Elis James shares his three favourite sports books

Elis James has been announced as returning as a judge on the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award panel. This award - the most prestigious literary prize in the sporting world - returns for its 37th year, with James joining the esteemed panel of judges including Gabby Logan, Alyson Rudd, Dame Heather Rabbatts, Michelle Walder, Mark Lawson and Clarke Carlisle.

Here, Elis shares with British Comedy Guide his three favourite sports books:

Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby

This happens to be my favourite book of all time as well as being the book I've read the most - 10 to 15 times!

The reason I love this book is that I first read it when I was 13. I had grown out of children's literature and it was the first 'adult' book that discussed things that interested me in in a way that felt relevant and readable.

It's really funny, Hornby reminded me a lot of myself and I've got something different out of it every time I've read it. I re-read it recently, and noticed it's now become a very interesting period piece. It looks at a world of football and a time that has now disappeared, but when it was published it felt very relevant and contemporary. I thought it was a really interesting look at masculinity in the 20th century as well as being the first book I'd read from the perspective of a supporter.

What a lot of people don't understand about football supporters is that football can be quite a bad form of entertainment in many ways! He was the first person to write about that and it felt very human.

McIlvanney on Boxing by Hugh McIlvanney

I think he's the only sports journalist to have won Journalist of the Year - my god that man can write! His turn of phrase was just extraordinary. He also wrote a book on football, and I always find myself going back to that.

The way he wrote about the death of the great Welsh boxer Johnny Owen was so sensitive and so humane. I used to keep this book by my bedside alongside his football book, and I used to just choose one of his match reports at random because he really brings the games to life. He had such a great understanding of all sport, not just football and boxing.

When Pele Broke Our Hearts: Wales and the 1958 World Cup by Mario Risoli

Until the Gareth Bale era, 1958 was the last World Cup we [the Welsh national football team] had reached. We got to the quarter-finals that year and we were knocked out by Brazil, and it's such a crazy story. There are so many aspects of that World Cup that just couldn't be repeated now because the game is now unrecognisable.

Wales had one of the best defenders in British football at the time, Ray Daniel, and he was banned for playing for Wales for singing a song from Guys And Dolls on the bus on the way back from a fixture. The secretary of the FA at the time was very religious and said that was the devil's music and that he'd never play for Wales again! That'd be like banning Rio Ferdinand from playing for England forever because he sang a showtune instead of a hymn!

Another story from the book is that Daniel forgot his boots one game and they couldn't get him any broken-in boots to wear, so instead he played the last 15 minutes of the game in his socks against Czechoslovakia because it was less painful than what he was given.

For years, that World Cup run has been Wales' greatest achievement, and Risoli shares the incredible stories from behind the scenes.

Elis and the rest of the judges will determine the longlist of titles for William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award by 25th September, and then further whittle it down throughout the month into a final shortlist which will be announced on 30th October. The official awards ceremony will take place on 25th November in which the winners will be announced. The author will receive both the coveted William Hill Sports Book of the Year trophy as well as £30,000 in cash, whilst the rest of the shortlisted authors will receive a leather-bound copy of their book along with £3,000 in cash each.