1913-1970, American Football Coach
A man can be as great as he wants to be. If you believe in yourself and have the courage, the determination, the dedication, the competitive drive and if you are willing to sacrifice the little things in life and pay the price for the things that are worthwhile, it can be done.
Vince Lombardi – [Possibilities]
A school without football is in danger of deteriorating into a medieval study hall.
Vince Lombardi – [Football]
After the cheers have died down and the stadium is empty, after the headlines have been written and after you are back in the quiet of your room and the championship ring has been placed on the dresser and all the pomp and fanfare has faded, the enduring things that are left are: the dedication to excellence, the dedication to victory, and the dedication to doing with our lives the very best we can to make the world a better place in which to live.
Vince Lombardi – [Dedication]
All right Mister, let me tell you what winning means… you're willing to go longer, work harder, give more than anyone else.
Vince Lombardi – [Winners and Winning]
Build for your team a feeling of oneness, of dependence on one another and of strength to be derived by unity.
Vince Lombardi – [Teams and Teamwork]
Coaches who can outline plays on a black board are a dime a dozen. The ones who win get inside their player and motivate.
Vince Lombardi – [Coaches and Coaching]
Dictionary is the only place that success comes before work. Hard work is the price we must pay for success. I think you can accomplish anything if you're willing to pay the price.
Vince Lombardi – [Price]
Every time a football player goes to ply his trade he's got to play from the ground up — from the soles of his feet right up to his head. Every inch of him has to play. Some guys play with their heads. That's OK You've got to be smart to be number one in any business. But more importantly, you've got to play with your heart, with every fiber of your body. If you're lucky enough to find a guy with a lot of head and a lot of heart, he's never going to come off the field second.
Vince Lombardi – [Football]
Fatigue makes cowards of us all.
Vince Lombardi – [Fatigue]
Football is like life — it requires perseverance, self-denial, hard work, sacrifice, dedication and respect for authority.
Vince Lombardi – [Football]
I firmly believe that any man's finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear, is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle — victorious.
Vince Lombardi – [Fulfillment]
I've never known a man worth his salt who in the long run, deep down in his heart, didn't appreciate the grind, the discipline… I firmly believe that any man's finest hour-this greatest fulfillment to all he holds dear–is the moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle — victorious.
Vince Lombardi – [Training]
If you aren't fired up with enthusiasm, you'll be fired with enthusiasm.
Vince Lombardi – [Enthusiasm]
If you can accept losing you can't win. If you can walk you can run. No one is ever hurt. Hurt is in your mind.
Vince Lombardi – [Winners and Winning]
If you'll not settle for anything less than your best, you will be amazed at what you can accomplish in your lives.
Vince Lombardi – [Excellence]
Inches make champions.
Vince Lombardi – [Things and Little Things]
Individual commitment to a group effort — that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.
Vince Lombardi – [Teams and Teamwork]
It is time for us all to stand and cheer for the doer, the achiever — the one who recognizes the challenges and does something about it.
Vince Lombardi – [Participation]
It's easy to have faith in yourself and have discipline when you're a winner, when you're number one. What you've got to have is faith and discipline when you're not yet a winner.
Vince Lombardi – [Faith]
It's not whether you get knocked down, it's whether you get up.
Vince Lombardi – [Commitment]