When I came back, after all those stories about Hitler and his snub, I came back to my native country, and I could not ride in the front of the bus. I had to go to the back door. I couldn’t live where I wanted. Now what’s the difference?
JESSE OWENSAlthough I wasn’t invited to shake hands with Hitler, I wasn’t invited to the White House to shake hands with the President either.
More Jesse Owens Quotes
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Hitler didn’t snub me – it was our president who snubbed me. The president didn’t even send me a telegram.
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Only by Gods grace have I made it to see today and only by Gods grace will I ever see tomorrow.
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I let my feet spend as little time on the ground as possible. From the air, fast down, and from the ground, fast up.
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I had four gold medals, but you can’t eat four gold medals.
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We used to have a lot of fun. We never had any problems. We always ate. The fact that we didn’t have steak? Who had steak?
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After I came home from the 1936 Olympics with my four medals, it became increasingly apparent that everyone was going to slap me on the back, want to shake my hand or have me up to their suite. But no one was going to offer me a job.
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For a time, at least, I was the most famous person in the entire world.
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I always loved running. It was something you could do by yourself and under your own power.
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I decided I wasn’t going to come down. I was going to fly. I was going to stay up in the air forever.
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People come out to see you perform and you’ve got to give them the best you have within you.
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I’d noticed him watching me for a year or so, especially when we’d play games where there was running or jumping.
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The lives of most men are patchwork quilts. Or at best one matching outfit with a closet and laundry bag full of incongruous accumulations. A lifetime of training for just ten seconds.
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It’s like having a pet dog for a long time. You get attached to it, and when it dies you miss it.
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It all goes so fast, and character makes the difference when it’s close.
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The only victory that counts is the one over yourself.
JESSE OWENS