A.A. Quotes about the Early Winners

Dick B. and Ken B.
© 2010 Anonymous. All rights reserved

Perhaps you might consider sticking with what the pioneer A.A. winners did--e.g., practice the original Akron A.A. program documented on page 131 in DR. BOB and the Good Oldtimers so you can claim recovery and share with others how they can have the 75% success rate early A.A. claimed among "seemingly-hopeless," "medically-incurable," "last-gasp" case alcoholics who really tried to follow thoroughly the original program.

The following statement from the "Foreword to Second Edition," is found also in "the Fourth Edition of the Big Book, the Basic Text for Alcoholics Anonymous":
Of alcoholics who came to A.A. and really tried, 50% got sober at once and remained that way; 25% sobered up after some relapses, and among the remainder, those who stayed on with A.A. showed improvement.1

[1 From "Foreword to Second Edition" in Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th ed., xx. (And read the page or two in the Second Edition right before and after that statement.)]

Eph 4:29 (KJV):
Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.

Tell them you are sticking with the winners:

1. Dr. Bob, cofounder of Alcoholics Anonymous, whom Bill W. called "the prince of all twelfth-steppers":

"To 1950, the year of his death, he [co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous Dr. Bob] carried the A.A. message to more than 5,000 alcoholic men and women, . . ."

[Source for the quote above: Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th ed. (New York, N.Y.: Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc., 2001), 171.]

"[Bill W. states:] Between 1940 and 1950, in the company of that marvelous nun, Sister Ignatia, he had treated 5,000 drunks at St. Thomas Hospital in Akron. . . . So Dr. Bob became the prince of all twelfth-steppers. Perhaps nobody will ever do such a job again."

[Source for the quote above: The Co-Founders of Alcoholics Anonymous, Item P-53 (25M-7/96)--this is the older version with the white-and-gray cover; it is also on the same page in the newer version (20M 9/07) with the green-and-white cover], 34.]

2. Clarence S., Dr. Bob's sponsee and founder of Alcoholics Anonymous in Cleveland. (See DR. BOB and the Good Oldtimers, 161-67--especially 167.)

2a. The early Cleveland fellowship founded in May 1939 had a documented 93% success rate:

"I [Clarence S.] think A.A. was more effective in those days. Records in Cleveland show that 93 percent of those who to us never had a drink again. When I discovered that people had slips in A.A., it really shook me up. Today, it's all watered down so much."

[Source for the quote above: DR. BOB and the Good Oldtimers (New York, N.Y.: Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc., 1980), 261]

See also:

"Here is what Mitchell K., Clarence Snyder's biographer, reported as to the 93% success rate in Cleveland:

Two years after the publication of the book [i.e., of Alcoholics Anonymous (the "Big Book") in April 1939], Clarence made a survey of all of the members in Cleveland. He concluded that, by keeping most of the "old program," including the Four Absolutes and the Bible, ninety-three percent of those surveyed had maintained uninterrupted sobriety.1

[1 Mitchell K., How It Worked: The Story of Clarence H. Snyder and the Early Days of Alcoholics Anonymous in Cleveland, Ohio (Washingtonville, NY: AA Big Book Study Group, 1999), 108.]

[Source for the quotation and footnotes 1 and 2 above is: Dick B. and Ken B., The Dick B. Christian Recovery Guide, 3rd ed. (Kihei, HI: Paradise Research Publications, Inc., 2010), 72. That page number is at least valid on 3/3/10 (Dick B.'s son, Ken), as I am editing it and preparing it for publication shortly.]

2b. The early Cleveland fellowship grew from one group to 30 groups in one year:
And three of Clarence Snyder's sponsees wrote:

"Of the first 260 people who came into A.A. in Cleveland, ninety-three percent never drank again!"1 These were the Cleveland groups that grew from one to thirty in a year.2]

[1 Three Clarence Snyder Sponsee Old-timers and Their Wives, comp. and edited by Dick B., Our A.A. Legacy to the Faith Community: A Twelve-Step Guide for Those Who Want to Believe (Winter Park, FL: Came to Believe Publications, 2005), 9. See also pages 4 and 75.]

2 Nobody seemed to reject the claim that the greatest growth in early A.A. was in Cleveland. From a single group which first met in May 1939, Cleveland had grown into perhaps thirty groups over a year period. In Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, at pages 21-22, Bill wrote of the growth in both the number of groups, the several hundred members, and results which he said “were of the best.” Bill said that, a year after the publication of the Plain Dealer articles [October 21, 1939, to November 4, 1939—"1939 Cleveland Plain Dealer Articles"; http://barefootsworld.net/aaplaindealer.html; accessed 7/8/09], “Cleveland had about thirty groups and several hundred members." After a diligent investigation of the Cleveland A.A. picture, historian Wally P. reported: “By the end of 1940, Cleveland had 20-30 groups and 400 to 500 members. In September, Dorothy discussed with New York the possibility of setting up a Directory with the names and addresses of group members. . . . The Headquarters responded favorably. . . . The Group Directories were compiled starting in 1940." See Wally P., But, For the Grace of God. . . : How Intergroups & Central Offices Carried the Message of Alcoholics Anonymous in the 1940’s (Wheeling, WV: The Bishop of Books, 1995), 76.

[Source for the quotation and footnotes 1 and 2 above is: Dick B. and Ken B., The Dick B. Christian Recovery Guide, 3rd ed. (Kihei, HI: Paradise Research Publications, Inc., 2010), 72. That page number is at least valid on 3/3/10 (Dick B.'s son, Ken), as I am editing it and preparing it for publication shortly.]

Share the positive, power and love of God with people—especially the suffering newcomer who may be blessed to hear that message.

dickb@dickb.com; www.dickb.com; http://mauihistorian.blogspot.com; 808 874 4876

Gloria Deo