Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 32 › Conversation 032-114

Nixon phone call with Scali on Sonny Jurgensen and Public relations

Wednesday, November 1, 1972 · 10:45 AM–10:46 AM ET · White House Telephone · 48 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Scali, John A.Conversation032-114 on Tape 32StartWednesday, November 1, 1972 at 10:45 AMEndWednesday, November 1, 1972 at 10:46 AMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 032-114 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon consulted with John A. Scali regarding a personal phone call the President made to professional football player Sonny Jurgensen to offer encouragement following a professional setback. Nixon expressed concern about the optics of the gesture and explicitly instructed Scali to keep the call private. He authorized Scali to confirm the conversation only if the information were to leak to the public, emphasizing that he did not want to appear to be exploiting the athlete's situation.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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· Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).
Yeah.
Mr. Scali.
Yeah.
Yes, sir.
John, I had a good talk with Sonny Jergensen on the phone.
He is very depressed.
It was a terribly difficult decision.
And I said, oh, what the hell?
The redheads never...
I said, the redheads never give up.
I said, well, I've been out for two years in this way.
And I said, but you've got something.
Nobody else has a great arm.
And I said, you've got to think about it and so forth and so on.
I want to tell you, I don't want to put this out that I called him.
If it gets out, let him do it.
It looks like we're exploiting the damn thing.
I understand.
So I just want to tell you that I had done it, however.
And if it gets out, you can confirm.
Okay?
Very good, sir.
All right, John.
Thank you.

NARA Description

On November 1, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and John A. Scali talked on the telephone from 10:45 am to 10:46 am. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 032-114 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 032-114

Date: November 1, 1972
Time: 10:45 am - 10:46 am
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with John A. Scali.

[See Conversation No. 379-14]

        The President's recent call to Christian A. ("Sonny") Jurgenson
            -Attitude
            -The President's encouragement
            -Release of information
                 -The President’s instructions

Also recorded on November 1, 1972

  • 032-112 10:44 AM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 10:44 am.
  • 032-113 10:44 AM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:44 am and 10:45 am.
  • 379-012 10:44 AM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at 10:44 am.
  • 379-013 10:44 AM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 10:44 am and 10:45 am.
  • 379-014 10:45 AM · 48 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and John A. Scali met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 10:45 am to 10:46 am.
  • 032-115 10:46 AM · 14 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:46 am and 11:15 am.
  • 032-116 10:46 AM · 52 sec — Charles W. Colson and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:46 am and 11:15 am.
  • 032-117 10:46 AM · 18 sec — Charles W. Colson and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:46 am and 11:15 am.

All 58 conversations from November 1, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 032-114, November 1, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/032-114 (accessed October 5, 2026).