Favorite Sports Quotes

[mark evans]

Sorry if this one has been done before.

"Don't ever underestimate the heart of a champion."

Rudy T.

[I Only Smoke 4 the Cards]

"Hit 'me where they ain't."
- Willie Keeler


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[Tobacco&Gum]

Don't give up, don't ever give up.

- Jimmy V

[slidekellyslide]

"The name of the game is hit the ball, catch the ball and get the F*****g job done" Lee Elia.

NSFW

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KGcwE4FtGw

[Peter_Spaeth]

Trying to sneak a fastball by Hank Aaron was like trying to sneak a sunrise past a rooster. (forget who said it)

He could throw a lambchop past a wolf. (sportswriter about Lefty Grove)

The third one sounded low. (anonymous batter complaining after fanning against Walter Johnson)

He's so good blind people come to the park to hear him pitch. (Reggie Jackson on Tom Seaver)

[VoodooChild]

"Roberto Clemente could field the ball in New York and throw out a guy in Pennsylvania" - Vin Scully.

[sycks22]

"Dave's a killer" "Dave's a mess" Slap shot

"Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes it rains" Crash Davis

[Writehooks]

"Forecheck, backcheck, paycheck."
- Hockey Hall of Famer Gil Perreault, when asked by a neophyte Buffalo sportswriter to name the three most important aspects of the game.

"Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die."
& "He can run, but he can't hide."
- Joe Louis

"You're a white guy -- help me!"
- Heavyweight title challenger Randall "Tex" Cobb to referee Steve Crosson during the fifth round of the horrific beating Cobb took from world champion Larry Holmes in their 1982 title bout.

[Koufax32fan]

"I can see how he [Koufax] won twenty-five games. What I don't understand is how he lost five." - Yogi Berra

"There are two times in my life the hair on my arms has stood up: The first time I saw the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and the first time I saw Sandy Koufax throw a fastball" - Al Campanis

"Trying to hit him [Koufax] was like trying to drink coffee with a fork." - Willie Stargell

[GoldenAge50s]

One of my all-time favorites that pertains not only to baseball, but to LIFE--

"Don't look back, somethin' may be gainin' on 'ya!"--Satchel Paige

[Pat R]

" Two thirds of the earth is covered by water the other third is covered by
Garry Maddox" (Ralph Kiner).

[Peter_Spaeth]

I caught fly balls. Willie Mays, summing up his career.

(*&^^ing Willie. Mantle, on being asked late in life who was better, he or Mays.

[Wite3]

Somewhere I once read that during a slow game in Seattle, Dave Niehaus was describing the action in the stands when he notices a young couple kissing after every pitch...Niehaus remarks, "Isn't that nice. He is kissing her on the strikes and she is kissing him on the balls."

"He is not a dog; a dog is loyal and runs after balls." Lasorda speaking about Daryl Strawberry.

"All last year we tried to teach him English, and the only word he learned was million." Another Lasorda speaking about Fernando Valenzuela.

"It's time for Dodger baseball!!" Vin Scully...the best.

[digdugdig]

Bill Russell as a analyst commentator for an NBA game, after 2 players went up for a rebound and one got nailed in the groin area...
"I think he took an elbow to the mid section, and that's puttin' kinda high".

[Duluth Eskimo]

"There is always some kid who may be seeing me for the first or last time, I owe him my best" Joe DiMaggio

Always been a favorite of mine.

[grainsley]

Harry Neale, coach of the Canucks:

We couldn't win at home, and we couldn't win on the road. My failure as a Coach was that I couldn't think of anywhere else to play.

[DeanH3]

[QUOTE=Peter_Spaeth;1239794]Trying to sneak a fastball by Hank Aaron was like trying to sneak a sunrise past a rooster. (forget who said it)

I believe it was Bob Feller.

I have to go with a Yogi-ism- It's deja vue all over again.

[alaskapaul3]

Shoeless Joe Jackson favorite

"What a hell of a league this is. I hit .387, .408, and .395 the last three years and I ain't won nothin' yet!"

[brookdodger55]

Unknown

If I could see it, I could hit it.

Mike

[brookdodger55]

"Roberto Clemente could field the ball in New York and throw out a guy in Pennsylvania" - Vin Scully.

Love that quote

[jerrys]

"Sometimes I still can't believe what I saw," said Harry Hooper, a Boston teammate of Ruth's. "This 19-year-old kid, crude, poorly educated, only lightly brushed by the social veneer we call civilization, gradually transformed into the idol of American youth and the symbol of baseball the world over - a man loved by more people and with an intensity of feeling that perhaps has never been equaled before or since."

[Howe’s Hunter]

"Lady, I'm not an athlete. I'm a professional baseball player."

John Kruk

[CowboysGuide]

When asked about his teams' execution after another poor game...

"I'm all for it!"

Jim McKay, Tampa Bay Buccaneers Head Coach

It's football but the OP says 'favorite sports quote'.

[Exhibitman]

When you grab hold of your figs and let the punches go, the crowds will flock--Danny Green

I look what I am; a hard bastard--Lenny "The Guv'nor" McLean

Float like a butterfly sting like a bee; I'm the one who did the job, ask him, you'll see--Joe Frazier

My style is impetuous, my defense is impregnable, and I'm just ferocious--Mike Tyson

Everyone has a plan until they've been hit-Joe Louis

The man who is really serious, with the urge to find out what truth is, has no style at all. He lives only in what is--Bruce Lee

Judge a man by how he treats someone who can do nothing for him--Nick Charles

Joe Louis is a credit to his race—the human race--Jimmy Cannon

Us Brits ain’t a bunch of pussies--Nigel Benn

[parkerj33]

There are three types of baseball players: those who make it happen, those who watch it happen, and those who wonder what the hell happened.
- Tommy Lasorda

[I Only Smoke 4 the Cards]

When I was in college one my professors was friends with Sandy Koufax. He met with out class and answered our questions. He was very nice and incredibly humble. Supposedly he does not keep any baseball mementos in his house.

"I knew I would start about 30 games a year. I figured that I would have good enough stuff half the time that I should win. The rest of the time I would not be at my best but I knew if I could just win 1/3 of those games I could be a 20 game winner." - Sandy Koufax

Let me be clear that he said this with total humility.

[I Only Smoke 4 the Cards]

When asked about his teams' execution after another poor game...

"I'm all for it!"

Jim McKay, Tampa Bay Buccaneers Head Coach

It's football but the OP says 'favorite sports quote'.

Reminds me of a quote by a British politician (I cannot remember who) from an interview. The interview was about a controversy surrounding infant baptism.

Reporter: Do you believe in infant baptism?

Politician: Believe in it? I've seen it.

Reporter: .......

[ALR-bishop]

" Ruth made a grave mistake when he gave up pitching. Working once a week he might have lasted a long time and become a great star"...Tris Speaker

[Peter_Spaeth]

A couple more attributed to Joe Louis:

He can run, but he can't hide.

Not this guy, and not tonight -- asked if he thought he would ever lose.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Attributed to Pete Rose == I'd walk through hell in a gasoline suit to play baseball.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Perhaps my favorite of all -- said of Ty Cobb -- he would have climbed a mountain to punch an echo.

[I Only Smoke 4 the Cards]

Perhaps my favorite of all -- said of Ty Cobb -- he would have climbed a mountain to punch an echo.

Hahaha that one is pretty good. Totally sounds like Cobb.

[bigtrain]

"If I'd played my career hitting singles like Pete (Rose), I'd wear a dress." - Mickey Mantle

[I Only Smoke 4 the Cards]

"If I were playing third base and my mother were rounding third with the run that was going to beat us, I'd trip her. Oh, I'd pick her up and brush her off and say, 'Sorry, Mom,' but nobody beats me." - Leo Durocher

[Peter_Spaeth]

Reporter to Early Wynn: Early, you're so mean you would throw at your grandmother.

Early: only if she was crowding the plate.

Reporter to Sal Maglie: why did you throw at him on consecutive pitches?

Maglie: to let him know I meant it the first time.

[Peter_Spaeth]

A great quote, way ahead of its time perhaps, attributed to Bob Gibson by Tim McCarver:

McCarver to Gibson in the locker room after a game: Bob, there's a colored guy waiting to see you.

Gibson: Oh really? What color is he?

[Tim Fritz]

Playoffs!?! Don't talk about playoffs! Are you kidding me? Playoffs?!? I'm just hoping we can win another game!

[I Only Smoke 4 the Cards]

"Practice? Are we talking about practice?" - Allen Iverson

"They are who we thought they were." - Dennis Green

[ullmandds]

I gave 120% out there today!

[iwantitiwinit]

"Bob, stop upper-cutting"

My Dad 1968

[CowboysGuide]

Reminds me of a quote by a British politician (I cannot remember who) from an interview. The interview was about a controversy surrounding infant baptism.

Reporter: Do you believe in infant baptism?

Politician: Believe in it? I've seen it.

Reporter: .......

CORRECTION: It's John McKay, not Jim. Duh!

[sebie43]

"My style is impetuous, my defense is impregnable and I'm just ferocious, I want to eat his heart"- Mike Tyson


Sebie

[I Only Smoke 4 the Cards]

Attributed to Pete Rose == I'd walk through hell in a gasoline suit to play baseball.

One of my favorites

[rgpete]

I don't know if this is the whole quote or who gets credit but I remember this
for the Braves pitching staff "Spahn, Sain and pray for rain"

[Cardboard Junkie]

Yogi's advice to a rookie batter...."Swing at the strikes."

[Peter_Spaeth]

Rod Dedeaux, USC pitching coach, to Bill Lee -- Throw strikes, tiger.

[ullmandds]

"My style is impetuous, my defense is impregnable and I'm just ferocious, I want to eat his heart"- Mike Tyson


Sebie

I wonder who helped Iron Mike come up with that one back then!

[I Only Smoke 4 the Cards]

"My style is impetuous, my defense is impregnable and I'm just ferocious, I want to eat his heart"- Mike Tyson


Sebie

I think Iron Mike ended that by saying "I want to eat his children."

[oldjudge]

One of the funniest guys ever to play professional sports was Alex Karras. Here are two of his quotes:

On Tom Dempsey's then NFL record 63 yard field goal to beat the Lions: "We laughed for about 62 yards"

On golf: "My best score ever was 103. But I've only been playing fifteen years."

[Harliduck]

Loved reading this thread...awesome.

Here are some of my favorites -

Rogers Hornsby
People ask me what I do in winter when there's no baseball. I'll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring.

Bob Lemon
The two most important things in life are good friends and a strong bullpen.

Reggie Jackson
Fans don't boo nobodies.

George Brett
If a tie is like kissing your sister, losing is like kissing you grandmother with her teeth out.

Jackie Robinson
Life is not a spectator sport. If you're going to spend your whole life in the grandstand just watching what goes on, in my opinion you're wasting your life.

Jason Kidd
We’re going to turn this team around 360 degrees.

Charles Shackleford
Left hand, right hand, it doesn’t matter. I’m amphibious.

[Harliduck]

[QUOTE=Peter_Spaeth;1239794]Trying to sneak a fastball by Hank Aaron was like trying to sneak a sunrise past a rooster. (forget who said it)

I believe it was Bob Feller.



It was actually Joe Adcock....

[glenv]

In Toronto, Winfield was charged with cruelty to animals after a throw hit and killed a seagull. When asked about it, Billy Martin responded: "It's the first time he's hit the cutoff man all season."

[Rickyy]

"I ain't goin' on no time machine." - Marvin "Bad News" Barnes - St Louis Spirits... upon being told that he needed to board a team flight scheduled to leave Louisville at 8 a.m. and land in St. Louis at 7:59 a.m.

[parker1b2]

"Baseball statistics are like a girl in a bikini, they both show a lot, but not everything" - Toby Harrah

[Cat]

"Every hitter likes fastballs just like everybody likes ice cream. But you don't like it when someone's stuffing it into you by the gallon. That's how you feel when Ryan's throwing balls by you."

Reggie Jackson

[JollyElm]

Talking about baseball:

"It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart."

A. Bartlett Giamatti

[peterose4hof]

Somebody's gotta win and somebody's gotta lose. I believe in the letting the other guy lose.
Pete Rose

Nobody ever goes there anymore because it's too crowded.
Yogi Berra

I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth.
Lou Gehrig (I still get chills every time I hear this speech)

[Hot Springs Bathers]

Frank Sullivan, Red Sox pitcher when asked how he pitched to Mickey Mantle

"With tears in my eyes."

[pariah1107]

Bruce Ashman Cle Elum Athletics manager, about rotisserie-like rotation of coal miners/ballplayers on the lowest rung of organized baseball.

"We have three shifts; One coming, one going, and one losing."

[ncinin]

"Baseball is dull only to dull minds." Red Barber

[detroitbaseball]

"Baseball was one-hundred percent of my life." - Ty Cobb

[barrysloate]

This one was credited to Ralph Kiner in his recent obituary:

One of the Mets' sponsors was American Cyanamid. As they were breaking for commercial, Ralph said: "And now a word from our sponsor, American Cyanide."

[packs]

I can remember a reporter asking me for a quote, and I didn't know what a quote was. I thought it was some kind of soft drink.

- Joe D


Another favorite:

I gave my life to baseball and I'll only be remembered for something that never happened.

- Charlie Root 2 days before his death

[Clark7781]

From the Movie "Rudy":

"No one. And I mean NO ONE, comes into our house and pushes us around."

Not directly linked to an actual sports person, but sums up what my high school football coach said many times to us.

[CrazyDiamond]

Tom hanks in "A League of Thier Own" has one of my favorites pertaining to Baseball


"Its supposed to be hard, if it wasnt hard everyone would do it, the hard is what makes it great"

[tedzan]

Late afternoon, Oct 8th 1956, Yankee Stadium, an excited New York sports media surrounded Don Larsen baraging him with questions regarding his Perfect Game......

Larsen modestly responded...... "The Dodgers made it easy for me, I threw only 96 pitches"



http://i603.photobucket.com/albums/tt113/zanted86/donlarsenperfectphoto.jpg


TED Z

[MVSNYC]

I'm surprised there's not more from Yogi in this thread...

http://www.baseball-almanac.com/quotes/quoberra.shtml


I also like this one...i heard Johnny Bench say it in a recent interview, talking about how fun it was to play a boy's game, as a man...but i am sure he wasn't the first to say it...

"Growing old is mandatory, growing up is optional."

[Buythatcard]

Some Casey Stengel quotes:

Being with a woman all night never hurt no professional baseball player. It's staying up all night looking for a woman that does him in.

The Mets have shown me more ways to lose than I even knew existed.

They say some of my stars drink whiskey, but I have found that ones who drink milkshakes don't win many ball games.

[stlcardsfan]

[QUOTE=Writehooks;1239843
"You're a white guy -- help me!"
- Heavyweight title challenger Randall "Tex" Cobb to referee Steve Crosson during the fifth round of the horrific beating Cobb took from world champion Larry Holmes in their 1982 title bout.[/QUOTE]

And another classic came from Cobb after the fight was over. Howard Cosell was so disgusted over the beating he said he would quit doing boxing. When told about this by the media Cobb said "I'll go another 15 with Holmes if it gets him off Monday Night Football".

[btcarfagno]

"Luck is the residue of design."

- Branch Rickey

(although I believe he borrow it from someone else...)

Tom C

[Runscott]

"Hey, Fowler!

Don't you know how I hate losing to the Pi-rates?" - Pop from 'The Natural'

[Eric72]

"I watched him take that easy windup. And then something went past me that made me flinch. The thing just hissed with danger."

- Ty Cobb, recalling his first time facing Walter Johnson

[Tabe]

" Great moments... are born from great opportunity. And that's what you have here, tonight, boys. That's what you've earned here tonight. One game. If we played 'em ten times, they might win nine. But NOT THIS GAME. NOT TONIGHT."

-- Herb Brooks pre-game speech before the "Miracle on Ice" game

[Runscott]

"You teach a kid how to be a good loser, and that's what he'll be."

- my friend's Dad

[steve B]

"If I had a ski with a hole in it I'd throw it away" - Franz Klammer commenting on the new (and brief) fad of downhill racing skis with holes at the tip supposedly for better aerodynamics.


"Ferdy big horse. Ferdy attack. Your boys ready?"

~Ferdinand Kübler (1955 TDF, dropping back to team cars taunting the managers.) He had finished second in 54, but in 55 was DNF for stage 12 the day after Mt Ventoux.

And of course this from him after stage 11
"Ferdy's too old. Ferdy killed himself on ventoux".
---------------------

"Goodness, I would give several acres of my land to see him back for a fortnight in the peloton. Just a fortnight. He would show all these pussies what it was, racing against Merckx. This guy was unbelievable, my God. They wouldn't have time to bleach their hair or pierce their ears. All they would wanna do is go to bed and rest, I tell you. "


Luis Ocaña in the eighties. Powerful tribute.
-----------------------------


"Vous êtes des assassins! Oui, des assassins!' (French for 'You are murderers! Yes, murderers!'

Octave Lapize to race officials on the Col du Tourmalet in the 1910 Tour de France. The first time going over the big mountains on the Pyrenees.


Steve B

[slipk1068]

"All right everyone, line up alphabetically according to your height."

Casey Stengel

and on why he chose Hobie Landrith (a 3rd string catcher) as the NY Mets 1st pick in the 1961 expansion draft:

"You gotta have a catcher or you're gonna have a lot of passed balls."

I guess Bob Uecker on the best way to catch a knuckleball is a good 1

"Wait till it stops rolling then pick it up"

and my favorite which I believe is from Andy Coakley and used when he didn't feel like answering a question:

"Being unable to assume an initial premise with any tolerable degree of accuracy, I am loathe to assert a conclusion, fearful lest I should err"

[71buc]

“I want to be remembered as a ballplayer who gave all he had to give.”
Roberto Clemente

"Baseball is like church. Many attend but few understand."
Wes Westrum

[ParisianJohn]

In 1965 Casey Stengel was asked about his two 20 year-old Mets, Ed Kranepool and Greg Goossen. He said "In ten years, Kranepool has the chance to be a star in this league. In ten years Goossen has the chance to be 30 years old".

A reporter once asked Tug McGraw if he preferred grass or AstroTurf, to which the tugged replied, "I've never smoked AstroTurf".

[Michael Peich]

If the runner on first looked as though he were trying to steal second, Rich Ashburn would observe to his broadcasting partner, Harry Kalas,

"He's lookin' a little runnerish, Harry."

[stlcardsfan]

"And let that be a lesson to you all. Nobody beats Vitas Gerulaitis 17 times in a row."

– after beating Jimmy Connors at the January 1980 Masters. Gerulaitis had lost their previous 16 matches.

[EvilKing00]

Woodie hayes- ohio state coach.

Reporter "why did you go for 2 when you were up by 36 points?"

Woody " cause i couldnt go for 3"

[midwaylandscaping]

"'When you go in the lion's den, you don't tippy toe in — you carry a spear, you go in screaming like a banshee, you kick whatever doors in, and say, 'Where's the SOB?' If you go in any other way you're gonna lose.'" :cool:

-Brian Billick, 1/7/01

[the 'stache]

Probably my all-time favorite:

"One time Cool Papa Bell hit a line drive right past my ear. I turned around and saw the ball hit his ass sliding into second."--Satchiel Page

Another:

"Well, I knew why the Tiger fans threw that garbage at me. What I don't understand is why they brought it to the park in the first place."--Joe "Ducky" Medwick

And one more:

“Trying to sneak a fastball by Ted Williams was like trying to sneak a sunbeam by a rooster in the morning.”--Bob Feller

[Scott Garner]

BEST SPORTS QUOTES YOU'VE PROBABLY NEVER HEARD

"Last year we couldn't win at home and we were
losing on the road. My failure as a coach was
that I couldn't think of anyplace else to play.
- Harry Neale, professional hockey coach

"Blind people come to the ballpark just to listen to him pitch."
- Reggie Jackson commenting on Tom Seaver

"I'm working as hard as I can to get my life and my cash to run out at
the same time. If I can just die after lunch Tuesday, everything will
be perfect."
- Doug Sanders, professional golfer

"All the fat guys watch me and say to their wives, 'See, there's a fat
guy doing okay. Bring me another beer.'"
- Mickey Lolich, DetroitTigers Pitcher

"When it's third and ten, you can have the milk drinkers; I'll take
the whiskey drinkers every time."
- Max McGee, Green Bay Packers receiver

"I found out that it's not good to talk about my troubles. Eighty
percent of the people who hear them don't care and the other twenty
percent are glad you're having them."
- Tommy LaSorda ,LA Dodgers manager

"My knees look like they lost a knife fight with a midget."
- E.J. Holub, Kansas City Chiefs linebacker regarding his 12 knee operations

"My theory is that if you buy an ice-cream cone and make it hit your
mouth, you can learn to play tennis. If you stick it on your forehead,
your chances aren't as good."
- Vic Braden, tennis instructor

"When they operated, I told them to add in a Koufax fastball. They did
but unfortunately it twas Mrs. Koufax's."
- Tommy John N.Y. Yankees, recalling his 1974 arm surgery

"I don't know. I only played there for nine years."
- Walt Garrison, Dallas Cowboys fullback when asked if Tom Landry ever smiles

"We were tipping off our plays. Whenever we broke from the huddle,
three backs were laughing and one was pale as a ghost."
- John Breen, HoustonOilers

"The film looks suspiciously like the game itself."
- Bum Phillips, New Orleans Saints, after viewing a lopsided loss to
the AtlantaFalcons

"When I'm on the road, my greatest ambition is to get a standing boo."
- Al Hrabosky, major league relief pitcher

"I have discovered in 20 years of moving around the ball park, that
the knowledge of the game is usually in inverse proportion to the
price of the seats."
- Bill Veeck, Chicago White Sox owner

"Because if it didn't work out, I didn't want to blow the whole day."
- Paul Horning, Green Bay Packers running back on why his marriage
ceremony was before noon.

"I have a lifetime contract. That means I can't be fired during the
third quarter if we're ahead and moving the ball."
- Lou Holtz ,Arkansas football coach

"I won't know until my barber tells me on Monday."
- Knute Rockne, when asked why Notre Dame had lost a game

"I tell him 'Attaway to hit, George.'"
- Jim Frey, K.C. Royals manager when asked what advice he gives George
Brett on hitting

"I learned a long time ago that 'minor surgery' is when they do the
operation on someone else, not you."
- Bill Walton, Portland Trail Blazers

"Our biggest concern this season will be diaper rash."
- George MacIntyre, Vanderbilt football coach surveying the team
roster that included 26 freshmen and 25 sophomores.

"The only difference between me and General Custer is that I have to
watch the films on Sunday."
- Rick Venturi, Northwestern football coach

[ElCabron]

Not that I'm a fan of the players, but here are three of my favorites:

* "Straight cash, homey." -Randy Moss

* "Laser show." -Dustin Pedroia

* "That's a clown question, bro." -Bryce Harper