Winning isn't everything; it's the only thing

Arguably the most famous quote in sport, Winning isn’t everything; it’s the only thing came to exemplify a form of unfettered competitiveness that has permeated American sport and carried over into the general culture. Its assertion about the importance of winning has been touted as a basic tenet of the American sports creed and, at the same time, singled out as encapsulating what is wrong with competitive sport.

This credo has served as counterpoint to the well known sentiment by sports journalist Grantland Rice that, it's “not that you won or lost but how you played the game," and to the Modern Olympic creed expressed by its founder Pierre de Coubertin: "The most important thing . . . is not winning but taking part (in the Games).”

The quote is most widely attributed to former Green Bay Packers (NFL) coach Vince Lombardi; however, he did not coin the phrase. Lombardi is on record using the quote as early as 1959 in his opening talk on the first day of the Packers’ training camp. The quote captured the American public's attention during Lombardi's highly successful reign as coach of the Packers in the 1960s. Over time, the quote 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.

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The coach

In response to growing criticism surrounding the credo, Lombardi eventually came to regret the "winning is the only thing" statement and offered a repudiation, implying that what he meant to say was, “Winning is not everything - but making the effort to win is." Those sympathetic to Lombardi engaged in a revisionist effort to downplay his use of the original quote. However, contemporaneous sources including first-hand accounts by his players and various journalists have documented Lombardi’s repeated use of the “winning is the only thing” version.

The quote most likely was coined by former Vanderbilt and UCLA football coach Henry “Red” Sanders, who is credited by his players with first employing the slogan in the 1930s while coaching prep school football in Georgia. The quote is directly attributed to Sanders by the late Fred Russell, long-time Nashville Banner sports columnist, as well as by Hollywood screenwriter Mel Shavelson (who appropriated the quote for the 1953 film ‘’Trouble Along the Way’’ in which John Wayne plays a small-college football coach). The quote also appeared in a 1955 Sports Illustrated article on Sanders.

Sanders, who was known for droll “one-liners,” probably meant the quote as a nonsensical witticism. However, it was transformed into the tag line for the strident Lombardian ethic which became part of the Culture war of the 1960s, and continues to influence a certain breed of athletic coach.

References

David Maraniss. When Pride Still Mattered: A Life Of Vince Lombardi. Simon & Schuster, 2000. (Chapter 21, "Winning Isn't Everything" and Chapter 22, "It's the Only Thing.")

Steven J. Overman, “'Winning isn't Everything. It's the Only Thing': The Origin, Attributions and Influence of a Famous Football Quote,” Football Studies. Volume 2 Issue 2 (October 1999).