Progress always involves risk. You can’t steal second base and keep one foot on first base.

Robert Quillen (1887–1948) American journalist and humorist

“Editorial Epigrams,” The Evening Repository (Canton, OH) (27 Mar 1924)

Also noted by him in the column "Corks and Curls," Herald-Journal (Spartanburg, SC) (11 Aug 1927): "Every big venture involves some risks. You can’t steal second and keep one foot on first."

This quotation is frequently attributed to Frederick B. Wilcox, who was the editor of A Little Book of Aphorisms (1947) where this was included, uncited.

More discussion about this quotation: The Big Apple: “You can’t steal second base while your foot is on first base”.