Quote Origin: Show Me a Good Loser and I’ll Show You a Loser

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”, …

An Acre of Performance Is Worth the Whole Land of Promise

William Dean Howells? James Howell? Red Auerbach? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: Promises are easy to make and easy to break. Only actual conduct and achievements produce a reliable record of behavior. A popular figurative statement succinctly expresses this idea: An acre of performance is worth a whole world of promise. These words have been attributed …