“Respect everybody but fear nobody” (sports adage)
A popular sports philosophy is to “respect everybody but fear nobody.” “We’ll respect everyone, but fear no one” was said by a football coach in 1949. “Respect everybody but fear nobody” was said by a basketball coach in 1968.
“We respect everybody, but fear none” was said by Pittsburgh Pirates baseball player Willie Stargell (1940-2001) in 1976. “We respect everybody but fear nobody” was another Stargell quote in 1978. The saying has been popular in many sports, such as baseball, football, basketball and tennis.
15 April 1949, The Repository (Canton, OH), “33 Area Alumni Meet Widdoes As Ohio U. Presents Club Plans,” pg. 27, col. 5:
“We’ll respect everyone, but fear no one,” Carroll C. Widdoes, recently-named head football coach at Ohio University, told 33 Canton district male alumni at a buffet dinner meeting Thursday night in the Onesto Hotel.
Google News Archive
25 October 1957, Lodi (CA) News-Sentinel, “Second Guess” by Carl Underwood, pg. 12, col. 1:
“We respect everyone but we fear no one.”
(Lodi Flames football coach John Giannoni.—ed.)
22 October 1959, Cleveland (OH) Plain Dealer, “2 Signal-Callers Set Carroll Pace” by Robert Dolgan, pg. 32, col. 2:
(John Carroll University football coach John—ed.) Ray isn’t taking the Case game lightly. “We respect everyone, but fear no one.”
20 November 1968, The Daily Courier (Connellsville, PA), “Connellsville Has Experienced Cage Nucleus Returning,” pg. 7, col. 8:
“The players have a lot of enthusiasm, but have to watch they don’t get overconfident,” added (basketball coach Hal—ed.) Weightman, who coaches by the philosophy “respect everybody but fear nobody.”
30 March 1970, Racine (WI) Journal-Times, “Bucks, 76ers Resume Warfare Tonight” (AP), pg. 1B, col. 4:
Asked if he was afraid of Alcindor, (Philadelphia 76ers basketball player Billy—ed.) Cunningham bristled. He told one writer, “I respect everyone but fear no one.”
16 September 1976, The News Tribune (Fort Pierce, FL), pg. 10, col. 3:
‘We Respect Everybody…But Fear None’
Stargell Sounds Bucs’ Battle Cry
By FRED DOWN
UPI Sports Writer
Slugger Willie Stargell is sounding a new battle cry for the Pittsburgh Pirates in their bid to overtake the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League’s Eastern Division race.
“We respect everybody,” Stargell said Wednesday after the Pirates beat the Phillies 7-2 and moved to within five games of first place. “But fear none.”
15 March 1978, Titusville (PA) Herald, “Stargell Ready To Prove Age Simply State of Mind” (AP), pg. 8, col. 4:
“The fact remains that you have to do certain things, have your basic eight guys out there every day playing consistently sound defense and a very aggressive offense. But we have what I like to feel is a damn good nucleus for a championship club. We respect everybody but fear nobody.”
(Pittsburgh Pirates baseball player Willie Stargell.—ed.)
27 November 1984, Trenton (NJ) Times, “Saidt,” pg. F2, col. 6:
“No, seriously, our division will be the toughest since I’ve been here. We respect everybody but we fear nobody.”
(Los Angeles Dodgers baseball coach Tom Lasorda.—ed.)
8 February 1989, The Advocate (Stamford, CT), “SHS stuns Danbury” by Dana Gauruder, pg. F1, col. 2:
“This shows that we respect everybody but we fear nobody,” forward Scott Glover said.
17 March 1990, The Plain Dealer (Cleveland, OH), “Bennett’s defense gets him noticed” by Bob Dolgan, pg. 5-E, col. 6:
“I respect everybody, but I don’t fear anybody,” he (Cleveland Cavaliers basketball player Winston Bennett—ed.) said.
Twitter
SAFF_Nick
@SAFF_Commish
FWD: ESPN NYJ - Rex Ryan: “I respect everybody but I fear nobody. We’re not going to get anywhere by tiptoeing”
5:54 PM - 2 Nov 2009
Google Books
Roger Federer - The Biography
By Chris Bowers
London: John Blake
2013
Pg. 190:
Although the cream of the tennis world was gathered in Houston, Federer no longer feared any of his rivals. ‘I respect everybody but fear nobody,’ was his stated philosophy.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Buccaneer Quotes, Nov. 22
Posted Nov 22, 2013
(...)
Head Coach Greg Schiano
(...)
(On if anyone from Detroit’s secondary stands out to him)
“Nope, I wouldn’t say one guy stands out, I respect them all. You respect everybody but you fear nobody, you go out there ready to attack. We’re going to do what we do each and every week and try to be as balanced as possible. Run the ball, pass the ball, take our shots and hopefully put up some good points.”
Sports Illustrated
Thu Jan. 8, 2015
Game-Planning the Patriots: An Insider’s View
By Jenny Vrentas
(...)
(Side note: The Ravens, like the Jets, have had to go deep into the well to staff their secondary. What do you tell an undrafted rookie covering Gronkowski? “There’s an age-old saying in the NFL: You respect everybody but you fear no one,” Thurman says.)