Nixon White House Tapes — Conversation 019-162
Date: Saturday, January 29, 1972 at 9:05 AM
Participants: Nixon, Richard M. (President); Eisenhower, Julie Nixon
Recording device: White House Telephone
Source: https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/019-162

This transcript was generated automatically by AI (WhisperX) and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Do not cite it as authoritative.

[0:00] There you are.
[0:46] 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.
[1:07] 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?
[1:14] And what can I say, you know?
[1:16] This is what?
[1:17] This is a Puerto Rican baseball awards affair.
[1:21] We're handing out awards to these young kids, ages 8 to 13, who've done well in a Puerto Rican baseball league.
[1:34] Well, just a couple of random thoughts that occurred to me.
[1:36] I don't know.
[1:39] You might point out that you, that I, that, of course, that your father's interest in sports is well known.
[1:51] Right.
[1:51] And that you and Tricia both learned sports by going to games with him whenever he could or watching on television.
[2:02] And that
[2:04] 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
[2:30] it means trying to do your best and so forth.
[2:36] 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
[3:00] 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
[3:27] 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?
[3:42] Yeah, even risk losing the state.
[3:44] Do you think it would be appropriate to say that?
[3:45] Sure, sure, sure.
[3:47] And that's excellent.
[3:49] That's excellent.
[3:51] Daddy, thanks a million for helping me.
[3:53] I just was sort of struck.
[3:54] Sure.
[3:55] Well, that's fine.
[3:56] I really appreciate it.
[3:57] I hope it didn't bother you.
[3:58] Not at all.
[3:58] You just have a wonderful time.
[4:00] Great.
[4:01] Well, I'll see you tomorrow night.