For years my life revolved around sports. All I wanted to be when I grew up was a bigleague baseball player. Every book report title I chose was about baseball. I had it bad.

A junior high teacher required that I read something other than a baseball book for my next review, so I flashed him the cover of a book depicting a black executive sitting behind a desk, the president of the Chock Full o’ Nuts coffee company. “That’s more like it,” he said, learning only later that it was the story of baseball legend Jackie Robinson.

I was a sportswriter long before I became a novelist. Twenty-two of my 160 published books have been sports-related; and, as you might imagine, I’ve read hundreds more. I love sports movies, too.

Here are my five favorites in each category:

Wait Till Next Year: A Memoir by Jackie Robinson with Carl T. Rowan (Random House, 1960) The first grown-up book I ever read, and what an education! I knew Jackie Robinson was the first black player in the history of big-league baseball, but to learn what he really endured opened my eyes to racism.

Veeck as in Wreck by Bill Veeck with Ed Linn (Univ. of Chicago Press, 2001) Became the bible of team ownership, management, and promotion from one of the most innovative baseball owners in history.

Instant Replay: The Green Bay Diary of Jerry Kramer by Jerry Kramer with Dick Schaap (Doubleday, 2006) This story of a pro football season from the unusual perspective of a behind-the-scenes player, Packer guard Kramer, changed the way fans viewed the game.

The Boys of Summer by Roger Kahn (HarperCollins, 2006) A haunting memoir from a sportswriter who covered the Brooklyn Dodgers of the 1950s, then followed up with each player 20 years later. This shaped my sports book-writing.

My Personal Best: Life Lessons from an All-American Journey by John Wooden (McGraw-Hill, 2004) The most successful college basketball coach in history (10 national championships)—and a Christian—writes of sports and life.

The Pride of the Yankees (1942) A wonderful old black-and-white tearjerker starring Gary Cooper as the legendary Lou Gehrig, cut down by disease in the prime of his baseball career.

Rocky (1976) Call me a sap, but this Sylvester Stallone boxing classic worked for me. Ignore the sequels, but don’t miss this one.

Chariots of Fire (1981) The remarkable story of Christian sprinter Eric Liddell, the 1924 Olympic 100-meter favorite who refused to run on Sunday. He originated one of the great lines in cinema: “God made me fast; and when I run, I feel His pleasure.”

Hoosiers (1986) Gene Hackman stars as a high school basketball coach in this David-versus- Goliath story based on real events. Great acting, believable sports scenes, and a lesson in teamwork.

Seabiscuit (2003) You don’t have to be a horseracing enthusiast (I’m not, except for watching the Triple Crown races each year) to enjoy this true story of an injured horse and an injured jockey who both return to triumph over incalculable odds.

In addition to his mega-selling Left Behind Novels, Jerry Jenkins has written books with Hank Aaron, Walter Payton, Nolan Ryan and more.