Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 19 › Conversation 019-162

Nixon phone call with Eisenhower on Puerto Rican-Hispanic Sports Council

Saturday, January 29, 1972 · 9:05 AM–9:08 AM ET · White House Telephone · 4 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Eisenhower, Julie NixonConversation019-162 on Tape 19StartSaturday, January 29, 1972 at 9:05 AMEndSaturday, January 29, 1972 at 9:08 AMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 019-162 ↗

AI Summary

Julie Nixon Eisenhower consulted her father, President Nixon, for advice on remarks she was scheduled to deliver at a Puerto Rican-Hispanic Sports Council baseball awards banquet. The President suggested she highlight the value of sports in fostering citizenship, fair play, and camaraderie, while reflecting on his own lifelong interest in athletic competition. Additionally, the pair discussed incorporating a humorous anecdote regarding the President's public football team preferences and their political implications in Texas.

  • Puerto Rican-Hispanic Sports Council
  • Public speaking
  • Sportsmanship
  • Brooks Robinson
  • Political humor

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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There you are.
I wanted to ask you, David and I are going to this event called the Puerto Rican Hispanic Sports Council, and it's this thing in New York sponsored by Puerto Ricans for young boys, a baseball league, and we're going to hand out awards to them, and Brooks Robinson's going to be there.
and I are all supposed to make informal remarks, and I can't think of anything to say, and they sent me a horrible idea, you know?
And what can I say, you know?
This is what?
This is a Puerto Rican baseball awards affair.
We're handing out awards to these young kids, ages 8 to 13, who've done well in a Puerto Rican baseball league.
Well, just a couple of random thoughts that occurred to me.
I don't know.
You might point out that you, that I, that, of course, that your father's interest in sports is well known.
Right.
And that you and Tricia both learned sports by going to games with him whenever he could or watching on television.
And that
thing one thing that impressed you was that the people in sports that is in football that they they were and Brooks Robinson is typical of this are not only fine athletes in the field but fine fine citizens that sports means team play it means fair play it means
it means trying to do your best and so forth.
Your father, you often ask him why it was he was so interested in baseball and football, and he said, I guess the reason was he never made the team and that he never was much good at it, but that he always liked to go out and he liked because he just, it's for the enjoyment and the comradeship and so forth that sports is a
it's the uh it's uh right something like that sorry that's good well um then i've as far as there is that this uh if you want i don't know if you want whether you're going to you can sense whether you can put the puerto rican things in you say that you know many of them came from puerto rican that your father has many pleasant memories of his visits to san juan and puerto rico right and the fine people
Do you think it would be appropriate to make a joke like saying that, you know, my father loves sports and he's not afraid to come out for a team, even if it means in football he's going to, you know, losing the state of Texas or something like that?
Yeah, even risk losing the state.
Do you think it would be appropriate to say that?
Sure, sure, sure.
And that's excellent.
That's excellent.
Daddy, thanks a million for helping me.
I just was sort of struck.
Sure.
Well, that's fine.
I really appreciate it.
I hope it didn't bother you.
Not at all.
You just have a wonderful time.
Great.
Well, I'll see you tomorrow night.

NARA Description

On January 29, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Julie Nixon Eisenhower talked on the telephone from 9:05 am to 9:08 am. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 019-162 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 19-162

Date: January 29, 1972
Time: 9:05 am - 9:08 am
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with Julie Nixon Eisenhower.

[See Conversation No. 660-8A]

**********************************************************************

BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1
[Personal Returnable]
[Duration: 45s ]

END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1

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     Julie and [Dwight] David Eisenhower, II’s schedule
           -Puerto Rican-Hispanic Sports Council
                -Presentation of awards
                      -Baseball
                      -Brooks Robinson
                -Remarks
                      -The President's interest in sports
                           -Tricia Nixon Cox
                      -Sporting events
                           -Value
                                 -Robinson
                                 -Team spirit, fair play
                                 -The President’s experience
                                        -Comradeship
                -The President's visits to San Juan, Puerto Rico
                -The President's interest in sports
                      -Football
                           -Team preference
                                 -Effect on Texas

     Schedule

Also recorded on January 29, 1972

  • 019-159 8:35 AM · 13 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Idanell ("Nellie") (Brill) Connally, and John B. Connally talked on the telephone from 8:35 am to 8:50 am.
  • 660-004 8:35 AM · 13 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Idanell ("Nellie") (Brill) Connally met in the Oval Office of the White House from 8:35 am to 8:50 am.
  • 019-160 8:50 AM · 29 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 8:50 am.
  • 660-005 8:50 AM · 27 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at 8:50 am.
  • 660-006 8:50 AM · 8 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House from 8:50 am to 9:00 am.
  • 660-007 9:00 AM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon, DeWitt Wallace, and Lila (Acheson) Wallace met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:00 am to 9:04 am.
  • 019-161 9:05 AM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 9:05 am.
  • 660-008 9:05 AM · 3 hr 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Julie Nixon Eisenhower, Stephen B. Bull, Barbara H. Franklin, George P. Shultz, Herbert Stein, Marina von Neumann Whitman, White House photographer, Charles W. Colson, unknown person(s), White House operator, John N. Mitchell, Idanell ("Nellie") (Brill) Connally, and Henry A. Kissinger met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:05 am to 12:10 pm.

All 26 conversations from January 29, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 019-162, January 29, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/019-162 (accessed October 24, 2026).