This is the paperback re-print of the bestselling 2009 edition. It is a true 'rags to riches' football story of a miner's son who fulfilled his dream to play for his country. It is a book with a message - rewards are earned from hard work and determination. It includes foreword written by Jimmy Greaves and contributions from Sir Bobby Charlton. "The Gerry Hitchens Story" follows the life of a young miner who was plucked from the mineshaft to find himself playing football in the Italian League a few years later. It is surely something that dreams were made of, a real 'rags-to-riches' story; however, this is exactly what happened to one such talented, working-class lad from a small Shropshire mining village in the late 1950s.

Gerry Hitchens was an uncomplicated footballer with obvious natural ability and virtues. It is fair to say there have been more skillful players than Hitchens, but footballers do not always require skill and flair to succeed at the very top - sometimes hard work and determination are equally important qualities, along with the will to learn and improve. Gerry had a bit extra to offer - the instinct to sniff out half chances and to score goals in abundance at any level. Containing a foreword by Jimmy Greaves and contributions from Sir Bobby Charton, Jimmy Armfield OBE, Gigi Riva, Louis Suarez and world-renowned football writer and journalist Brian Glanville, "The Gerry Hitchens Story" is a fitting tribute to a great footballer who was 'born to play'.