I copied (Shoeless Joe) Jackson's style because I thought he was the greatest hitter I had ever seen, the greatest natural hitter I ever saw. He's the guy who made me a hitter.

What the hell has (Herbert) Hoover got to do with it? Anyway, I had a better year than he did.

How to hit home runs: I swing as hard as I can, and I try to swing right through the ball... The harder you grip the bat, the more you can swing it through the ball, and the farther the ball will go. I swing big, with everything I've got. I hit big or I miss big. I like to live as big as I can.

I've heard people say that the trouble with the world is that we haven't enough great leaders. I think we haven't enough great followers. I have stood side by side with great thinkers - surgeons, engineers, economists; people who deserve a great following - and have heard the crowd cheer me instead.

It's hard to beat somebody when they don't give up.

(Ty) Cobb is a prick. But he sure can hit. God Almighty, that man can hit.

If it wasn't for baseball, I'd be in either the penitentiary or the cemetery.