Leo Durocher Quotes
Shmoop will make you a better lover...of quotes
ALL QUOTES POPULAR BROWSE BY AUTHOR BROWSE BY SOURCE BROWSE BY TOPIC BROWSE BY SUBJECT
Source: Leo Durocher
Speaker: Leo Durocher
Nice guys finish last.
Context
This misquoted line is from Brooklyn Dodgers' team manager Leo Durocher in 1946.
Leo Durocher was no Yogi Berra, but he was still a quotable personality in baseball. Just, not quite quotable enough. When Durocher quipped about the New York Giants, "Take a look at them. All nice guys. They’ll finish last. Nice guys. Finish last" (source). Even in the '40s, people had short attention spans, so the sportswriters of the day wrote up the shorter version: "Nice guys finish last."
Where you've heard it
You've heard this from someone who dubs himself nice, whatever that means, but still can't get his way.
Additional Notable References:
- Green Day's song "Nice Guys Finish Last."
- Buzzfeed has 3 Reasons Why Nice Guys are the Worst.
Pretentious Factor
If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.
Self-proclaimed "nice guys" always sound pretentious.