The exact words
Red Sanders said it first
Few sports lines are as famous, and few are as closely tied to one person. Vince Lombardi, who won five NFL championships with the Green Bay Packers and gave his name to the Super Bowl trophy, is the man everyone pictures saying it. But the sentence was around before Lombardi was a head coach.
Henry “Red” Sanders, who coached Vanderbilt and then UCLA, was known for it. He is said to have used it as early as the 1930s, and in October 1950 the Los Angeles Times reported him delivering it at a coaching workshop at Cal Poly: “Men, I’ll be honest. Winning isn’t everything,” followed by a long pause, and then, “Men, it’s the only thing!” In 1953 the line turned up in the John Wayne film Trouble Along the Way, about a college football coach, which helped spread it beyond sport.
How it became Lombardi’s
Lombardi’s biographer David Maraniss writes that Lombardi used the line in his opening talk to the Packers in 1959, his first season in Green Bay. As his teams won title after title through the 1960s, the line became his trademark, and Sanders, who died in 1958, was largely forgotten.
Lombardi grew uncomfortable with what the line seemed to say: that it was fine to do anything to win. Later in life he said he wished he had said it differently, and he is reported to have put it as “Winning isn’t everything. The will to win is the only thing.” That version is about effort and commitment, not the scoreboard.
How to use it
The line works in a team talk, but it carries baggage, especially for youth sport. Using both versions, Sanders’s original and Lombardi’s correction, gives you a stronger message and shows you know the story. In writing, credit Sanders as the earlier source and mention that Lombardi made it famous.
What people get wrong
Vince Lombardi's original creed.
A line Red Sanders was using by 1950, which Lombardi picked up later and tried to soften.
Timeline
- 1930s–40sRed Sanders, coaching at Vanderbilt and then UCLA, is said to use the line with his players.
- 1950The Los Angeles Times reports Sanders using it at a coaching workshop at Cal Poly.
- 1953The line is spoken in the John Wayne film Trouble Along the Way, about a college football coach.
- 1959Vince Lombardi, in his first season with the Green Bay Packers, uses it in his opening talk at training camp.
- LaterLombardi says he wished he had put it differently, and is reported to have said, “Winning isn't everything. The will to win is the only thing.”
Use it in a speech
Questions people ask
Who said “Winning isn't everything; it's the only thing”?
UCLA football coach Henry “Red” Sanders was using it by 1950, when the Los Angeles Times reported it. Vince Lombardi made it famous later.
Did Vince Lombardi ever say it?
Yes. His biographer David Maraniss reports that he used it in his first Packers training camp in 1959. He did not coin it.
What did Lombardi say he really meant?
He said he regretted the line and is reported to have said, “Winning isn't everything. The will to win is the only thing,” meaning effort and commitment.
Cite this quote
Don't cite this line as Vince Lombardi's words. There is no reliable source showing they said it. The real source is Henry “Red” Sanders, football coach, as reported in the Los Angeles Times, so cite that instead. If you need to mention it, say it is “often attributed to Vince Lombardi” and, if you want a reference, cite this page:
Sources
- David Maraniss, When Pride Still Mattered: A Life of Vince Lombardi (Simon & Schuster, 1999).
- Art Rosenbaum, “Indians Far From Bashful at Chow,” Los Angeles Times, October 18, 1950.
- James A. Michener, Sports in America (1976).