umpiring career in this collaboration with Fisher. The memoir follows an unconventional path into baseball and the experiences of working behind the plate. Recollections of players, managers, and officials explain the arguments, judgment calls, and personalities surrounding major league games, presenting the sport from the viewpoint of someone charged with enforcing its rules. Published in 2003.
Football Books
First Down and a Billion: The Funny Business of Pro Football: Former San Diego Chargers owner Gene Klein explains professional football from the owner’s position in this collaboration with Fisher. Recollections move among front offices, locker rooms, and league meetings, covering coaches, players, agents, lawsuits, and other owners. The memoir considers the conflicts and unexpected demands encountered when trying to manage a sports franchise as a business. Published in 1987.
It's Only a Game: Terry Bradshaw recounts experiences before, during, and after his Pittsburgh Steelers career in this collaboration with Fisher. Football stories sit alongside accounts of broadcasting, singing, work, and family. The memoir follows a public figure seeking a life beyond the achievements that made him famous, with personal difficulties and unexpected career changes included alongside his Super Bowl successes. First published in 2001.
Keep it simple: Bradshaw and Fisher organize experiences from football and later life around ways of responding to difficulties. The book addresses relationships, work, faith, health, and leadership through the former quarterback’s reflections on his own successes and mistakes. Personal stories supply the basis for its practical outlook, extending the autobiographical approach of It’s Only a Game. Published in 2002.
Sapp Attack: My Story: Warren Sapp recounts his development from Florida childhood through the University of Miami and an NFL career with Tampa Bay and Oakland. Written with Fisher, the memoir considers coaches, opponents, professional expectations, and life beyond playing. Sapp’s personality and judgments about the game shape an account that includes broadcasting and entertainment as well as his defensive achievements. Published in 2012.
Earn the Right to Win: How Success in Any Field Starts with Superior Preparation: Tom Coughlin and Fisher examine the role of preparation in sustained performance, drawing on Coughlin’s coaching career and Super Bowl victories. Planning, attention to detail, practice, and personal standards supply the organizing principles. Sporting examples explain how work completed before competition can influence results, with the discussion extended to leadership and achievement in other professional settings. Published in 2013.
Looking for Terry: A Memoir: Bradshaw revisits major decisions across football, broadcasting, business, and family in this collaboration with Fisher. The memoir considers the contrast between his public image and his understanding of himself. Recollections of playing for Pittsburgh lead into an account of the continuing work of entertaining audiences and finding direction after the career that first made him famous. Published in October 2026.
Basketball Books
Chamique Holdsclaw: Fisher’s short biographical profile introduces basketball player Chamique Holdsclaw, a prominent figure in the development of professional women’s basketball in the United States. The book belongs to his group of compact athlete profiles published in 2000. Its individual subject distinguishes it from the longer coach and player memoirs elsewhere in Fisher’s sports bibliography. Published in 2000.
Lisa Leslie: This compact biographical volume profiles basketball player Lisa Leslie. Published alongside Fisher’s books about other leading women athletes, it places an individual sporting career at the center of a short standalone work. It forms part of his basketball bibliography, alongside more extensive autobiographical collaborations with coaches, while focusing on a player rather than team management. Published in 2000.
Lute!: The Seasons of My Life: Lute Olson traces his life from North Dakota childhood through decades coaching basketball in this collaboration with Fisher. The memoir covers the long route to a major college appointment, recruiting, championship success, and relationships with players. His marriage to Bobbi, her role within his teams, her death, and his subsequent personal life are central alongside the coaching career. First published in 2006.
Soccer Books
Mia Hamm: Fisher and John Boswell profile Mia Hamm, whose career helped bring American women’s soccer to a wider audience. The short biography introduces her life and achievements in the period surrounding the United States’ Women’s World Cup success. It belongs to a set of individual athlete profiles rather than Fisher’s longer autobiographical collaborations with coaches and players. Published in 2000.