Bill Parcells recalls Wellington Mara showing him a plaque in the Giants locker room with a quote from Emlyn Tennell: winners assemble as a team, losers complain in small groups. Parcells says it set the tone for what he wanted to build.
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In closing, about 10 minutes after I was named head coach of the Giants and my first press conference conference was over, the patriarch owner of the New York Giants, the late Wellington Mara, was at my office door and said, bill, let's take a walk. And he took me down the stairs, of course, to that same place that I was just talking about. And in the old Giant stadium. The Giant players will remember that. As you walk through the players entrance, there was a little room to the left and it was like a little alcove room, had a couple chairs in it. And Wellington took me over to the wall in that place and on the wall was a little plaque and an inscription on it. And coincidentally, that inscription was attributed to the first black player ever inducted into this hall of fame. His name was Emlyn Tennell and was inducted in the class of 1967. And that inscription said, losers assemble in little groups and complain about the coaches and the players in other little groups. But winners assemble as a team. Well, tonight, ladies and gentlemen, I get to do just that. I'm honored, I'm grateful, and I'm thankful to every single one of out there that have something to do with this. Thank you very much.
