Damon Runyon Quotes
Born: October 4, 1880
Damon Runyon, the master chronicler of Broadway’s hustlers and dreamers, lived by a code of relentless motion. A journalist turned fiction writer, he transformed the gritty streets of Prohibition-era New York into a stage for human grit, where every character—from gamblers to showgirls—embodied a fierce, unspoken will to act. His philosophy was simple: life is a contest of nerve, not luck. Runyon’s prose, sharp and unsentimental, captured the raw beauty of taking a chance. His quotes resonate because they strip away excuses, urging us to move, to bet on ourselves, and to find poetry in the audacity of action.
Damon Runyon Quotes (7)
"You can become a winner only if you are willing to walk over the edge."
— Damon Runyon"The race is not always to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, but that's the way to bet."
— Damon Runyon"Always try to rub up against money, for if you rub up against money long enough, some of it may rub off on you."
— Damon Runyon"You can keep the things of bronze and stone and give me one man to remember me just once a year."
— Damon Runyon"I long ago came to the conclusion that all life is 6 to 5 against."
— Damon Runyon"The race may not always be to the swift nor the victory to the strong, but that's how you bet."
— Damon Runyon"I once knew a chap who had a system of just hanging the baby on the clothes line to dry and he was greatly admired by his fellow citizens for having discovered a wonderful innovation on changing a diaper."
— Damon Runyon