Dear Mr. Torrero,
Regarding your commentary in the December 2013 issue of the North Valley Reporter I was intrigued by your reference to Leo Durocher’s often mis-quoted line about “nice guys.” I say “mis-quoted” because after years of hearing people say: “Nice guys finish last” and attributing that quote to Leo Durocher, I was stunned to hear Mr. Durocher, himself, correct the misquotes while being interviewed on the radio.
At the end of the interview, the host said: “Well, as you once said…’nice guys finish last!” My having heard that quote attributed to Leo for years, I couldn’t believe it when he said: “I never said that.” He explained that in a past interview about a particular team losing a game, he simply said: “It’s too bad. They’re nice guys…they finished last.” And I was impressed by his quiet correction after many years of being mis-quoted.
Ironically, your statement that “We all must believe that good guys do win” is what has kept me correcting those who misquoted Leo because I, too, believe what you do.
The irony is that after he denied having said it the way it was being repeated…no one ever quoted his denial. Interesting…no?
Sadly, like you, I was never satisfied with what I heard each time someone repeated what Leo actually never said. And I was so happy to finally hear the man himself refute it. I also believe that he would be very grateful for your contradiction to what he never said.
Patty Tossy
No. Hollywood