Favorite Sports Quotes

[Harliduck]

[QUOTE=DeanH3;1239895]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

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."

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"






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.'"

-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