“Old skiers never die—they just go downhill”

“Old soldiers never die—they just fade away” is an old saying that was popularized by General Douglas MacArthur (1880-1964) in his farewell address to Congress on April 19, 1951. Many parodies of the saying have been made.
 
“Old skiers never die—they just go downhill” is a jocular one-line saying that has been printed on many posters and T-shirts. The line has been cited since at least 1973; in 1975, the saying was advertised on a bumper sticker in Ski magazine.
     
 
3 April 1973, The Daily Gate City (Keokuk, IA), “One man’s opinion” by John Marion, pg. 10, col. 1:
Old skiers never die; they just go downhill!
 
Google Books
December 1975, Ski magazine, pg. 131, col. 3 classified ad:
OLD SKIERS NEVER DIE; they just go downhill. Bumper-stickers— 50c each. Box 11, Bedford Hills, NY 10507.
     
Google News Archive
20 February 1977, The Blade (Toledo, OH), “The Cold Facts,” Sunday Magazine, pg. 6, col. 1:
Old skiers never die. they just go downhill.
 
Google Books
February 1980, Boys’ Life, “Think & Grin,” pg. 72, col. 1:
Wise man say: “Old skiers never die, they just go down hill.” — Dale DiMauro, White Plains, N.Y.
 
Google News Archive
17 January 1988, Ocala (FL) Star-Banner, “Old skiers never die, they just go downhill” (AP), pg. 3C, col. 2:
“Old skiers never die,” boasted a bumper sticker seen in Colorado sky country. “They just go downhill.”
 
Google Books
The Complete Book of Zingers
By Croft M. Pentz
Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers
1990
Pg. 226:
Old skiers never die — they just go downhill.
 
Google Books
Today’s Chuckle:
2500 Great One-Liners for Every Occasion
By Paul Harlan Collins
New York, NY: Perigree Books
1993
Pg. 99:
Old skiers never die . . . they just get over the hill.
   
Yotta.com
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Newsgroups: rec.humor
Subject: Canonical List of Old * Never Die, they just ...
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Distribution: world
Organization: top down of course
 
Canonical Lists of Old * Never Die, they just ...
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Revised: 15 January 1996
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OLD SKIERS never die, but they go downhill fast
 
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“Old cross country skiers never die. They just go downhill.” #helllno #nordicmeansnordie #yes
7:22 PM - 31 Jan 2014