Respectfully Quoted: A Dictionary of Quotations. 1989.
| NUMBER: | 1990 |
| AUTHOR: | Henry R. (“Red”) Sanders (1905–58) |
| QUOTATION: | Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing. |
| ATTRIBUTION: | This remark has been widely attributed to football coach Vince Lombardi. In Vince Lombardi on Football, ed. George L. Flynn, vol. 1, chapter 1, p. 16 (1973), Lombardi is quoted, “I have been quoted as saying, ‘Winning is the only thing.’ That’s a little out of context. What I said is that ‘Winning is not everything—but making the effort to win is.’” Not everyone agrees. Time, September 14, 1970, p. 61, attributed this remark to Lombardi and called it his creed. Bob Rubin, Green Bay’s Packers, p. 84 (1973), quotes this from Lombardi’s opening talk on the first day of training camp in 1959. |
| SUBJECTS: | Winning |