Greatest Speaches: Who Am I?

[LeslieWest_GuitarGod]

"Fans, for the past two weeks you have been reading about the bad break I got. Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of this earth. I have been in ballparks for seventeen years and have never received anything but kindness and encouragement from you fans.

"Look at these grand men. Which of you wouldn't consider it the highlight of his career just to associate with them for even one day? Sure, I'm lucky. Who wouldn't consider it an honor to have known Jacob Ruppert? Also, the builder of baseball's greatest empire, Ed Barrow? To have spent six years with that wonderful little fellow, Miller Huggins? Then to have spent the next nine years with that outstanding leader, that smart student of psychology, the best manager in baseball today, Joe McCarthy? Sure, I'm lucky.

"When the New York Giants, a team you would give your right arm to beat, and vice versa, sends you a gift - that's something. When everybody down to the groundskeepers and those boys in white coats remember you with trophies - that's something. When you have a wonderful mother-in-law who takes sides with you in squabbles with her own daughter - that's something. When you have a father and a mother who work all their lives so you can have an education and build your body - it's a blessing. When you have a wife who has been a tower of strength and shown more courage than you dreamed existed - that's the finest I know.

"So I close in saying that I might have been given a bad break, but I've got an awful lot to live for."

[captain1z]

Lou Gerig (sp?)

[LeslieWest_GuitarGod]

Indeed!



Happy 109th Birthday Henry Louis Gehrig. (June 19, 1903 - June 2, 1941) earned his nickname "The Iron Horse."

The Yankees retired Gehrig's uniform number "4", making him the first player in Major League Baseball history to be accorded that honor. Gehrig was given many gifts, commemorative plaques, and trophies. Some came from VIPs; others came from the stadium's groundskeepers and janitorial staff. Footage of the ceremonies shows Gehrig being handed various gifts, and immediately setting them down on the ground, because he no longer had the arm strength to hold them. The Yankees gave him a silver trophy with their signatures engraved on it. Inscribed on the front was a special poem written by The New York Times writer John Kieran. The trophy cost only about $5, but it became one of Gehrig's most prized possessions. It is currently on display at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.



Seven of the greatest hitters of all time standing proud before the 1937 All-Star game, from left to right Lou Gehrig, Joe Cronin, Bill D!ckey (ughhh), Joe DiMaggio, Charlie Gehringer, Jimmie Foxx and Hank Greenberg. All seven would eventually be elected to the Hall of Fame.

Lou Gehrig ESPN SportsCentury Documentary clip
http://youtu.be/NkV5-49JnNk

[captain1z]

I had no idea.

Honestly i not even a baseball fan, which just goes to show what an icon he was. Words spoken decades before my birth, carry across the ages and finds the ears of those who cant swing a bat as readily as those who swing for the fences.

The message as clear as the day it was delivered on.


In every thing you do swing for the fences, but do it with a humble heart.

[LeslieWest_GuitarGod]

This is the legend of _____________,
The most beautiful fighter in the world today.
He talks a great deal, and brags indeed-y,
of a muscular punch that's incredibly speed-y.
The fistic world was dull and weary,
But with a champ like Liston, things had to be dreary.
Then someone with color and someone with dash,
Brought fight fans are runnin' with Cash.
This brash young boxer is something to see
And the heavyweight championship is his des-tin-y.
This kid fights great; he’s got speed and endurance,
But if you sign to fight him, increase your insurance.
This kid's got a left; this kid's got a right,
If he hit you once, you're asleep for the night.
And as you lie on the floor while the ref counts ten,
You’ll pray that you won’t have to fight me again.
For I am the man this poem’s about,
The next champ of the world, there isn’t a doubt.
This I predict and I know the score,
I’ll be champ of the world in ’64.

When I say three, they’ll go in the third.
So don’t bet against me, I’m a man of my word.
I am the man this poem’s about,
I’ll be champ of the world, there isn’t a doubt.
Here I predict Mr. Liston’s dismemberment,
I’ll hit him so hard; he’ll wonder where October and November went.
When I say two, there’s never a third,
Standin against me is completely absurd.
When [I] say a mouse can outrun a horse,
Don’t ask how; put your money where your mouse is!
I AM THE GREATEST!"

[CheeseMilk]

Cassius Clay.

AKA Muhammad Ali.

[LeslieWest_GuitarGod]

http://youtu.be/X6xb-lejyRk

One of my favorite bits of television ever was The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast with Muhammad Ali. Here's the entire show... If nothing else seek out Billy Crystal's now legendary imitation of Howard Cosell and Ali.

[captain1z]

I like his poem, i am the greatest and the promo he did vs frasier, when he says " im so fast, last night i hit the light switch and was in bed before the room went dark".

I dont know if he thought of this stuff beforehand or on the fly.

[LeslieWest_GuitarGod]

I like his poem, i am the greatest and the promo he did vs frasier, when he says " im so fast, last night i hit the light switch and was in bed before the room went dark".

I dont know if he thought of this stuff beforehand or on the fly.

Hahaha yep, thats my favorite Ali quip. There was no better promoter than Ali. He changed the sporting world with his very presence, and to this day I know of no one in any sport that could sell tickets like Ali did. His charisma was without a doubt the greatest.

[Bekki]

I had no idea.

Honestly i not even a baseball fan, which just goes to show what an icon he was. Words spoken decades before my birth, carry across the ages and finds the ears of those who cant swing a bat as readily as those who swing for the fences.

The message as clear as the day it was delivered on.


In every thing you do swing for the fences, but do it with a humble heart.

Do yourself a favor. Watch "The Pride of The Yankee's" (The Lou Gehrig Story) with Gary Cooper. It is just Outstanding, and this from Phillies fan!



The Pride of the Yankees (1942)
The story of the life and career of the famed baseball player, Lou Gehrig.

http://www.imdb.com/rg/em_share/rt_i...itle/tt0035211

[LeslieWest_GuitarGod]

"Winning is not a sometime thing; it's an all the time thing. You don't win once in a while; you don't do things right once in a while; you do them right all the time. Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing.

"There is no room for second place. There is only one place in my game, and that's first place. I have finished second twice in my time at Green Bay, and I don't ever want to finish second again. There is a second place bowl game, but it is a game for losers played by losers. It is and always has been an American zeal to be first in anything we do, and to win, and to win, and to win.

"Every time a football player goes to play 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 O.K. 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.

"Running a football team is no different than running any other kind of organization — an army, a political party or a business. The principles are the same. The object is to win — to beat the other guy. Maybe that sounds hard or cruel. I don't think it is.

"It is a reality of life that men are competitive and the most competitive games draw the most competitive men. That's why they are there — to compete. To know the rules and objectives when they get in the game. The object is to win fairly, squarely, by the rules — but to win.

"And in truth, 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. There is something in good men that really yearns for discipline and the harsh reality of head to head combat.

"I don't say these things because I believe in the "brute" nature of man or that men must be brutalized to be combative. I believe in God, and I believe in human decency. But 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."

Who am I?

[Pintail]

Vince lombardi

[LeslieWest_GuitarGod]

Vince lombardi

Indeeed, the great Vince Lombardi.

There are two times as his teammates used to say... normal time, which most people follow, and Lombardi time! 15 minutes early and ready to go.

His way of thinking has been used in so many industries, and by so many people in so many different walks of life.

[Rauven]

Here's one that is very appropriate for today. Couldn't find a speech by him, not sure if he ever really gave a 'speech' per se. The closest I could find was an article and it's a bit too long to post here, so here's a quote instead.

"We can only see a short distance ahead, but we can see plenty there that needs to be done."

[LeslieWest_GuitarGod]

Here's one that is very appropriate for today. Couldn't find a speech by him, not sure if he ever really gave a 'speech' per se. The closest I could find was an article and it's a bit too long to post here, so here's a quote instead.

"We can only see a short distance ahead, but we can see plenty there that needs to be done."

Ahh the Godfather of the computer, mathematician and leading codebreaker of German ciphers during WWII, Alan Turing.

[blkcat1028]

This arguably one of the greatest speeches in human history. The orator is probably pretty obvious.

“I have, myself, full confidence that if all do their duty, if nothing is neglected, and if the best arrangements are made, as they are being made, we shall prove ourselves once again able to defend our Island home, to ride out the storm of war, and to outlive the menace of tyranny, if necessary for years, if necessary alone.

At any rate, that is what we are going to try to do. That is the resolve of His Majesty’s Government-every man of them. That is the will of Parliament and the nation.

The British Empire and the French Republic, linked together in their cause and in their need, will defend to the death their native soil, aiding each other like good comrades to the utmost of their strength.

Even though large tracts of Europe and many old and famous States have fallen or may fall into the grip of the Gestapo and all the odious apparatus of Nazi rule, we shall not flag or fail.

We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France,
we shall fight on the seas and oceans,
we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be,
we shall fight on the beaches,
we shall fight on the landing grounds,
we shall fight in the fields and in the streets,
we shall fight in the hills;
we shall never surrender, and even if, which I do not for a moment believe, this Island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God’s good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old.”

[LeslieWest_GuitarGod]

This arguably one of the greatest speeches in human history. The orator is probably pretty obvious.

we shall fight on the beaches,
we shall fight on the landing grounds,
we shall fight in the fields and in the streets,
we shall fight in the hills;
we shall never surrender.....

Awesome, and easy. Winston Churchill.

Lets not use religious or political speeches tho as it could easily be considered against forum EULA, and dont want to take this thread there.

But, props of course for the contribution, that was a real good one!

[Rauven]

Ahh the Godfather of the computer, mathematician and leading codebreaker of German ciphers during WWII, Alan Turing.

Also a secret hero to the LGBTQ community. Today would have been his 100th birthday if he was still alive. I hope he found the peace he was denied in life.