Clearing Up Some Famous Misquotations
“I never said half the crap people say I did.”
~ Yogi Berra said it quietly. But so did Albert Einstein. And much earlier. And in much more emphatic terms.
Today is one which The Pecan Park Eagle hopes will stand forever as our first readership community opportunity to clear up, affirm, de-bunk, cross-reference to its true original source, and in all other imaginable ways, set the record straight on who said what first – and who did not. – Here at The Eagle, we do not possess the ego arrogance it would take to dream of ever coming up with even a compendium of all misplaced, misconstrued, or miss-attributed famous quotes, but we shall offer a few here – just to rattle some chains on what we also seek from you as comments on this subject. Here is our favorite, but humbly offered example. And here it is ….
Our Favorite Displaced/Borrowed/Absconded Quotation:
“We could have finished last without you.” ~ Often attributed to GM Branch Rickey as his rejection to slugger Ralph Kiner when the latter requested a raise after leading the 1952 last-place Pittsburgh Pirates in NL home runs for the seventh year in a row. Too late. Those same words were used a year earlier by St. Louis Browns owner Bill Veeck when star pitcher Ned Garver requested a raise from his 1951 salary, a season in which Garver won 20 games for a last place American League club.
Some Suspicious Offerings, Just for Fun (Are any of the following ten true? Have any of these people ever uttered any of these attributed quotes?):
1.) “It ain’t over til it’s over.” ~ Steven Spielberg (on the Star Wars movie franchise.)
2.) “Hit ’em where they ain’t.” ~ Babe Ruth (who added, “They ain’t over the fence.”)
3.) “Ask not, what you can do for your country. – Ask what your country can do for you.” ~ Karl Marx
4.) “Good fences make good neighbours.” ~ Donald Trump
5.) “I can’t get no – satisfaction!” ~ Hillary Clinton
6.) “I found my thrill – on Blueberry Hill.” – Vladimir Putin
7.) “Walk softly and – carry a big stick.” – Manager A.J. Hinch (to his 2017 Houston Astros)
8.) “If you walk big – don’t carry a soft stick.” – Andrew Bell, David Brown, and Nicholas Terrett, the Pfizer scientists who invented Viagra
9.) “Tal’s Hill has been replaced by Crane’s Erection.” – Associate Press (upon observation of the new tower going up in CF at Minute Maid Park.)
and
10.) – This last one’s a multiple choice question. – Who said: “You can do it. – Just relax and follow through?” – Was it ….
10 a.) Nolan Ryan, as a coaching advisor to a kid pitcher in a TV commercial;
10 b.) Andrew Bell, David Brown, and Nicholas Terrett, the Pfizer scientists who invented Viagra; 0r,
10 c.) General George Custer to his 7th Calvary, as they descended into the Little Big Horn region on horseback back in 1876.
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Now. Please be generous in the comment section on those quotes you think are worthy of memory or disentanglement from the legends and false attributions that surround so many historical comments.
It seems to be warming up a mite in Houston this early afternoon, 12/20/2016. – Thank goodness. “Last night was colder than a witch’s tooth.” 🙂 🙂 🙂
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Publisher, Editor, Writer
The Pecan Park Eagle
The Pecan Park Eagle 
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