Triumph Books

What Triumph Books does

Triumph Books is a privately held sports book publisher founded in 1989 and headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The company produces and sells physical and digital books covering every major U.S. professional sports league — NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL — along with college football and basketball programs, golf, and adjacent entertainment titles (anime, gaming, puzzles). Its catalog is organized into branded series such as "100 Things Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die," "The Big 50," "If These Walls Could Talk," and championship commemoratives, with individual titles covering team histories, player autobiographies, fan guides, rule books, and oral histories.

The company's revenue model is one-time book sales across multiple formats — trade paperback ($16.95–$18.95 standard, up to $30.00 for commemoratives), clothbound editions ($25.95–$29.95), and eBooks ($11.99) delivered in PDF, EPUB, and Mobipocket. Distribution is hybrid: direct-to-consumer via the triumphbooks.com e-commerce storefront for consumers, plus wholesale through Independent Publishers Group (IPG) to bookstores and online retailers. The firm holds authorized co-publishing and brand partnerships with Sports Illustrated and the Boston Globe, and maintains licensing relationships with major U.S. sports leagues to publish official rule books, league histories, and championship commemoratives.

Operationally, Triumph Books runs with 11–50 employees, distributes globally through IPG and direct digital channels, and markets through social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram), email newsletters, and SEO-optimized catalog pages. The company is owner-operated with no disclosed external funding, parent company, or M&A activity in the available data.

Name

Triumph Books

Legal name

Triumph Books

Website

https://triumphbooks.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Triumph Books is a privately held Chicago-based sports publisher, founded in 1989, producing team histories, biographies, rule books, and championship commemoratives for every major U.S. professional and college sports league, sold directly to fans and via wholesale distribution.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sports Book Publishing

NAICS

Book Publishers (513130)

SIC

Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)

akta.pro primary industry

Hardcover & Premium Editions Publishing (MPAJAAAE)

Keywords

• Sports book publishing
• Team history books
• Athlete biographies
• Championship commemoratives
• League rule books

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Book Sales: Triumph Books generates revenue through the sale of physical and digital books. The company publishes sports-related content including team histories, biographies, rule books, and fan guides. Revenue comes from one-time book purchases across various formats (trade paper, clothbound, e-books).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Triumph Books is a sports book publisher that produces and sells authorized sports content, including team histories, player biographies, fan reference guides, league rule books, and championship commemoratives for MLB, NFL, NHL, NBA, NASCAR, and college sports. Books are offered in trade paper, clothbound, and digital (PDF, EPUB, Mobipocket) formats, sold directly to consumers via triumphbooks.com and wholesale through Independent Publishers Group (IPG).

Product overview

Triumph Books is a sports and entertainment publishing company operating since 1989. The company publishes books across multiple professional and college sports leagues including MLB, NFL, NHL, NBA, NASCAR, and various college sports. Their product portfolio consists of several branded series: the '100 Things...Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die' fan reference series covering hundreds of team-specific editions; the 'The Big 50' countdown series highlighting defining team moments; the 'If These Walls Could Talk' insider-access series; championship commemorative books; individual team titles and autobiographies/biographies; golf titles; entertainment/gaming titles; and college sports publications. They also publish rule books, oral histories, pictorials, and team histories in partnership with major American sports leagues.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• 100 Things...Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die Series

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Boston GlobecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011The Boston Globe partnered with Triumph Books to co-publish commemorative sports books, including 'Killer B's: The Incredible Story of the 2011 Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins.' This collaboration leverages the Boston Globe's sports journalism expertise with Triumph Books' publishing capabilities.
• Sports IllustratedcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorTriumph Books publishes a dedicated Sports Illustrated book collection, producing branded sports content under the Sports Illustrated brand. This partnership provides Sports Illustrated with publishing capabilities while giving Triumph Books access to the magazine's brand recognition and sports audience.
• Major American Sports LeaguescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTriumph Books publishes official rule books, league histories, and authorized content for NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, and other major sports leagues. This includes both individual team titles and comprehensive league materials.
• Independent Publishers GroupcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorIndependent Publishers Group handles wholesale distribution for Triumph Books, managing fulfillment to bookstores and retail partners. Triumph Books' privacy policy contact ([email protected]) confirms this distribution relationship.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Simon & Schuster: Major trade publisher with sports and memoir titles under imprints like Scribner and Gallery. Comparable as a publisher of athlete autobiographies and sports histories, with substantially larger scale.
• Hachette Book Group: Major trade publisher whose Little, Brown and Grand Central imprints publish sports biographies and championships. Comparable as a publisher producing premium sports titles, but across a much wider nonfiction portfolio.
• Penguin Random House: Largest trade book publisher, with sports titles across multiple imprints (Crown, Dutton, etc.). Comparable as a publisher of sports biographies, histories, and commemoratives, but with vastly broader catalog and distribution.
• Sports Illustrated Books: Branded sports publishing line under the Sports Illustrated media property, with which Triumph already has a partnership. Comparable as a high-profile sports book brand, though operating as part of a much larger media portfolio.
• HarperCollins: Global trade publisher carrying sports titles including memoirs and team histories. Comparable as a publisher producing authorized sports content, though sports is one of many categories within a broad catalog.

Direct peers

• Human Kinetics: Specialist publisher focused on sports, fitness, and physical activity content across print and digital formats. Directly comparable to Triumph in being a category-specialist sports publisher serving both consumer and institutional buyers.
• Skyhorse Publishing: Independent publisher with an extensive sports catalog (including the Sports Publishing imprint). Comparable to Triumph in publishing sports biographies, team histories, and commemoratives, but at larger scale and broader subject coverage.
• Meyer & Meyer Sport: Dedicated sports book publisher producing training, biography, and sport-specific titles globally. Comparable to Triumph in exclusive sports-publishing focus and similar product categories (biographies, team coverage, instructional titles).
• ECW Press: Independent trade publisher with a strong sports and pop-culture catalog. Comparable to Triumph as a mid-sized specialty publisher producing sports titles, biographies, and commemorative books.

Regional players

• Chicago Review Press: Independent Chicago-based publisher with sports and regional history titles. Comparable as a fellow Chicago-area independent trade publisher producing sports and nonfiction books, though with broader subject coverage.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/triumphbooks
• Facebookfacebook.com/triumphbooks
• Instagraminstagram.com/triumphbooks
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/triumph-books

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Triumph Books