Tradition 11 · November 1

The Credit

Daily Traditions · November 1

The threat

May 1940. The catcher for the Cleveland Indians had just caught a no-hit game pitched by Bob Feller, and Rollie H. told the papers he had been sober in A.A. for a year. Before you decide what you think of him, take the reason. His drinking had been public knowledge, and when the story of his recovery broke, the credit went to the Oxford Group — he had stayed on with them after the Akron members left. Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers records what happened: "At that time, however, Rollie broke his silence and said no, the credit for his sobriety belonged to Alcoholics Anonymous." He did not do it for attention. He did it to correct a record that had A.A.'s work under somebody else's name. And it worked, exactly as he hoped. Bill W. wrote later (Pass It On) that "it did us plenty of good, temporarily, because alcoholics flocked in." Hundreds of them. It was also the first anonymity break the Fellowship had ever had at the national level, and A.A. has been arguing with itself about that week ever since.

Sit with

A man broke his anonymity to give A.A. credit it was being denied, hundreds of alcoholics came in because of it, and it was still the break that started everything. When has the generous thing I did spent something that wasn't mine to spend?

Grounded in: Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers (Rollie H., May 1940); Pass It On.

Tradition 11

"Our public relations policy is based on attraction rather than promotion; we need always maintain personal anonymity at the level of press, radio and films."

Read the Long Form (pp. 563–566). The short form on pp. 561–562 is the one everybody quotes — but the Long Form is where the Traditions actually say what they mean. Tradition 3's "no other affiliation" clause, for instance, exists only in the Long Form. That single clause is why no treatment centre can own an A.A. group. Most of what circulates online skips it.

And a distinction worth keeping straight: the Traditions are governance, not theology. They bind A.A. groups and the Fellowship — not individuals, and not outside businesses. They were adopted in 1950 to keep A.A. from being owned or co-opted. They are not a rulebook for your personal life.

What the Traditions actually say → The Long Form, p. 563 → Search the Big Book → Every day this month →

Ask Recovery Einstein about Tradition 11 → Get the app →

←All of November Tradition 11All of November November 2 →I Don't Want to Capitalize on Humility

Daily Traditions is an independent educational resource from Recovery Starts — not official A.A. literature, not affiliated with Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, and not medical advice. The Twelve Traditions are the property of A.A. Page references are to Alcoholics Anonymous (the Big Book), 4th Edition: short form 561–562, long form 563–566. If you're in crisis, call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline).