Quotes about ball
page 3

“I'm telling you, if there were balls to be held, I held them.”

Radio From Hell (August 7, 2007)

P.G. Wodehouse photo
Roberto Clemente photo

“Everybody, they say Roberto just swings the bat and hits the ball. I work hard. No one works harder than I do. People think things come easy to me. They don't.”

Roberto Clemente (1934–1972) Puerto Rican baseball player

As quoted in "Clemente Says Hitting Does Not Come Easy" https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=UagkAAAAIBAJ&sjid=xqAFAAAAIBAJ&pg=5876%2C6101257 by Ralph Bernstein (AP), in The Reading Eagle (March 26, 1968)
Baseball-related, <big><big>1960s</big></big>, <big>1968</big>

Babe Ruth photo
Slavoj Žižek photo
Thierry Henry photo

“I take the ball, I go wide, I cross, I shoot, but when the moment beckons, I am ready to make the difference.”

Thierry Henry (1977) French association football player

Attributed

“Hayden hits his fourth four of the over off the final ball, riding a dreamy steer through the covers. Boom boom boom let me hear you say way-ooh.”

Ben Dirs journalist

One-Day Series, Australia v England (Sydney) as it happened, 2007-02-02, BBC http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/england/6320205.stm,

Alfredo Di Stéfano photo

“I always wanted to have the ball for myself; she was my girlfriend.”

Alfredo Di Stéfano (1926–2014) Argentine association football player

Attributed in The Wit and Wisdom of Alfredo Di Stéfano Kindle Location 194, this is actually a quote of José Manuel Moreno, as quoted in "Training, sweating and learning" by Marcela Mora y Araujo, in The Guardian (10 June 2008) http://www.theguardian.com/football/2008/jun/10/distefano.
Misattributed

Francis Escudero photo
Nélson Rodrigues photo

“In soccer, the blindest player is the one who sees nothing but the ball.”

Nélson Rodrigues (1912–1980) Brazilian writer and playwright

"À sombra das chuteiras imortais: crônicas de futebol", de Nelson Rodrigues, Ruy Castro - Publicado por Companhia das Letras, 1993 ISBN 8571643202, 9788571643208 - 197 páginas, Página 102

Roberto Clemente photo

“Clendenon isn't like he was last year. If he comes back again, I'll start punching the ball again. But I've been taking a good cut and swinging hard.”

Roberto Clemente (1934–1972) Puerto Rican baseball player

As quoted in “Donn Drags, Not Clemente” https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=1vAjAAAAIBAJ&sjid=HZsEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5832%2C2309718 by Murray Chass (AP), in The Tuscaloosa News (Tuesday, June 14, 1966), p. 5
Baseball-related, <big><big>1960s</big></big>, <big>1966</big>

Terrell Owens photo

“I think T. O. is the ultimate right now in the league as far as being able to make plays. Every time he touches the ball, he is capable of doing something special with it.”

Terrell Owens (1973) former American football wide receiver

Jeff Garcia — reported in Mike Triplett (November 22, 2001) "Owens receives his team's vote", The Sacramento Bee, p. C8.
About

Captain Beefheart photo

“Pena
Her little head clinking
Like a barrel of red velvet balls
Full past noise
Treats filled her eyes
Turning them yellow like enamel coated tacks
Soft like butter hard not to pour”

Captain Beefheart (1941–2010) musician

Pena, sung by Jeff Cotton, better known as Antennae Jimmy Semens
Trout Mask Replica (1969)

Roberto Clemente photo

“I was just a youngster and believed everything everybody told me. The Dodgers told me a big bonus was no good and they said other players would resent it. Better for me to take small amount and work my way use [sic]. So my father signed for me. Next day, the Braves offer me $27, 500 and I say, "Where were you yesterday?" In the workout with the Dodgers, I hit 10 balls over the fence and I go back to 400-foot mark and throw to the plate. The Dodgers hid me as Montreal in 1954 and I seldom played. Maybe the late innings. Once I started and before I could bat in first inning they take me out for pinch-hitter.”

Roberto Clemente (1934–1972) Puerto Rican baseball player

As quoted in "The Scoreboard: Hitting in Daylight" (.411 Vs. .302) Best For Clemente; Roberto 'Feels Good' In Sunshine; Chicago's Wrigley Field His Favorite; Clemente Can Hit to All Field; Pirates Paid Only $4,000 For Him" https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=YGscAAAAIBAJ&sjid=t04EAAAAIBAJ&pg=4128%2C3280138 by Les Biederman, in The Pittsburgh Press (Sunday, March 11, 1962), Sec. 4. p. 3
Baseball-related, <big><big>1960s</big></big>, <big>1962</big>

“Note that the ball falls at a rather large angle at the end of its flight; the trajectories are not symmetric.”

Robert Adair (physicist) (1924) Physicist and author

Source: The Physics Of Baseball (Second Edition - Revised), Chapter 2, The Flight Of The baseball, p. 15

Letitia Elizabeth Landon photo
Sania Mirza photo
Roberto Clemente photo
Philipp Meyer photo
Mike Malloy photo

“In the run-up to World War II, they helped Hitler build the death camps to take the Jews and kill them. Take the gays and kill them. Take the socialists and kill them. Take the Polish partisans and kill them. Take the gypsies and kill them. The Bush Family is eye-ball deep in blood, blood, blood.”

Mike Malloy (1942) American radio broadcaster

http://server7.whiterosesociety.org/content/malloy/MalloyMemories/Red_Rum.mp3
presumably a reference to the financial support given to Hitler by Prescott Bush, George W. Bush's grandfather
On the Bush family and their associates

Nadine Dorries photo

“Be seen within a mile of my daughters and I will nail your balls to the floor… using your own front teeth. Do you get that?”

Nadine Dorries (1957) British politician

Tweet sent to Ben Glaze, a journalist on the Sunday Mirror newspaper, reported by Darren Boyle "Tory MP tells Sunday Mirror reporter 'I'll nail your balls to the floor' in Twitter rant" http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/tory-mp-tells-sunday-mirror-reporter-ill-nail-your-testicles-floor-twitter-rant-over-doorstep, Press Gazette, 24 November 2013

Roberto Clemente photo
Thierry Henry photo

“He controlled the ball on his chest, step on it, look, see if someone was in the stands, take a coffee, turn, call his family, no one was answering, left a message, and then thought "Oh, I might cross the ball."”

Thierry Henry (1977) French association football player

He crossed it and they scored.
Henry, on the lack of defensive abilities of his team, after losing 2-0.
Source: [Henry blasts Red Bulls' road form, defense in Houston, http://www.nypost.com/p/blogs/soccerblog/thierry_henry_blasts_red_bulls_road_dLOBjuiWpoYxElzmwquq3L#ixzz2387uxefz, New York Post, 9 August, 2012, https://archive.is/b0BoP, 2013-06-30]

Bruno Schulz photo
Herta Müller photo

“The world is not a costume ball”

Source: The Hunger Angel (2012), p. 5

Olivia Munn photo
John le Carré photo
Thierry Henry photo
Sania Mirza photo

“On the tennis court, one needs a cool temperament, tremendous ball sense, reflexes, speed, hand-eye co-ordination, power, timing and peak physical fitness. Off the court, the player and support team need skills in planning, execution, travel, an ability to raise funds when needed, and several other talents.”

Sania Mirza (1986) Indian tennis player

Source: Arun Sharma Sachin's my inspiration - he's also excellent at tennis: Sania Mirza http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/interviews/Sachins-my-inspiration-hes-also-excellent-at-tennis-Sania-Mirza/articleshow/26167479.cms, The Times of India, 22 November 2013

Bill Clinton photo
Babe Ruth photo
Francis Escudero photo

“As the lists multiply in number and the lists themselves grow longer, we should ask ourselves who the real victims are in the confusion sowed by Ms. Napoles and those who supposedly want to shed light on the Pork Barrel Scam. Those who have been unfairly dragged into this mess are not the real victims; these lists and affidavits are baseless and lack the kind of evidentiary support that can establish cases against many of those who have been named, myself included. The real victims here are our citizens. After learning the scale at which funds allocated to help them have been efficiently and systematically plundered, our people now seek redress. As it stands, there is an opportunity for our people to obtain justice as the Ombudsman already found probable cause which concluded to filing of the cases. Again, I assure the public that I have never allocated public money using the PDAF or budgetary incentives to any fictitious NGOs set up by Ms. (Janet) Napoles nor have I dealt with her to supposedly solicit or receive campaign funds. Such claim is a total falsity and runs counter to common sense because as early as October of 2009, I already withdrew any intention to run for the presidency and in 2010, I was not even a candidate for any elective position. And by Ms. Napoles’ own list, I am the only one who did not allocate any funds to her foundations from my PDAF releases. Let's keep our eye on the ball and remain vigilant to ensure the conviction of those who truly deserve to be punished for the misuse of public funds. Let us persuade our authorities to focus on evidence, testimonial or otherwise, that has probative value to avoid distractions.”

Francis Escudero (1969) Filipino politician

Escudero, F. [Francis]. (2014, May 28). Retrieved from Official Facebook Page of Francis Escudero https://www.facebook.com/senchizescudero/posts/10152473011595610/
2014, Facebook

Francisco De Goya photo

“One to the other / Unos á otros' - Thus goes the world. We mock at and deceive each other. He who, yesterday, was the ball, is to-day the horseman in the ring. Fortune directs the feast, and distributes the parts according to the inconstancy of its caprice.”

Francisco De Goya (1746–1828) Spanish painter and printmaker (1746–1828)

title of Capricho no. 77 and Goya's inscription on this plate; from Paul Lefort, in Francisco Goya: etude biographique et critique, suivi de l'essai d'un catalogue raisonne de son oeuvre grave et lithographe; published in the 'Gazette des Beaux-Arts', February, 1867; April, 1867; February, 1868; April, 1868; August, 1868
1790s

“Balls curve as a consequence of asymmetries in the resistance of the air through which they pass.”

Robert Adair (physicist) (1924) Physicist and author

Source: The Physics Of Baseball (Second Edition - Revised), Chapter 3, Pitching, p. 28

Leo Tolstoy photo

“We cannot pretend that we do not see the armed policeman who marches up and down beneath our window to guarantee our security while we eat our luxurious dinner, or look at the new piece at the theater, or that we are unaware of the existence of the soldiers who will make their appearance with guns and cartridges directly our property is attacked.
We know very well that we are only allowed to go on eating our dinner, to finish seeing the new play, or to enjoy to the end the ball, the Christmas fete, the promenade, the races or, the hunt, thanks to the policeman's revolver or the soldier's rifle, which will shoot down the famished outcast who has been robbed of his share, and who looks round the corner with covetous eyes at our pleasures, ready to interrupt them instantly, were not policeman and soldier there prepared to run up at our first call for help.
And therefore just as a brigand caught in broad daylight in the act cannot persuade us that he did not lift his knife in order to rob his victim of his purse, and had no thought of killing him, we too, it would seem, cannot persuade ourselves or others that the soldiers and policemen around us are not to guard us, but only for defense against foreign foes, and to regulate traffic and fetes and reviews; we cannot persuade ourselves and others that we do not know that the men do not like dying of hunger, bereft of the right to gain their subsistence from the earth on which they live; that they do not like working underground, in the water, or in the stifling heat, for ten to fourteen hours a day, at night in factories to manufacture objects for our pleasure. One would imagine it impossible to deny what is so obvious. Yet it is denied.”

Leo Tolstoy (1828–1910) Russian writer

Source: The Kingdom of God is Within You (1894), Chapter 12

Babe Ruth photo

“Hell no, it isn't a fact. Only a damned fool would do a thing like that. You know there was a lot of pretty rough ribbing going on on both benches during that Series. When I swung and missed that first one, those Cubs really gave me a blast. So I grinned at 'em and held out one finger and told 'em it'd only take one to hit it. Then there was that second strike and they let me have it again. So I held up that finger again and I said I still had that one left. Naw, keed, you know damned well I wasn't pointin' anywhere. If I'd have done that, Root would have stuck the ball right in my ear. And besides that, I never knew anybody who could tell you ahead of time where he was going to hit a baseball. When I get to be that kind of fool, they`ll put me in the booby hatch.”

Babe Ruth (1895–1948) American baseball player

Responding to Chicago sportscaster Hal Totten in the spring of 1933, as to whether Ruth had actually 'called' his 5th-inning home run in Game 3 of the 1932 World Series, as quoted in "Oct. 1, 1932 The Yankees' Babe Ruth Gestures Toward Wrigley Field's Bleachers Then Homers Off The Cubs' Charlie Root, Apparently Calling His Shot In Game 3 Of The World Series" http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1987-11-01/sports/8703230677_1_babe-ruth-cub-bench-world-series-history/3 by Jerome Holtzman, in The Chicago Tribune (1987)

Roberto Clemente photo
Jürgen Klinsmann photo

“What we didn't do well during the second half was simply to keep the ball. We ran a lot after; we won a lot of balls and we couldn't calm the game down. There was a struggle that really went through the second half. We should've done better.”

Jürgen Klinsmann (1964) German footballer and manager

Press conference http://www.espnfc.com/team/united-states/660/blog/post/2657429/jurgen-klinsmann-under-scrutiny-after-bad-day-for-us (10 October 2015)
2010s, 2015

James Jeans photo
Larry Bird photo

“I was always making decisions and they were easier decisions because I had control of the game, I had control of the ball. As a coach you sort of put the ball in other player's hands and let them make decisions for you. But I still get a kick out of winning basketball games and that's what I'm in this for.”

Larry Bird (1956) basketball player and coach

Ross Atkin (January 29, 1998) "Yes, Great Players Can Make Good Coaches - Larry Bird enjoys immediate success with the Indiana Pacers", Christian Science Monitor, p. 14.

Warren Buffett photo
George Graham photo
Howie Rose photo
Wilt Chamberlain photo
John Fante photo
Wilt Chamberlain photo
Paul Newman photo
Sania Mirza photo
Graham Greene photo

“My two fingers on a typewriter have never connected with my brain. My hand on a pen does. A fountain pen, of course. Ball-point pens are only good for filling out forms on a plane.”

Graham Greene (1904–1991) English writer, playwright and literary critic

International Herald Tribune (October 7, 1977)

Roberto Clemente photo

“I can't think of average. I have to go for the long ball. We have only Stargell to hit homers. You need more than one man. We have the best leadoff man in baseball in Matty Alou. He will get on base. We have to get the long hits.”

Roberto Clemente (1934–1972) Puerto Rican baseball player

As quoted in "'Give Us Strollers, Not Swingers,' Shouts Shepard" by Charley Feeney, in The Sporting News (July 12, 1969), p. 23
Baseball-related, <big><big>1960s</big></big>, <big>1969</big>

Brad Garrett photo

“When I hit the six-foot mark at thirteen, I noticed the majority of the population was in denial with regard to my athletic potential. The townspeople refused to believe that I couldn't play ball.”

Brad Garrett (1960) actor, comedian, voice actor

When the Balls Drop https://books.google.com/books?idlLydBAAAQBAJ&pgPT0 (2015), Chapter 2, "Jews Don't Dribble."

Tom Stoppard photo
Ze Frank photo

“I had a very lonely New Year's this year. I had to watch my own balls drop.”

Jay London (1966) American comedian

One-liners

John Updike photo
Casey Stengel photo
Alan Keyes photo
Arthur Guiterman photo
Yogi Berra photo
T.S. Eliot photo

“And the wind shall say: "Here were decent godless people:
Their only monument the asphalt road
And a thousand lost golf balls."”

T.S. Eliot (1888–1965) 20th century English author

Choruses from The Rock (1934)

Art Blakey photo
Bill Maher photo
Eyal Berkovic photo

“If my head had been a ball, it would have been in the top corner of the net.”

Eyal Berkovic (1972) Israeli footballer and manager

Discussing incident when John Hartson kicked Berkovic in the head during training. [Football: Hartson fined pounds 20,000 by FA, The Independent, 2 February 1999, http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_19990202/ai_n14214534, 27 March, 2007]

Gregory Peck photo
Bill Hicks photo
Alex Salmond photo

“I think that’s been a good kick of the ball.”

Alex Salmond (1954) Scottish National Party politician and former First Minister of Scotland

Speaking from his official residence at Bute House in Edinburgh after the Scottish independence referendum, 2014. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-29277527 http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/politics/alex-salmond-insists-scotland-can-4291189 (19 September 2014)

Mickey Mantle photo
Keith Olbermann photo

“He hits the ball, real hard.”

Keith Olbermann (1959) American sports and political commentator

Catch Phrases
Source: http://www.sportscenteraltar.com/phrases/phrases.asp Sports Center Catchphrases

Roberto Clemente photo

“This is my ball park. Every game is played in daylight and I can see the ball good. And I can reach the stands in any direction. I hope I'm never traded but if I am, I wish it would be to the Cubs. I know I do well there in 77 games.”

Roberto Clemente (1934–1972) Puerto Rican baseball player

Discussing Wrigley Field (where he was currently hitting .693 for the season, with 9 hits in 13 AB, with 3 home runs and 9 RBI); as quoted in "Feast Then Famine For Pirates: Split Means Lost Ground In Race" https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=o2scAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Fk8EAAAAIBAJ&pg=4554%2C1706304 by Lester J. Biederman, in The Pittsburgh Press (Friday, July 7, 1961), p. 26. To access article, drag image from right to left, bringing relevant headline immediately into view, displayed on its side; continue dragging until you reach the fifth paragraph from the end.
Baseball-related, <big><big>1960s</big></big>, <big>1961</big>

Roberto Clemente photo
Abbie Hoffman photo
Yogi Berra photo
Kent Hovind photo
Tommy Smith (footballer, born 1945) photo

“Don't go for the player, go for the ball.”

Tommy Smith (footballer, born 1945) (1945–2019) Former English professional association footballer

After been asked on how to stop Cristiano Ronaldo. Coping with Cristiano Ronaldo, Phil Gordos, 2008-03-31, 2008-03-31, BBC News http://news2.thdo.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/7315069.stm,

Alfred P. Sloan photo
David Hume photo
Roberto Clemente photo
William Gibson photo
Paolo Bacigalupi photo

“If you bargain when they squeeze your balls, they will only squeeze again.”

Source: The Windup Girl (2009), p. 94

Alfredo Di Stéfano photo

“Ball is made of leather, leather comes from cows, cows eat grass, and there is where the ball must be.”

Alfredo Di Stéfano (1926–2014) Argentine association football player

The Wit and Wisdom of Alfredo Di Stéfano Kindle Location 71.

Roberto Clemente photo

“Bragan and Walker talked to me the most. The fellow who helped me most of all was Buck Clarkson. I think he lives in Donora. He managed me in the Puerto Rican League when I was a boy. He used to see me throw a ball from the outfield 400 feet on the line, most of the time wild. And I hit good. Buck Clarkson used to tell me I am as good as anybody in big leagues. That helped me a lot.”

Roberto Clemente (1934–1972) Puerto Rican baseball player

Evaluating previous managers, as quoted in "Sidelight on Sports: Roberto Remembers" https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=6KNhAAAAIBAJ&sjid=22wDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7371%2C4597940 by Al Abrams, in The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Friday, March 31, 1972), p. 10
Baseball-related, <big><big>1970s</big></big>, <big>1972</big>

George Soros photo
Vyasa photo
Yogi Berra photo