Henry Russell Sanders

A member of the College Football Hall of Fame, Henry Russell Sanders managed to find success at Vanderbilt in the 1940s, coaching the team to a 36-22-2 record in the Southeastern Conference.

Sanders led the Commodores to an upset of No. 7 Alabama in 1941 and helped the team to an eight-game winning streak at the end of the 1948 season.

Sanders coached at UCLA from 1949-57, winning the 1954 national championship. He died in Los Angeles just before the 1958 season. His other coaching stops include assistant jobs at Clemson, Florida and LSU.

Though largely attributed to Vince Lombardi, Sanders originated the quote “winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.” It’s a combination of two different variations he gave in the 1950s.

Sanders also was quoted of the UCLA-USC rivalry: “Beating SC is not a matter of life or death, it’s more important than that.”