Nixon White House Tapes — Conversation 032-007
Date: Sunday, October 22, 1972 at 7:54 PM
Participants: Nixon, Richard M. (President); Allen, George E.
Recording device: White House Telephone
Source: https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/032-007

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 Do not cite it as authoritative.

[0:00] Hello.
[0:01] Mr. Allen.
[0:03] Mr. President.
[0:04] I suppose the whole town has been toasting you, but I waited a little while to watch how you didn't need me today, but I watched it on television.
[0:12] I had a special wire in here to the White House and got to see it.
[0:16] Wasn't it some game?
[0:19] Well, you know, when you were 13 points behind, you know, and when your offense just wouldn't do a thing and
[0:25] You know, I thought you were dead.
[0:28] What did you think?
[0:28] Were you discouraged then or not?
[0:30] Let me tell you what I was trying to do.
[0:33] Of course, incidentally, if I may interrupt you, the only thing that gave me a little hope when I thought of their 13 points was that they made some of them on mistakes.
[0:42] Yeah.
[0:42] I mean, mistakes and bad breaks.
[0:44] I mean, my God, when they called that a completed pass, that's a bad call.
[0:49] It's a terrible call, and at halftime, we told it,
[0:53] the team that we had every break go against us in the books.
[0:57] We're only behind 13-7.
[0:58] That's right.
[0:59] And incidentally, they had only scored one touchdown.
[1:02] Yeah.
[1:03] And that we could still pull this out.
[1:06] And then, of course, they scored and it went 27.
[1:11] But I'll tell you, Mr. President, our team has so much
[1:16] a togetherness.
[1:17] I know that sounds corny, but we've got kind of a family, you see, and everybody is happy for the other guy's success, and the fans today were fantastic.
[1:28] You know, the ground down there was trembling.
[1:31] Really, you could feel the vibration.
[1:33] And then when they started to yell, defense, defense, defense, and boy, the defense finally came to life.
[1:40] And, uh,
[1:42] When Dallas scored early in the first half, you know, with those two long runs, I thought, oh, my God.
[1:47] That's right.
[1:48] Didn't that discourage you a little?
[1:49] Well, it did, but I think what we kept preaching that we got a lot of time.
[1:54] Just, you know, play our game.
[1:56] Sometimes you try to get back too fast and you make a mistake.
[1:59] Just play our game.
[2:00] There's a lot of time.
[2:01] Mm-hmm.
[2:01] We're going to take that ball away on defense and that type of approach, you know.
[2:06] Right.
[2:06] And, boy, the dressing room after the game was... Whatever they do.
[2:10] Oh, you know, Roy Jefferson's played in the Super Bowl, and he said, Coach, he said, the Super Bowl was never like this.
[2:16] Yeah.
[2:18] He caught one when it was very important, didn't he?
[2:21] He only caught one pass, didn't he?
[2:22] I think so.
[2:23] But it was important.
[2:24] Oh, gosh.
[2:25] Well, at this type of a win... Everything was important.
[2:27] To beat Dallas, everyone has to...
[2:30] Because Dallas, I was thinking if Martin at one point there had the presence of mind that Staubach would have had to run.
[2:40] He would have run, yeah.
[2:41] But thank God he didn't.
[2:43] No, that's right.
[2:45] Well, we beat the world champs, and we came from behind twice, 13 points.
[2:50] That's right.
[2:52] On national television.
[2:54] Yeah, and those marvelous, those two marvelous interceptions.
[2:58] Yeah, of course.
[2:59] Gosh, you know, that was something, wasn't it?
[3:00] It was like New Year's Eve in the dressing room after the game.
[3:06] You know, this Brown is something else, isn't he?
[3:08] Oh, he was exhausted, and we just had to take him out for one play.
[3:12] He's got a sinus condition, and then he came back.
[3:19] Well, maybe you can put Knock in there and rest him next week.
[3:22] I hope so, yeah.
[3:24] Who'd you lose?
[3:25] We lost, this hasn't even been announced, I don't think we lost Malinchik.
[3:29] He's going to have to be operating on either tonight or tomorrow morning.
[3:32] And he's a real good special team guy, you know.
[3:35] Oh, I know.
[3:35] He's recovered fumbles and everything.
[3:37] He's like one of your troubleshooters there that doesn't get a lot of publicity.
[3:41] Oh, I know.
[3:42] He's been fantastic in the early game.
[3:43] Great job.
[3:44] Who do you replace him with?
[3:45] Do you have to trade or what?
[3:46] I don't have anyone yet.
[3:47] And the trading deadline is Tuesday, you see.
[3:50] So you're getting busy, are you?
[3:52] Yeah.
[3:52] So we've got to try to.
[3:54] to get someone, but when you're in first place, no one wants to trade with you.
[3:58] But we'll come up with someone.
[4:02] Yeah, you've got to have, because those special teams, they are so important.
[4:05] Oh, yeah, and they have such a spirit in those special teams.
[4:11] Gosh, this win today was a great thing for the area.
[4:17] The town, that's right.
[4:19] Yeah, and you know, here's something that
[4:21] It certainly must have made all those damn press people.
[4:25] I hope you told them to go to hell.
[4:28] You know, as you know, you've got to do what you believe.
[4:31] I know.
[4:32] But Clint Murchison, we heard, made the statement that when it was 20-7, he made the statement.
[4:40] He said, well, it's a good thing that this game is blacked out in the Washington area.
[4:45] He owns the Cowboys.
[4:46] Sure, I know.
[4:48] I know him well.
[4:49] We...
[4:50] We made him eat his word, you know.
[4:52] I'll say you did.
[4:54] Well, the thing, it was on national television, wasn't it?
[4:57] I got it on Channel 2 from Baltimore.
[5:00] Most have been blacked out in this area.
[5:02] CBS, yeah.
[5:03] Well, you see, I got it.
[5:04] You see, we have a way to get Channel 2 here.
[5:06] We had some special antenna or something.
[5:09] But anyway.
[5:10] We got it on a closed circuit deal.
[5:12] I don't know what it is.
[5:13] If any of your family, Mr. President, would like to go, Mrs. Allen would love to have them in her box up there.
[5:21] I knew what you told me, and I think that's probably right.
[5:24] After Election Day, otherwise it's going to look as if we're trying to exploit the team, and I'd rather not do that.
[5:30] You just go ahead and win them.
[5:31] We'll be there when we need you.
[5:32] I'll tell you what, we're going to.
[5:34] And we got another tough one, the Giants this week.
[5:37] Oh, boy.
[5:37] They've really come back.
[5:39] They're on fire now.
[5:40] Sneed is real hot, you know.
[5:42] Yeah.
[5:43] He came from Duke, too, didn't he?
[5:45] Sneed, I think, is from Wake Forest.
[5:47] Wake Forest.
[5:47] You're right, you're right.
[5:48] And, of course, Sneed and Jurgensen's from Duke, so they're about the same age.
[5:53] Of course, Jurgensen was just, he was just fantastic today.
[5:56] Yeah, right.
[5:57] The old man was really going.
[5:59] But Brown, I must say.
[6:00] God.
[6:01] And let me say that, Haraway, that was a touchdown run by him.
[6:04] I didn't know he could move that fast.
[6:06] Well, he's lost a little weight.
[6:09] Does that help?
[6:10] Yes.
[6:10] See, he doesn't have to be that heavy.
[6:13] But weren't you a little surprised when he turned that corner?
[6:16] Yeah.
[6:17] I didn't think he could.
[6:18] Who was the tackler that he missed?
[6:20] I think it was Harris over there.
[6:21] And he was pretty fast.
[6:22] Yeah.
[6:23] But boy, when he turned the thing and then wham, he was in the end zone.
[6:26] That was the big play of the game, I think.
[6:27] That put us ahead for good.
[6:29] Yeah.
[6:30] It's good to have him do one because, you know, he's sort of second fiddle to Brown all the time.
[6:33] That's right.
[6:34] How did he feel after the game?
[6:35] Oh, he was great.
[6:36] He was just great.
[6:39] Yeah.
[6:39] And we told him after the game that this is the way to live and this is like being reborn, you know.
[6:46] Who did you give the game ball to?
[6:47] We gave one to Sonny.
[6:48] And then we gave one to Larry Brown.
[6:50] He deserved one.
[6:51] Not to the defense.
[6:52] And then we gave one to Speedy Duncan, came up with a big play.
[6:58] We made an interception.
[6:59] Yeah.
[6:59] Let's see who gets fourth.
[7:01] Oh, Lenny Haas.
[7:04] Hurt all week and couldn't practice and then played 60 minutes.
[7:07] We gave him one.
[7:09] Was he blocking as well as usual?
[7:10] No, he... That probably hurt your middle.
[7:12] I noticed you weren't running very well up the middle.
[7:15] Exactly.
[7:16] And you know that blocked... What's that?
[7:18] That blocked field goal, Mr. President.
[7:19] At the end, that was his man.
[7:21] See, that last field goal we attempted.
[7:23] But was that blocked?
[7:23] Yeah, it was tipped.
[7:25] I see.
[7:26] Yeah, I see.
[7:27] Deflected.
[7:28] Well, you didn't need it.
[7:29] What the heck.
[7:30] Well, as it turned out, we didn't then.
[7:33] Well, anyway, if you had gotten it, it would have been a tie if they had scored.
[7:36] What the heck?
[7:37] Boy, they got a lot of speed.
[7:40] Oh, boy.
[7:41] When Hill dropped that pass in the first quarter, my God, what happened there?
[7:46] Somebody missed a signal?
[7:47] It's a play that we've been defensive all week in practice, and we were making the same mistake.
[7:52] And I remember one day we went over it four times, that same play, and that...
[7:57] It's Patios' coverage, you see.
[8:01] Way back there?
[8:01] Yeah, where we're in what we call a combo defense, and the quarterback had longer to throw.
[8:07] Usually he hits them right away, and he had a little longer to throw, and, of course, he'll just... Is he that fast?
[8:13] He runs a 4-7.
[8:14] He's quite an athlete.
[8:16] Very fast.
[8:16] Oh, yeah, I know he is.
[8:19] Yeah.
[8:19] Well, it was a great game between two very fine teams.
[8:22] I mean, you play next week, you may lose.
[8:24] That's right.
[8:25] Right?
[8:25] That's right.
[8:26] But...
[8:27] I must say.
[8:28] If you had to win one, you want to win the first one, right?
[8:31] Yeah.
[8:31] Well, this is important because I thought we had to beat them before Stavro gets back.
[8:35] Yeah, because he'll make it tougher.
[8:37] How about the Giants next week?
[8:42] They're going to be tough.
[8:43] They're going to be tough, but will your fellows be up or down?
[8:46] We've got to get them up.
[8:47] Now that we're in a driver's seat, we can't let down.
[8:52] Who does Dallas play next week?
[8:55] I think they play Detroit.
[8:56] Oh, that's right.
[8:58] Detroit may beat them.
[8:59] Boy, that Detroit is a, you played him earlier, but that Landry, he's tough, strong, runs well, and they have a terrific defense.
[9:09] Well, that would help.
[9:10] I think they're going to go through the process now of who's going to be their quarterback.
[9:14] See, they're going to have that problem.
[9:16] Yeah, because Staubach's back and so forth.
[9:18] Well, that'll worry him.
[9:19] I must say, though, that Morton was fantastic in the first half.
[9:23] He was.
[9:25] But then Jurgie began to come through.
[9:26] He didn't have any interceptions, did he?
[9:28] No.
[9:29] We got two and sacked Morton three times.
[9:33] Yeah.
[9:34] He was sacked once.
[9:37] I thought he was hurt then.
[9:38] Well, he got his face cut a little bit, but he's okay.
[9:42] He's really come around, Mr. President.
[9:44] He's lost weight.
[9:45] He stopped drinking.
[9:47] You mean stopped drinking for a little while?
[9:49] Yeah.
[9:49] Good.
[9:50] Well, he should.
[9:50] He should.
[9:50] He's crazy at 38.
[9:51] You know, they can do it when they're younger, but at 38 years of age, if he drinks, he's going to finish himself.
[9:57] I think he's, for what he went through last year and this year, he's going to be a better man, you know, because of it.
[10:02] How's his attitude?
[10:04] Great.
[10:05] How's Kilmer's attitude?
[10:06] Great attitude.
[10:07] Yeah, he understands it.
[10:08] Yeah, great.
[10:09] And of course, it's good you have him, because if Jurgie had been hurt, you could have put Kilmer in there, and you wouldn't have lost much.
[10:13] Because Kilmer has a certain balance that the other fellow doesn't have.
[10:18] Exactly.
[10:18] Don't you agree?
[10:19] I mean, if you want to play a sure game, you better take Kilmer.
[10:22] But on the other hand, he can't make sometimes the very big plays.
[10:27] No.
[10:27] But tell me about one other last thing.
[10:30] On the trading, you haven't any way to get just one more fast cornerback, have you?
[10:36] Well, I'd like to.
[10:38] Gosh, you know, I see some of these, a couple of these youngsters that are playing, you know, with that Green Bay team and so forth.
[10:46] You couldn't get one of those, could you?
[10:48] Well, I tell you, I... Who can you give?
[10:50] Well... That they want.
[10:52] Yeah, I...
[10:54] I'd like to get, we need one more football player.
[10:57] See, there's no question about it.
[10:58] Our guys, we have to give 110% to win.
[11:03] Dallas has better personnel than we have.
[11:06] I had that impression.
[11:08] You just put more spirit in it the last time.
[11:11] You know, if you want it bad enough, sooner or later you're going to get it.
[11:15] That type of an approach.
[11:16] We could use one more.
[11:18] I'm going to be on the phone and just call everybody in the league and see what they want to do and
[11:23] Well, I know nothing about it, except I do feel that the... Is Pettibone going to be back or not?
[11:32] I hope so.
[11:34] He's still slow, but he's awful experienced.
[11:36] Oh, yeah.
[11:37] Right.
[11:37] He doesn't make mistakes.
[11:39] But, you know, if you have one fast cornerback, that would be something.
[11:43] You know, Baltimore's not going anyplace this year.
[11:45] Why don't they trade you something?
[11:46] Well, we can't trade with the other league, you see.
[11:48] Oh, you're in the other division.
[11:50] They're in the American, right?
[11:51] Yeah, that's a crazy rule we have.
[11:52] We're all one.
[11:53] That's silly.
[11:53] Yeah, we can't trade with each other.
[11:55] Silly.
[11:56] But I'll lend you money.
[11:57] There's a cornerback out there someplace.
[12:00] You might even go for a young one.
[12:01] I know they don't approve of you, but you know, a good, fast young guy is what you need, don't you?
[12:07] That's what we need, yeah.
[12:08] Somewhere that can keep up with these fellows.
[12:11] Incidentally, I don't think Hayes caught a pass, did he?
[12:15] I don't believe he did.
[12:16] Just think of that.
[12:17] And Lance Allworth, he had one down there, but...
[12:20] It was out of bounds.
[12:21] Out of bounds.
[12:22] Yeah.
[12:22] And he's a great one.
[12:23] Yes, he is.
[12:24] He's a great one.
[12:25] Yeah.
[12:26] But, you know, you start to think they have Hayes, they have Allworth, and then they have these...
[12:30] Sellers.
[12:30] Sellers, who's fantastic.
[12:32] Right.
[12:32] And how you could stop these guys or something.
[12:35] Well, I'd just live it up to present time and have a glass of milk and go to bed.
[12:43] But no more.
[12:44] We have so much to be thankful for.
[12:47] Sure.
[12:50] What happened?
[12:50] I had to go take a few calls.
[12:54] Right after the game, did the crowd go wild?
[12:56] Oh, the crowd was fantastic.
[13:00] When we won the World's Championship when I was with the Bears,
[13:03] And the Bears are, the Bears crowd are deep-rooted.
[13:06] You know, they're old.
[13:07] Oh, I know.
[13:08] And they weren't like this crowd today.
[13:11] Of course, it was cold that day.
[13:12] It was around 10 above zero.
[13:14] What did the crowd do?
[13:15] Did they come on the field and everything?
[13:16] Oh, they came on the field, and they just, Sharon, when you're going through the dugout, they're just standing ovation.
[13:23] You know, everybody's standing up and giving you an ovation.
[13:27] Great.
[13:29] I think the crowd today was worth a field goal.
[13:32] All right.
[13:35] Okay.
[13:35] Well, good luck.
[13:36] Thank you, Mr. President.
[13:49] Well, the boys really have done well.
[13:52] And as I say, I'll come around when you need me.
[13:56] You don't need me yet.
[13:57] But you've got to...
[13:58] Take New York to yourself because I've got a campaign next week.
[14:01] Okay.
[14:02] You handle New York and I'll... You handle the campaigning.
[14:05] I'll try to handle Dallas next time.
[14:07] How's that?
[14:07] Fair deal?
[14:08] That's a deal.
[14:09] Okay.
[14:10] Bye.
[14:10] Say hello to your family.