Early newspaper evidence connects Royal with the maxim. QI nevertheless defers to Royal’s later credit to Hayes. That is a reasoned attribution, not a securely documented moment of coinage.
“Three Things Can Happen When You Pass and Two of Them Are Bad” — Popularized by Darrell Royal; Quote Investigator recommends crediting Woody Hayes, without claiming proven coinage. Via Quotle.info
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Evoking the world of Woody Hayes — Football coach. Theme: "Three Things Can Happen When You Pass and Two of Them Are Bad". Atmospheric and restrained, cinematic directional light, a muted period-appropriate palette, fine grain and texture. Compose with generous empty space for the quote and a small credit line. No lettering in the image itself.
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Provenance
What the source establishes
Documented trail
Quote Investigator, “Three Things Can Happen When You Pass and Two of Them Are Bad,” 4 October 2011.
Evidence
Attribution and wording limits stated below
two of them are bad
A short excerpt from the cited source; it may differ from the popular wording above.
Read the source ↗ — Early newspaper evidence connects Royal with the maxim. QI nevertheless defers to Royal’s later credit to Hayes. That is a reasoned attribution, not a securely documented moment of coinage.
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Attribution limits
The evidence below limits the attribution; it does not establish a proved alternative origin.
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Documented popularizerDarrell Royal Popularizer
Early newspaper evidence connects Royal with the maxim. QI nevertheless defers to Royal’s later credit to Hayes. That is a reasoned attribution, not a securely documented moment of coinage. Source ↗
✓Early newspaper evidence connects Royal with the maxim. QI nevertheless defers to Royal’s later credit to Hayes. That is a reasoned attribution, not a securely documented moment of coinage. Evidence ↗
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Woody Hayes is identified in the cited material as the football coach. This page distinguishes the documented source trail from a claim of verbatim personal testimony.
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The primary source (Chicago)
Quote Investigator, “Three Things Can Happen When You Pass and Two of Them Are Bad,” 4 October 2011.
This verification page
Quotle.info. “Who really said ‘Three Things Can Happen When You Pass and Two of Them Are Bad’?” Last verified 9 Nov 2026. https://quotle.info/who-said/three-things-can-happen-when-you-pass-and-two-of-them-are/