“Work will win when wishing won’t” is a saying that has been called the “Six W’s.” The saying was probably coined by author and humorist Coleman Cox (1871-1940) in his book, Take It From Me (1922) “Work will win when wishing won’t” was also described in March 1922 as the house organ philosophy of The Hedman Sales Force.
American football player and sports broadcaster Todd Blackledge said in 1999 that his father (a football coach) had the saying on a placard. Blackledge is often incorrectly cited as the author of the saying.
HathiTrust Digital Library
March 1922, Office Appliances, “House Organ Philosophy,” pg. 109, col. 1:
Work will win when wishing won’t.—The Hedman Sales Force.
18 September 1922, Tampa (FL) Morning Tribune, “Take it From Me” by Coleman Cox, pg. 4, col. 5:
Work will Win when Wishing Won’t.
12 March 1927, Sheboygan (WI) Press, ‘The Cozy Corner,” pg. 16, col. 2:
Work will Win when Wishing Won’t.
Google Books
Telling of Selling
By Coleman Cox
San Francisco, CA: C. Cox
1933
Pg. 10:
Work will Win when Wishing Won’t.
Google Books
Weathering the Storm
By Dan Clark
Latham, NY: British American Pub.
1989
Pg. 166:
Work will win when wishing won’t!
12 April 1999, Centre Daily Times (State College, PA), “Blackledge passes on his wealth of wisdom,” pg. 1B:
UNIVERSITY PARK—Speaking from his background as the quarterback of Penn State’s 1982 national championship team, Todd Blackledge gave the nearly 400 people at the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame banquet a laundry list for success. The banquet was held at the Penn Stater. “All champions have four basic character traits,’’ Blackledge said. “The first is discipline. My dad was a football coach all of his life and he had these placards with sayings on them. The one I liked the most was the six W’s—Work will win when wishing won’t.”
Google Books
1001 Motivational Messages and Quotations for Athletes and Coaches:
Teaching Character Through Sport
By Bruce Eamon Brown
Monterey, CA: Coaches Choice
2001
Pg. ?:
The Six W’s: “Work will win when wishing won’t.” — Todd Blackledge
Above, a 1934 plaque from the Big Apple Night Club at West 135th Street and Seventh Avenue in Harlem. Discarded as trash in 2006. Now a Popeyes fast food restaurant on Google Maps.
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Above, Big Apple Corner at 54th Street and Broadway in Manhattan. Google Maps. Stolen and missing, 2021-2024.
Above, John J. Fitz Gerald, from the Aug. 15, 1931, Binghamton (NY) Press, pg. 14.
Listen to Robert Emmerich introduce "The Big Apple," a hit song from 1937. Music written by Bob and performed by Tommy Dorsey's Clambake Seven with Bob on piano. Lyrics written by Buddy Bernier and sung by Edythe Wright. Audio provided by Dorothy Emmerich.
Also listen to a 1937 "The Big Apple" song by Ozzie Nelson and his Orchestra. See a 1929 photo of John J. Fitz Gerald and a 1931 photo of John J. Fitz Gerald.
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