The Greatest Quotes in Philly Sports History

While the trophy case around here isn't nearly as full as anyone would like, Philadelphia certainly has never lacked for characters or personalities. To celebrate the greatest Philly sports quotes, we jumped into the archives and solicited folks from around town to think of their favorites. What follows is the fruits of our labor, a compendium of the most interesting, provocative and just sometimes bizarre stuff that's said in service of describing this city's intense passion for sports — and the teams that play them. This project remains an open-ended endeavor, so if you have a favorite that didn't make the cut, we invite you to go online and post it on the Daily News' Facebook page.

"The homer Richie hit off me in Connie Mack Stadium hit near the top of the flagpole. I'm glad the flagpole was there. I'm also glad they tore down the stadium. That way, I can claim it never happened."

— Former Cardinals pitcher Nelson Briles, describing a bomb he once gave up to Richie Allen.

"Eric was an MVP in the NHL for the Philadelphia Flyers and is a big part of the Flyers, and I'll always campaign for him to be in the Hall of Fame."

— Bob Clarke prior to the 2012 Winter Classic alumni game.

"Three playoff games, offense couldn't piss a drop."

— Buddy Ryan, summing up his five seasons as Eagles coach.

"This is a tragedy. It is one of the great sorrows of my life. With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more."

— Joe Paterno, Nov. 9, 2011

"I think it even makes it more worthwhile that we had to do it four times to get over the hump."

— Andy Reid, after finally winning the NFC title after three consecutive unsuccessful tries.

"Hey, I'm not going to trip up there and get knocked out. For who? For what?"

— Ricky Watters ran for nearly 4,000 yards as an Eagle, but his legacy is this quote, following his 1995 debut.

"I've never been a part of a tie. I never even knew that was in the rule book ... I hate to see what happens in the Super Bowl or I hate to see what happens in the playoffs [if] you have to settle with a tie."

— Former Eagle Donovan McNabb, 2008.

"There are times in life when you look at this and realize it's just a game. Baseball is so insignificant when you look at the big picture. You take a loss hard. But imagine what it would be like if your family was in New York. It would be straight panic mode."

— Phillies pitcher Randy Wolf, Sept. 11, 2001.

"If Mike [Schmidt] played in that park, he'd have 600 home runs. Easy,"

— Larry Bowa, on the differences between Veterans Stadium and Citizens Bank Park.

"Fo, fo, fo,"

— Moses Malone's prediction for how many games it would take the 1983 Sixers to win their playoff series.

"Putsy Caballero always claimed he made more money (from teammates) playing cards than he did playing baseball. That makes sense because he was a lot better gambler than he was a ballplayer."

— Richie Ashburn.

"When I got [back to the dugout], he was standing there screaming, but there was nothing coming out of his voice, but you could see the veins. Nothing was coming out. I went over and sat down. He came over — and I never will forget this — and he looked at me and said, 'Don't worry about it. It's my fault for putting you in the game.'"

— Charlie Manuel on getting chewed out by Billy Martin in 1969, after he was picked off while pinch running for Hall of Famer Harmon Killebrew.

"I'll dang sure tell you this: If Villanova is Cinderella, then Cinderella wears boots."

— Memphis State coach Dana Kirk, after losing to the Wildcats in the 1985 Final Four.

"For the first time since I've been here, I think we are the team to beat in the National League East,"

— Jimmy Rollins in January 2007. The Phils went out and won their first of five consecutive division titles.

"I don't create controversies. They're there long before I open my mouth. I just bring them to your attention."

— Former Sixer & current SportsWeek columnist Charles Barkley.

"When the clock reached zero, I said, 'You can get up now, you blankety-blank. This game is over.' "

— Bednarik directly to Taylor.

"We will win today and walk together forever."

— Coach Fred Shero's blackboard message prior to Game 6 of the 1974 Stanley Cup. The Flyers won.

"I realized the snake was getting stepped on."

— Julius Erving on his thoughts during the final seconds of the Sixers' 1983 championship win over the Lakers.

"I looked at Julius and I thought of Ernie Banks, and what it would have been like for him to hit the home run that won the World Series for the Chicago Cubs."

— General manager Pat Williams describing the scene in the Sixers' locker room following the championship.

"My best friend, Jerome Brown, died tonight."

— Eagles' Reggie White speaking at a Billy Graham crusade at Veterans Stadium on June 25, 1992.

"Get off the plane single file so they can't kill us all with one burst."

— Phillies pitcher Frank Sullivan, as the team returned from a road trip dragging a 23-game losing streak in 1961.

"Gentlemen, I'm 49 years old and I want to live to be 50."

"I never thought I'd get to be 60. In truth, bigger people don't live as long, and I thought I used up most of my life in my early living. I never anticipated living a great length of time. To me, anything long meant past 40 or 50."

— Wilt Chamberlain, in 1996. He died three years later.

"I'd trade him for a sixpack. It doesn't have to be cold."

— Buddy Ryan, on Eagles running back Earnest Jackson.

"I don't know. I never smoked AstroTurf."

— Tug McGraw when asked his preference of natural grass or AstroTurf.

"Can anyone help us find a good 6-foot-and-under league?"

— Swenson High School basketball coach Pat Durkin, summing up his team's chances in 2006.

"If you listen to the fans, you'll end up sitting with them."

— Eagles coach Joe Kuharich, in the 1960s

"When I'm talking to other owners or other GMs in the league, we're kind of the gold standard. The goal is to win championships and do it with class."

— Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie, 2003.

"I didn't have time to yell at anybody but Charles."

— Coach Billy Cunningham seemed to have a regular routine at practice once rookie Charles Barkley joined the Sixers in 1984.

"If he stays in the National League, he has a chance to be on top in many of those [hitting] categories. His grandkids and the whole world will always be able to look in there at the National League records and see Pete Rose's name at the top of the list. I told Ruly that has to mean something to somebody like Pete. I don't know how much it influenced him, but that's what we presented to him."

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"Today, I guess you could say I'm a horsebleep philosopher, or whatever. I better go home and work on my crystal ball."

— Manager Danny Ozark on his failed prediction that the Phillies would sweep the Dodgers in the 1978 NLCS.

"You'll have to excuse me, but I've got to go back to the locker room and throw some cold water on my face."

— Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski was still in disbelief an hour after Christian Laettner's miracle shot to win the 1992 East Region at the Spectrum.

"We were happy that the president wasn't dead."

— Isiah Thomas," who led Indiana to the 1981 national title at the Spectrum just hours after Ronald Reagan was wounded during an assassination attempt.

"ABC and CBS are on the air, and we're playing bleeping games. It doesn't look good for us. It makes us look like callous boobs."

— NBC broadcaster Bryant Gumbel. on the day of Reagan's shooting.

"'That game was won 18 years ago in a bedroom in Olney."

— Father Judge coach John "Whitey" Sullivan after his team was beaten by Cardinal Dougherty and massive quarterback Andy Baratta in 1978

"I remember when I heard the (final) bell. I looked at Ali and said, 'Yeah, I kicked your ass,'

— The late Joe Frazier after his upset of Muhammad Ali in 1971 at Madison Square Garden.

"I'm supposed to be the franchise player and we in here talking about practice. I mean, listen, we talking about practice! Not a game, not a game, not a game. We talking about practice,"

— Allen Iverson, 2002.

"I told Tug, 'Look, when you get the last out tonight, wait for me. I want to jump on top of you and get in the picture.'"

— Mike Schmidt talking about the iconic photo following the last out of the 1980 World Series.

"Get out of my office, you big baby."

— Flyers GM Bobby Clarke to Eric Lindros, at the height of their ugly separation, in 2000

"This is a game that, if you lose, you go home and beat your wife. Did you see my wife jumping up and down at the end of the game? That's because she knew I wasn't going to beat her."

— Charles Barkley, after a 1990 loss.

"I regret the context in which people chose to take it. It's like saying you saw 'Casablanca' a thousand times. You mean you saw it a lot. I used 20,000 as a figure of speech. If I had been bragging, I'd have mentioned some names."

— Wilt Chamberlain explaining the number of women he claimed to have slept with should not be taken literally.

"If I win, you can't hurt me. If I lose, you can't help me."

— Ryan, to reporters.

"I'll kill you … I'm gonna kick your ass."

— John Chaney to John Calipari, in 1994.

"I wish I'd known early what I had to learn late."

— Richie Ashburn