Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 31 › Conversation 031-092

Nixon phone call with Williams on World Series and Texas Rangers

Monday, October 16, 1972 · 8:12 PM–8:14 PM ET · White House Telephone · 2 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Williams, Theodore S. ("Ted")Conversation031-092 on Tape 31StartMonday, October 16, 1972 at 8:12 PMEndMonday, October 16, 1972 at 8:14 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 031-092 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and baseball legend Ted Williams engaged in a brief, informal social call to exchange pleasantries and discuss current events. The conversation touched upon Williams’ recent hunting trip in Vermont, their mutual interest in the World Series, and the status of the Texas Rangers. Williams concluded the call by expressing his political support for the President’s reelection campaign.

  • Ted Williams
  • World Series
  • Texas Rangers
  • Hunting
  • Presidential Election

Audio

Download MP3 · 2.4 MB

NARA Description

On October 16, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Theodore S. ("Ted") Williams talked on the telephone from 8:12 pm to 8:14 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 031-092 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 31-92

Date: October 16, 1972
Time: 8:12 pm - 8:14 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with Theodore S. (“Ted”) Williams.

        Greetings

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

BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1
[Personal returnable]
[Duration: 7s ]

END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1

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

            -Texas Rangers

        The President's schedule

             -World Series
             -Congress

        William's schedule
            -Putney, Vermont
                -Mrs. Williams
                -Pointer dog
                     -Hunting
                         -Rogers C.B. Morton
                             -[First name not known] Townsend
                     -King Timahoe

        Farewells
            -Mrs. Williams

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

Download transcript (.txt) · JSON data

Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).

Hello?
Mr. Ted Williams.
Hello?
How are you, Mr. President?
Ted, well, how are you?
Well, I'm all right, sir.
Well... And whatever happened to the Rangers, let me say it wasn't a matter of a lack of support from me.
Well, I know that.
Are you going to the series?
No, I'll tell you that the Congress is still around, and I've got to do a little work.
But I'll try to catch one or two games on TV.
It isn't on today, is it?
No, no, it's on tonight.
I mean, tomorrow night.
Tomorrow night.
I may... Wednesday, Thursday night.
I'll catch them.
I think I can catch two or three tonight games.
Well, that'll be wonderful.
You know you're awful kind to call.
Where did I catch you?
There's more for you than I am.
Where are you?
Well, I'm up in Vermont.
My wife has a little home up in Putney, Vermont.
Oh, yes.
I'm doing a little woodcock hunting.
Good.
It's a very nice dog, and I go out.
What kind of a dog is it?
Oh, it's a pointer, and we go out.
I was with...
with a friend of the Secretary Morton today, a fellow named Townsend.
Oh, yes, right.
Oh, yes, yes, I know.
A very good friend of his, and we were talking about everybody today, and we're all on your team.
Right.
I guess, Bush, you know, I've got a marvelous Irish center.
Both his mother and father are champions, but we've never trained them.
I'll tell you, any time you want to hump with him, you can.
All right.
I know that.
Very best to you, sir.
Well, thanks a lot.
All right, and we'll be pulling everything we can to get things organized.
We'll see you after the election.
Very kind.
You have my best year pretty wise.
I will.
All right, sir.
Good night.

Also recorded on October 16, 1972

  • 031-088 7:59 PM · 15 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:59 pm and 8:00 pm.
  • 031-089 7:59 PM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:59 pm and 8:00 pm.
  • 031-090 8:00 PM · 21 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Frank Scumaci talked on the telephone from 8:00 pm to 8:01 pm.
  • 031-091 8:02 PM · 46 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and C. Beverly Briley talked on the telephone from 8:02 pm to 8:05 pm.
  • 031-093 8:08 PM · 21 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Richard M. Scaife talked on the telephone from 8:08 pm to 8:11 pm.
  • 031-094 8:16 PM · 23 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and John T. Connor talked on the telephone from 8:16 pm to 8:19 pm.
  • 031-095 8:24 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John F. Collins talked on the telephone from 8:24 pm to 8:30 pm.
  • 031-096 8:33 PM · 23 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and John W. Mulcahy, Jr. talked on the telephone from 8:33 pm to 8:36 pm.

All 103 conversations from October 16, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 031-092, October 16, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/031-092 (accessed November 9, 2026).