"It took me seventeen years to get 3,000 hits in baseball. I did it in one afternoon on the golf course."

"The triple is the most exciting play in baseball. Home runs win a lot of games, but I never understood why fans are so obsessed with them."

"My motto was always to keep swinging. Whether I was in a slump or feeling badly or having trouble off the field, the only thing to do was keep swinging."

"I have always felt that although someone may defeat me, and I strike out in a ball game, the pitcher on the particular day was the best player. But I know when I see him again, I'm going to be ready for his curve ball. Failure is a part of success. There is no such thing as a bed of roses all your life. But failure will never stand in the way of success if you learn from it."

"Discover Greatness: An Illustrated History of Negro Leagues Baseball,"

"I'd just as soon play tennis with the net down."

"Writing free verse is like playing tennis with the net down."

"I would as soon write free verse as play tennis with the net down."

There's nothing like boxing for getting you in shape.

“Fear less. Do more. Get outside and get after it.”

“There are two types of people: Those who run and those who should. Nike believes in both.”

“Make the next 12 months the year of you. Every athlete, everybody. It’s time to bring your best then better it. Whatever you do… make it count!”

“Life is a sport. Make it count.”

“My sport is your sport’s punishment.”

“Sport is not a logical proposition. It thrives on obsession, passion, and going beyond what you thought was possible. If you have a body, you are an athlete.”

The most important thing is to try and inspire people so that they can be great in whatever they want to do.

I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.

I did not grow up playing tennis with Steven Spielberg and drinking wine with Jerry Seinfeld – I grew up serving coffee to those people.

Sport and life is about losing. It’s about understanding how to lose.

It's not so important who starts the game but who finishes it.

Everyone needs a coach. It doesn't matter whether you're a basketball player, a tennis player, a gymnast or a bridge player.

If all my bridge coach ever told me was that I was 'satisfactory,' I would have no hope of ever getting better. How would I know who was the best? How would I know what I was doing differently?

The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.