Vol. 06 · Misquoted ·Speech ·205 of 348
"Nice guys finish last."
They never said that.
What people say
"Nice guys finish last."
What was actually said
"The nice guys are all over there. In seventh place." Leo Durocher — Interview at the Polo Grounds, July 1946
Why it stuck
Durocher was ribbing the cross-town Giants, who were in seventh place. The phrase got compressed in newspaper repetition into the now-standard form. Durocher later denied ever saying the neat version.
He eventually gave in, titling his 1975 autobiography "Nice Guys Finish Last."
Know another line by heart?
Play the duel and see how many you can spot. Or browse the whole shelf.