Knute Rockne? Red Auerbach? Robert Zuppke? Fred Taylor? Richard Nixon? Jimmy Carter? Anonymous?
Question for Quote Investigator: Any participant in competitive sports must eventually experience defeat. The value of good sportsmanship has been emphasized by many mentors. Different terms have been employed to contrast the divergent reactions to defeat: “gracious loser”, “good loser”, “poor loser”, “angry loser”, and “sore loser”.
A controversial adage emerged from sports coaches in the twentieth century which suggested that a loss should make a person unhappy and should provide a strong impetus for future improvement:
Show me a good loser and I’ll show you a loser.
This saying has been attributed to U.S. football coach Knute Rockne, U.S. basketball coach Red Auerbach, U.S. football coach Vince Lombardi, and many others. I have not seen any solid citations. Would you please explore this topic?
Reply from Quote Investigator: The saying evolved over time, and there are many variants which makes it difficult to trace. The earliest exact match known to QI appeared in 1962 when it was spoken by Gus Doerner who was a U.S. basketball player and coach. Yet, QI believes the expression was already in circulation. The creator remains anonymous.
Below is an overview of the evolution with dates and attributions:
1904 Jul: If I may not win, make me a good loser (Anonymous)
1907 Jun: The “good loser” is blamed seldom any old kind of a winner (Jim Nasium)
1924 Nov: A good loser is no good (Robert Zuppke)
1938 Jun: Show me a good loser and I’ll show you a man without guts (Anonymous)
1940 Oct: Show me a good loser and I’ll show you a streak of yellow (Anonymous)
1943 Aug: Show me a good loser, and I will show you a failure (Attributed to Knute Rockne by George Strickler)
1946 Jan: Show me a good loser and I’ll show you a guy without an ounce of competitive spirit in his makeup (Lee Dunbar)
1948 Dec: Show me a good loser and I’ll show you a failure (Attributed to Knute Rockne by John Mooney)
1952 Mar: Show me a good loser and I’ll show you a consistent loser (John Mooney)
1956 Jan: Show me a good loser and I’ll show you an idiot (Attributed to Paul Gilbert by Bennett Cerf)
1957 Sep: Show me a good loser and I’ll show you an unsuccessful man (Attributed to Knute Rockne by Paul Steiner)
1959 Mar: Show me a good loser and I’ll show you someone who never wins (Fred Taylor)
1960 Apr: Show me a good loser and I’ll show you a guy who is going to lose most of the time (Carl Rees)
1960 Jun: Good losers get lots of practice (Benny Marshall)
1962 Apr: Show me a good loser and I’ll show you a loser (Gus Doerner)
1963 Jun: Show me a good loser and I’ll show you a loser (Frankie Albert)
1965 Apr: Show me a good loser and I’ll show you a loser (Red Auerbach)
1975 Jul: Show me a good loser in professional sports, and I’ll show you an idiot. (Leo Durocher)
1975: You show me a good loser and I will show you a loser (Credited to Anonymous by Jimmy Carter)
1978: Show me a good loser and I’ll show you a loser (Attributed to Wallace Newman by Richard Nixon)
1982 May: Show me a good loser and I’ll show you a loser (Credited to Anonymous by Paul Newman)
2010: Show me a good loser and I’ll show you a loser (Attributed to Vince Lombardi by John Marlowe)
Below are details for selected citations in chronological order.
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