Cosell Quotes & Sayings

The Russians have a weapon that can wipe out two hundred eighty thousand Americans. That puts them exactly ten years behind Howard Cosell. — Red Smith

An unspeakable tragedy, confirmed to us by ABC News in New York City: John Lennon, outside of his apartment building on the West Side of New York City, the most famous, perhaps, of all the Beatles, shot twice in the back, rushed to Roosevelt Hospital, dead ... on ... arrival. Hard to go back to the game after that news flash, which in duty bound, we have to take. — Howard Cosell

Then there is a still higher type of courage - the courage to brave pain, to live with it, to never let others know of it and to still find joy in life; to wake up in the morning with an enthusiasm for the day ahead. — Howard Cosell

Howard Cosell was gonna be a boxer when he was a kid only they couldn't find a mouthpiece big enough. — Muhammad Ali

Arrogant, pompous, obnoxious, vain, cruel, verbose, a showoff. I have been called all of these. Of course, I am. — Howard Cosell

The importance that our society attaches to sport is incredible. After all, is football a game or a religion? The people of this country have allowed sports to get completely out of hand. — Howard Cosell

The ultimate victory in competition is derived from the inner satisfaction of knowing that you have done your best and that you have gotten the most out of what you had to give. — Howard Cosell

The time may have come to say goodbye to Muhammad Ali, because very honestly, I don't think he can beat George Foreman. — Howard Cosell

One of the best ones out there was a guy named Howard Cosell. He was the best. — Larry Holmes

Sometimes Howard [Cosell] makes me wish I was a dog and he was a fireplug. — Muhammad Ali

Mommy, why does daddy cuss the TV and call it Howard? — Howard Cosell

Sports is the toy department of human life. — Howard Cosell

That's the biggest problem with boxing in the United States. They do not promote it like they used to, when it used to be Howard Cosell and they showed it on 'Wide World of Sports.' Everybody knew all the fighters. Everybody was looking forward to the year when the Olympics came on. — Evander Holyfield

I wanted to be Red Barber, Mel Allen or Howard Cosell. I loved their personalities and all of their sounds. — John C. McGinley

Every person working in sports journalism today owes a tremendous debt to Howard Cosell. His greatest contribution was elevating sports reporting out of daily play-by-play and placing it in the larger context of society. — Roone Arledge

Boxing is drama on its grandest scale. — Howard Cosell

Unlike any other sport, the objective in boxing is chillingly simple: One man purposefully endeavors to inflict bodily harm on another man. — Howard Cosell

Down goes Frazier! Down goes Frazier! Down goes Frazier! — Howard Cosell

What's right isn't always popular. What's popular isn't always right. — Howard Cosell

I'm one helluva communicator. — Howard Cosell

Sports is human life in microcosm. — Howard Cosell

I grew up watching Monday Night Football with Howard Cosell and the other guys with my dad. — Lisa Guerrero

The only member of the team nobody liked was our 6 o'clock sports guy, a fellow named Howard Cosell. "Monday Night Football" was just getting started and Howard was annoyed at having to be on the same news with mere local personalities, whom he would attack on the air. This was a mistake in the case of Roger Grimsby who was a lot sharper and even more devastating than Cosell, in his own way. I remember one night, at the end of his report, Howard went into a sarcastic putdown of Grimsby that lasted for what seemed like two minutes. Finally, when Howard was finished, the camera switched to Grimsby who was sitting there with his eyes closed, snoring. — Jim Bouton

I was right to back Muhammad Ali, but it caused me major enmity in many areas of this nation. — Howard Cosell

After all, is football a game or a religion? — Howard Cosell

O. J. has an uncanny instinct for sensing when to make the move, when to makethe cut. He can kill you with a headfake, he can kill you with the swiftness of his legsand the ability to be in a direction at any single second. He also kills you with hisvariation of speed ... (on some of the ways O. J. Simpson can kill) — Howard Cosell

There have always been mixed emotions about Howard Cosell: Some people hate him like poison, and other people just hate him regular. — Buddy Hackett

I believe it was Shakespeare, or possibly Howard Cosell, who first observed that marriage is very much like a birthday candle, in that 'the flames of passion burn brightest when the wick of intimacy is first ignited by the disposable butane lighter of physical attraction, but sooner or later the heat of familiarity causes the wax of boredom to drip all over the vanilla frosting of novelty and the shredded coconut of romance.' I could not have phrased it better myself. — Dave Barry

Ladies and Gentleman, the Bronx is burning. — Howard Cosell

My father watched football with the sound off because he lived in fear of hearing the voice of Howard Cosell. — Rita Rudner

Stand for something. Don't quest for popularity at the expense of morality and ethics and honesty. — Howard Cosell