Tony’s Weblog

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  Richard // August 26, 2008 at 9:20 pm

  knute rockne said “show me a gracious loser and i’ll show you a failure.” Vince Lombardi said show me a good loser and i’ll show you a loser.

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  tscida // August 26, 2008 at 9:41 pm

  I can’t remember where I saw this quote. It might have been in the Yale Book of Quotations, which I’ll have to check tomorrow. For now, in a bit a Googling, I found most attributions were to Vince Lombardi, with a few notable exceptions.

  USA Today says:

  From Red Auerbach, coach of the 1950s and ’60s Boston Celtics dynasty: “Show me a good loser, and I’ll show you a loser.”

  From Knute Rockne, architect of Notre Dame’s football legacy: “Show me a gracious loser, and I’ll show you a failure.”

  And from Vince Lombardi, for whom the Super Bowl trophy is named: “If you can accept losing, you can’t win.”

  ESPN said:

  Auerbach’s view of competition was summed up when he said, “Show me a good loser and I’ll show you a loser.”

  BBC said:

  Auerbach famously said: “Show me a good loser and I’ll show you a loser,” Stern said: “The NBA wouldn’t be what it is today without him.”

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  tscida // August 27, 2008 at 10:55 am

  Just checked the Yale Book of Quotations, which attributes the saying to Red Auerbach, and says:

  Quoted in Mansfield (Ohio) News Journal, 6 Apr. 1965. Usually attributed to Knute Rockne, but the earliest known attribution to Rockne is dated 1976.

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