"The finish line is just the beginning of a whole…

“The finish line is just the beginning of a whole new race” is a saying that has been printed on posters. “The finish line is just the beginning” was said by a wheelchair athlete in 1987.

Edward “Teddy” Ebersol, the 14-year-old son of NBC Sports executive Dick Ebersol and actress Susan Saint James, died in a plane crash in 2004. “The finish line is just the beginning of a whole new race” was a line in his autobiographical book and one that he had used at his eighth grade graduation. “The finish line is just the beginning of a whole new race” is often credited to Susan Saint James, who frequently repeated her son’s line.

Wikipedia: Susan Saint James
Susan Saint James (born August 14, 1946) is an American actress and activist, most widely known for her work in television during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s.
(...)
While guest-hosting Saturday Night Live in 1981, Saint James met her third husband, then-SNL executive producer Dick Ebersol; they married within the year. The marriage has produced three sons, Charles, William, and Edward (Teddy). In March 2002 Saint James filed for divorce from Ebersol, but the couple reconciled later that summer. Ebersol was chairman of NBC Sports until May 2011.

On November 28, 2004, a private plane carrying Ebersol and two of their sons crashed during an attempted takeoff from Montrose Regional Airport in Colorado. Ebersol and son Charles survived, but son Teddy, age 14, died, as did the pilot and flight attendant, Warren T. Richardson III. Teddy Ebersol’s Red Sox Fields at Lederman Park is named in memory of Saint James’s son, and an episode of the television series Scrubs was dedicated to him.

Google News Archive
23 May 1987, Pittsburgh (PA) Press, “Wheelchair trip around world ends” (UPI), pg. A2, col. 4:
“Let’s work together to make the phrase ‘the finish line is just the beginning’ a reality,” Hansen said.
(Rick Hansen, wheelchair athlete—ed.)

Google News Archive
9 December 2004, The Hour (Norwalk, CT), pg. A17, col. 2:
Classmates say farewells
to Edward ‘Teddy’ Ebersol
By MATT APUZZO
Associated Press
WASHINGTON, Conn.—Edward “Teddy” Ebersol didn’t take long to warm up to people.
(...)
Hundreds of students and faculty members of The Gunnery school gathered Wednesday night to remember the 14-year-old boy who died in a plane crash Nov. 28 in Colorado.

The son of NBA Sports executive Dick Ebersol and actress Susan Saint James, Ebersol was a freshman at the boarding school.
(...) (Col. 3—ed.)
The Gunnery baseball team will wear hats next spring that Ebersol designed, and Graham said the school will build a bench near the baseball field inscribed with a quote from Teddy’s grade school graduation speech: “The finish line is just the beginning of another race.”

Today (NBC)
Susan Saint James remembers her son Teddy
The actress and wife of NBC Sports chairman Dick Ebersol talks about the 14-year-old’s tragic death in this ‘Today’ exclusive
updated 12/16/2004 4:09:10 PM ET
Actress Susan Saint James is the wife of Dick Ebersol, chairman of NBC Universal Sports and NBC Olympics. Ebersol was seriously injured when his plane crashed in Colorado over Thanksgiving weekend. Susan and Dick’s youngest child, 14-year-old Teddy, died in that crash along with two crew members. NBC’s Tim Russert talked with Saint James about the accident and the support she’s received since the tragedy in this “Today” show exclusive.
(.)
Russert: One of the remarkable things that Teddy wrote is that the finish line is only the beginning of a whole new race.
Saint James: He was so sad to leave his eighth grade. You know, it was such a great class.

The Observer (student newspaper of Notre Dame and St. Mary’s)
Ebersols break silence to Oprah
Family speaks about losing youngest child, living with grief
By Justin Tardiff
Published: Friday, February 3, 2006
Updated: Wednesday, September 12, 2012 13:09
The family of Notre Dame graduate Charlie Ebersol appeared on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” Thursday to discuss the tragic 2004 plane crash that took the life of its youngest son, Teddy.
(...)
The Ebersols agreed the first part of recovering from the tragedy is acceptance of the fact that Teddy is gone, and continuing to live life to the fullest. They said they were particularly touched after they discovered Teddy’s autobiography, in which he wrote, “The finish line is just the beginning of a whole new race”- a motto the family lives by each day.

Google Books
Lead the Pack:
Sparking Innovation That Drives Customers Wild
By Nelson Soken and Wil Wengert
Minneapolis, MN: Mill City Press, Inc.
2008
Pg. 168:
“The finish line is just the beginning of a whole new race.”— Susan Saint James

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“The finish line is just the beginning of a whole new race.” - Susan Saint James http://bit.ly/1EdOsX #quote
9:44 PM - 15 Nov 09

Google Books
33 Life Lessons At 33:
A Personal Journey
By Todd Nguyen
Bloomington, IN: Balboa Press
2012
Pg. 11:
“The finish line is just the beginning of a whole new race.”—Teddy Ebersol

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“The finish line is just the beginning of a whole new race.”
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11:00 AM - 6 Sep 13 from Maryland, US