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Motivation Quote by Willie Stargell

"A World Series trophy is a wonderful thing to behold"

About this Quote

A World Series trophy is a wonderful thing to behold because it’s one of the few objects in American sports that can’t be faked. Willie Stargell’s line reads simple, even a little polite, but that’s the point: it treats the trophy less like a brag and more like a hard-earned visual fact. “Behold” is doing the heavy lifting. It’s not “win” or “earn” or “deserve.” It’s a word from sermons and coronations, suggesting reverence, a hush. Stargell frames the prize as something that commands stillness after a season defined by noise, travel, injuries, and doubt.

The intent is gratitude, but the subtext is endurance. Baseball’s calendar is built to grind ego down to size; even the best players fail most of the time. Calling the trophy “wonderful” sounds understated until you remember what it represents: surviving a 162-game test of attention and health, then emerging from October’s pressure cooker. The line also sidesteps the self-centered language athletes are often expected to use. Stargell isn’t the subject; the trophy is. That humility doubles as leadership, the kind that made him the emotional center of the 1979 “We Are Family” Pirates, a team that turned clubhouse chemistry into a civic mood.

Context matters: Stargell played in an era when athletes were becoming brands, but he’s pointing to something older and sturdier than marketing - the communal artifact of a championship. The trophy isn’t just seen; it’s witnessed, like proof that the suffering meant something.

Quote Details

TopicVictory
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Citation Formats

APA Style (7th ed.)
Stargell, Willie. (2026, January 16). A World Series trophy is a wonderful thing to behold. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/a-world-series-trophy-is-a-wonderful-thing-to-96716/

Chicago Style
Stargell, Willie. "A World Series trophy is a wonderful thing to behold." FixQuotes. January 16, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/a-world-series-trophy-is-a-wonderful-thing-to-96716/.

MLA Style (9th ed.)
"A World Series trophy is a wonderful thing to behold." FixQuotes, 16 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/a-world-series-trophy-is-a-wonderful-thing-to-96716/. Accessed 22 Feb. 2026.

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Willie Stargell on the World Series Trophy
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About the Author

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Willie Stargell (March 6, 1940 - April 9, 2001) was a Athlete from USA.

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