Denis Compton made his debut in county cricket with Middlesex in 1936 at age 18. A year later he played his first Test match against New Zealand and from then on he maintained his position at the top of first class cricket until 1957 when he was forced to retire with a knee injury. During that time he scored nearly 40,000 runs, including 123 centuries and took 622 wickets. But statistics tell only half the story; Compton was an extrovert and a brilliant improvisor on the cricket field. He was one of the first sporting "personalities", whose name drew large crowds. As well as cricket, Compton played football, he was left-winger in Arsenal's FA Cup winning team in 1950. This biography, written by a friend, tells the story of those years.