Lombardi Quote

Robert Mason

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"WINNING ISN'T EVERYTHING... IT'S THE ONLY THING" I always thought this was Lombardi's original quote until I recently saw it used in a 1953 movie "Trouble Along The Way". I did some research and found it was first used in 1949 by UCLA Bruins football coach Henry Russell ("Red") Sanders, who spoke two different versions of the quotation.

The quotation is widely, but wrongly attributed to American football coach Vince Lombardi, who probably heard the phrase from UCLA coach Sanders.[3] Lombardi is on record using the quotation as early as 1959 in his opening talk on the first day of the Packers’ training camp.[3] The quotation captured the American public's attention during Lombardi's highly successful reign as coach of the Packers in the 1960s. Over time, the quotation took on a life of its own. The words graced the walls of locker rooms, ignited pre-game pep talks, and echoed from the rafters of banquet halls. According to the late James Michener's Sports in America, Lombardi claimed to have been misquoted. What he intended to say was "Winning isn't everything. The will to win is the only thing."[4] However, Lombardi is on record repeating the original version of the quotation on several occasions.[5]
 

Voltron

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"WINNING ISN'T EVERYTHING... IT'S THE ONLY THING" I always thought this was Lombardi's original quote until I recently saw it used in a 1953 movie "Trouble Along The Way". I did some research and found it was first used in 1949 by UCLA Bruins football coach Henry Russell ("Red") Sanders, who spoke two different versions of the quotation.

The quotation is widely, but wrongly attributed to American football coach Vince Lombardi, who probably heard the phrase from UCLA coach Sanders.[3] Lombardi is on record using the quotation as early as 1959 in his opening talk on the first day of the Packers’ training camp.[3] The quotation captured the American public's attention during Lombardi's highly successful reign as coach of the Packers in the 1960s. Over time, the quotation took on a life of its own. The words graced the walls of locker rooms, ignited pre-game pep talks, and echoed from the rafters of banquet halls. According to the late James Michener's Sports in America, Lombardi claimed to have been misquoted. What he intended to say was "Winning isn't everything. The will to win is the only thing."[4] However, Lombardi is on record repeating the original version of the quotation on several occasions.[5]


Lots of things are like that. I knew he wasnt the first to say that, but its been that way. Many things are like the. 12th man is not unique to seattle, they got the idea from a college. Bear down slogan by chicago was used by the univ of AZ first. Watson and Crick where not the first to describe the helix structure of dna, etc...
 

El Guapo

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The 12th man is a Texas A&M thing....and it's like being in a cult down there. They fill the stadium with fans the night *before* each game for "yell" practices, rehearsing the cheers that the 12th man will unleash on the next day's opponent.

To the OP - great find. This seems like the kind of research that Cliff Christl would do in one of his Packers historian write ups on the Packers website. Nice work.
 

Voltron

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The 12th man is a Texas A&M thing....and it's like being in a cult down there. They fill the stadium with fans the night *before* each game for "yell" practices, rehearsing the cheers that the 12th man will unleash on the next day's opponent.

To the OP - great find. This seems like the kind of research that Cliff Christl would do in one of his Packers historian write ups on the Packers website. Nice work.


Yeah Seattle ended up paying licensing fees or something like that to use the 12th man concept, but for many in the populace its seen as a Seattle invention... Just like Bear Down, in chicago.
 

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