Henry Russell Sanders Henry Russell " Red " Sanders ( May 7 , 1905 – August 14 , 1958 ) was an American football player and coach . He served as the head coach at Vanderbilt University ( 1940 – 1942 , 1946 – 1948 ) and the University of California at Los Angeles ( 1949 – 1957 ) , compiling a career college football record of 102 – 41 – 3 . Sanders ' 1954 UCLA team was named national champions by the Coaches ' Poll and the Football Writers Association of America . Sanders was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1996 . Known for being witty and hard driving , Sanders used the single - wing formation at Vanderbilt and UCLA . He is widely credited with coining the saying , " Winning isn ' t everything ; it ' s the only thing " . When asked about the UCLA – USC rivalry , Sanders said " it ' s not a matter of life and death , it ' s more important than that ! " Childhood . Sanders spent most of his youth in Nashville , Tennessee . One of his best boyhood friends and classmate at Duncan was renowned sports writer Fred Russell , with whom he would remain close friends his entire life . Vanderbilt . Sanders attended college at Vanderbilt University . He was a four - year letterman both in football and baseball . He was captain of the baseball team in his senior year . He was the quarterback on the football team . His football coach , Dan McGugin , said of him , " Red Sanders has one of the best football minds I have ever known . " He also had a successful stint as head coach at Vanderbilt compiling a 36 – 22 – 2 ( . 617 ) record there , the best mark by a coach while the school has been a member of the Southeastern Conference . Highlights included UCLA . Sanders coached the UCLA Bruins from 1949 to 1957 . He was arguably the best coach in school history , having compiled a record of 66 – 19 – 1 ( . 773 ) at UCLA and earning the school its only national championship in football . As head coach of the Bruins , Sanders led them to three Pacific Coast Conference ( PCC ) titles , two Rose Bowls ( ' 53 and ' 55 seasons ) and to a 6 – 3 record over arch - rival USC . Sanders instituted the distinctive football uniforms worn by the Bruins when he replaced the navy blue jerseys with " powderkeg blue , " added the shoulder stripe to give the impression of motion , and changed the number style from block to clarendon . Sanders said these changes were made to make it easier to see his Bruins on the grainy black and white game films of the time . The 1954 Bruins compiled a 9 – 0 record and climbed to the top of the Coaches ' Poll , sharing the national championship with Ohio State , winner of the AP Poll ' s title . Due to the PCC ' s early " no repeat " rule , the undefeated Bruins were unable to compete in the Rose Bowl that season despite being the PCC champion . Second - place USC , who the Bruins defeated 34 – 0 , played in the 1955 Rose Bowl instead and lost to Big Ten Conference champion and eventual co - national champion Ohio State , 20 – 7 . Sanders died suddenly of a heart attack on August 14 , 1958 , just before the 1958 season . His assistant coach George W . Dickerson rushed in on an interim basis to take his place for the first three games , suffered a nervous breakdown , and was replaced by William F . Barnes . Quotes . Winning isn ' t every thing , it ' s the only thing . Sanders actually spoke two different versions of the quote . In 1950 , at a Cal Poly San Luis Obispo physical education workshop , Sanders told his group : " Men , I ' ll be honest . Winning isn ' t everything . ( Long pause . ) Men , it ' s the only thing ! " In 1955 , in a " Sports Illustrated " article preceding the 1956 Rose Bowl , he was quoted as saying " Sure , winning isn ' t every thing , It ' s the only thing . " The quote has since been erroneously attributed to Vince Lombardi as the originator . Beating ' SC is not a matter of life or death , It ' s more important than that . While at UCLA , another famous quote was attributed to Sanders regarding the UCLA - USC rivalry , " Beating ' SC is not a matter of life or death , it ' s more important than that . "