Quotes from George Mikan

The athlete has the advantage of being able to advertise in the media what he wants to do when he retires.

If we can't get a shot after five passes, what's Ihe use of trying to set up a shot at all?

Eddie Sadowski of Baltimore is always good for a couple of laughs a game.

When I played, it was the center's duty to be within 10 feet of the basket.

I went to Quigley Seminary and didn't have the time for basketball because I had to catch the bus after school to get home to Joliet. But Paul Mattei, then the athletic director at DePaul, saw me in one of the few games I did play for Quigley and told me if I decided to leave the seminary, he'd want me to come and play at DePaul.

I'm afraid I'd get morose without the excitement of the business world.

There's such a thing as retribution in sports.

When a team is not winning, someone must suffer. It's the same in baseball or anything else.

I loved music and felt I had enough talent to become a concert pianist, but I was foolish enough to let myself be laughed out ot the idea.

We were always setting picks and screens and looking for an open shot.

I never forced my boys to play basketball. I only work with them on individual problems when they come to me.

I lose 30 to 35 pounds each season. It's tough work.

I'm not advocating not calling anything, but I think no-harm, no-foul is a pretty good rule.

I didn't have the calling to be a priest. You know, either you do or you don't.

I have led the pro league scoring for flve years and that's honor enough for anybody.

The experts say I was the first real big man who was able to dominate a game. Who am I to make liars of them? But there were some other fine big centers besides me in the 1940s - Bob Kurland, Don Otten, Arnie Risen and Ed Macauley, to name a few.

Some just don't know the fundamentals of the game. And a smart player can contain guys like that.

I'm very near-sighted and can hardly see without my glasses.

When I was playing, wearing glasses was second nature to me. It was an accepted part of life.

We had one of the best point guards in the game in Dugie Martin. He fed me for a lot of my points, and he even gave Bob Cousy a lot of trouble.

Little Slater Martin, I think, was one of the best point guards ever, and we had Whitey Skoog, a great shooter, at the other guard.

I had a habit of when I dressed before a game to place my eyeglasses on a locker shelf for safety.

A guy who pays $8 to $10 for a ticket wants to see action. Where's the excitement in a guy getting a rebound, dribbling down court and taking a shot?

Back in those old days, I'd arrive by train or plane a day or two ahead of the team to promote the game. They'd take me to a hotel and I'd do interview after interview to try to drum up business and sell tickets.