Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 9 › Conversation 009-066

Nixon phone call with Smith on Tennis and Davis Cup

Friday, September 17, 1971 · 7:51 PM–7:55 PM ET · White House Telephone · 4 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Smith, Stan; Nixon, Richard M. (President); Smith, StanConversation009-066 on Tape 9 (tape position 02:04:41–02:08:27)StartFriday, September 17, 1971 at 7:51 PMEndFriday, September 17, 1971 at 7:55 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 009-066 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon called tennis star Stan Smith to congratulate him on a recent victory and commend his generous donation of prize money to the Davis Cup. The two discussed Smith's professional performance, including a tense match attended by Vice President Spiro Agnew, and the logistics of upcoming tournaments. Nixon also noted his own scheduling conflicts regarding an upcoming trip to Anchorage to meet Emperor Hirohito, which would prevent him from attending the Pacific Southwest Tournament.

  • Stan Smith
  • Tennis
  • Davis Cup
  • Spiro Agnew
  • Emperor Hirohito
  • Sportsmanship

Audio

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Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript was generated automatically by AI (WhisperX) and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Names and numbers are often wrong; speakers are not identified. Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Hello?
Oh, Stan?
I wanted to congratulate you on that victory and also to tell you that I was...
I talked to the Vice President.
I was so pleased to note that you gave your prize to the Davis Cup.
That was a terribly generous thing to do, you know.
That shows...
I remember when we were in the White House, you were so interested in that.
Two years ago, right?
Yeah.
And you must feel pretty good, don't you?
To be at the top of the heap, huh?
Yeah.
I haven't seen much tennis, but the only...
I don't get to see much television, but I caught your match with... Oh, the third one with Marty...
Yeah, you know, where there were little complaints about the calls and this and that.
But when you won that one, the way you kept your calm and kept wanging over those serves, I thought you were going to win it.
Well, I didn't think I'd really get that far, but I was lucky.
I actually saw my offense in the finals.
I didn't see that one.
I know it was a hard match from reading the papers.
I guess Mr. Agnew was there when I played Marty.
Yeah, he was there, yeah, and I saw that on TV.
Right.
Well, for a private in the Army to do all this is a hell of a thing.
Right.
Yeah.
Do you miss Pasadena?
Oh, are you going to play on that Pacific Southwest, or is that over?
Pacific Southwest, that's a great tournament.
Now does that do they have that an open tournament tournament now or?
Do you play as an amateur or the pro?
I see.
Yeah.
Yeah, just before you went in, you're right, right?
Well.
Yeah, I'd love to be out there, but I'm what?
What is the date of it stand?
Yeah.
Well, you see, I have to go up to Anchorage to meet the Emperor of Japan that week, and so I'll probably miss it.
I may catch a little of it on television, but I'm not going to bet against you.
I can assure you of that.
Right.
Well, I wish you the best, and I think you're a great credit to the game, and the way that you, you know, helped the Davis Cup this way was really a fine example for everybody.
Yeah, I remember.
You remember the Romanians.
I saw the Romanian ambassador today and I said, how are they doing?
He says, well, we hope to do better than we did last time.
Why is clay harder?
Because... Oh, they don't have the grass.
I see.
Is clay faster than lawn?
Yeah.
They do.
I see.
Well, you'll handle it.
You'll handle it.
Right.
Well, good to talk to you, and you really handled it well, boy.
Bye.

NARA Description

On September 17, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Stan Smith talked on the telephone from 7:51 pm to 7:55 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 009-066 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 9-66

Date: September 17, 1971
Time: 7:51 pm - 7:55 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with Stan Smith.

     Congratulations on victory
         -The President's talk with Spiro T. Agnew
               -Davis Cup
         -Match with Marty Riesner
               -Calls
         -Army private
         -Pasadena
         -Pacific Southwest Tournament
               -Date

     The President's schedule
          -California
          -Anchorage, Alaska
                -Hirohito

     Smith's tournament
          -Davis Cup
                -Romanians
                     -The President's talk with Romanian ambassador
                -Clay courts
                -Grass courts

Also recorded on September 17, 1971

  • 009-064 4:32 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:32 pm and 7:48 pm.
  • 575-005 4:34 PM · 7 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Robert T. Stafford, Helen C. Stafford, Neil Houston, William E. Timmons, and Charles W. Colson met in the Oval Office of the White House from 4:34 pm to 4:41 pm.
  • 575-006 4:41 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:41 pm and 4:43 pm.
  • 575-007 4:43 PM · 1 hr 39 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Stephen B. Bull, John D. Ehrlichman, Manolo Sanchez, Henry A. Kissinger, Alexander P. Butterfield, Ronald L. Ziegler, and Eugene V. Risher met in the Oval Office of the White House from 4:43 pm to 6:24 pm.
  • 009-065 7:48 PM · 14 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 7:48 pm.
  • 009-067 7:55 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:55 pm and 7:59 pm.
  • 009-068 7:59 PM · 15 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 7:59 pm.
  • 009-069 7:59 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:59 pm and 8:05 pm.

All 48 conversations from September 17, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 009-066, September 17, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/009-066 (accessed October 12, 2026).