Nixon phone call with Allen on Washington Redskins and Football

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Hello?

I had Mr. George Allen, sir.

Okay.

There you are.

Hello?

Hi, Mr. President.

It's hard to reach you.

Where are you?

Oh, I'm home right now.

Yeah, well, I just want to wish you a Happy New Year and tell you that after two perfect games, I don't know how you can do it again, but this had to be...

I didn't think you could surpass last week, but this week, well, in its way, each was a perfect game, wasn't it?

Yes, it was, Mr. President.

How do...

They really tore the place apart.

I saw the game.

I was at Camp David where I could see on the Baltimore station.

And I came back by helicopter and tried to reach you since then.

And you've been out.

But by golly, I tell you, how do the boys feel?

Well, they feel great.

It was a physical game.

The way you beat the Cowboys.

Mr. President, is to out-hit them.

And you were hitting them?

Just to out-hit them.

And they talked about their dynasty, you know.

So we had a lot of things psychologically going for us.

And we had them.

They quit in the last quarter.

Do you think they did?

Oh, yeah.

We just hit them so much that they quit.

And it's great to make a champion quit.

Yep.

And, of course, there was no...

one good thing about the result was no doubt about either game, actually.

You beat the Packers clean, you beat these clean, and now you go back to your old hometown and take them on the Coliseum.

Yeah, it's...

I saw them in the

The fans came apart, and they put you up on the shoulders.

That was quite a moment, wasn't it, for you?

These fans...

This must have been probably your greatest moment, wasn't it?

Oh, I think so.

Greater than the Ram game?

Yeah, greater, right, because this city, as you know and have said, is so starved for...

Right, the rims up.

Yeah.

That's right.

And it's just unbelievable.

Uh-huh.

Where'd you get the game balls to, incidentally?

Well, I tell you what, we...

To everybody.

Everyone, yeah, right.

Everyone, everyone got them.

We give those all 40 men the team because that's how perfect it was.

Of course.

Of course, you know, the guy really that they were all awfully good, but I must say that Kilmer was a cool customer, wasn't he?

He was fantastic.

And those two passes right on the nose.

You know, I tell you, and you know this because you have gone through it, but give me the guy

that has less talent but wants to work.

Tries harder.

That's right.

And isn't that guy every time.

And as a matter of fact, although we didn't want it to happen, well, Jurgie would have been more exciting.

Kilmer was the better quarterback.

Yeah.

Don't you agree?

That's right.

And so many times people have talent, so much ability and intelligence and everything, and yet

When they have that, they don't have the will to win.

They don't have that total dedication.

Right.

What about that Pardee?

What do you think of him?

Oh, he was fantastic.

He's a fine man.

I remember he came in the office that day.

Be sure that you tell him that I mentioned him, will you?

I will, Mr. President.

Of course, all of them, but they were all great.

But that Pardee, I thought, God, the way he moved at 15 years, 32 years old, how does he move that fast?

You know, again, if you take care of your body and you have the will to win, and you want it badly enough...

Nothing can stop you.

We wanted it more than they wanted it.

You think so?

Oh, yeah.

I know so, Mr. Brennan.

And this is the way we talked all week to them.

If you want this badly enough, I don't care what they do, what breaks the officials give them.

We'll overcome.

Right.

Well, actually, it was interesting.

You only had two turnovers in the game, didn't you?

Yeah, I think two or one.

Well, I mean, not against you, but you lost it once and you took one from them.

Yeah.

But when Brown fumbled, you know, which was a very close call, I thought.

I thought it was a bad call.

Yeah, actually, he was stopped before he fumbled.

And then they picked it.

That was a bad call.

And incidentally, if you'd gone in and scored, then you'd be running up more.

Oh, yeah.

You know, the fans gave us a big lift playing at home.

Did they?

Boy, I tell you, these fans were, they just, that stadium was just.

I could sense it from television some, although they're in the box and you can't hear, but I could feel the commentators were talking about it and the way that the stand was really trembling, they said, at the last quarter.

Well, you can even feel the ground.

It's like an earthquake.

You feel the vibration down the ground there.

It's just, well, it's a great thing for the city and the area.

And I, again, I haven't mentioned too much about your calling because the way the crazy press is sometimes, I thought,

Well, let me tell you, I don't want to harnon on the two.

I mean, this is, after all, we have to remember this is their game.

They won it.

But you're welcome to say, sure, of course, I call and congratulate you.

I always do, you know.

Okay.

I tell you what, after the game, one of them asked me, he said, you haven't heard from the president for a long while.

And I said, well, yes, I did.

I said, he called right after the Green Bay game.

So I told him that after the game today.

But I didn't want to step out of line on anything.

Well, I figured that this was your hour and this and that.

You can say, sure, I called it.

Two perfect games, and now you need three.

Oh, boy.

Okay.

I think we've lost Kermeline.

Yeah, that's rough.

I think he tore ligaments in his knee.

You've got a pretty good man there in his place, haven't you?

Yeah, well, we've got Mitch Johnson on the Cav squad, and then we'll put...

and he's not as fast or quick, but he's experienced.

And the great thing about this is that, you see, Dallas feels that the only way to build a team is through drafts.

And here's a bunch of guys that are cast off and malcontent and too old.

We've all been reborn, see?

That's right.

The thing is, let me say this, as you well know, is a coach's victory.

What the hell?

You have taken rather, with all compliments to them,

except for Brown, Pardee, possibly Taylor, a rather ordinary group, and Haas, an ordinary group of players, and have made an extraordinary team out of them.

When you consider the talent on the Dallas side, they really had more talent than you had.

Bigger, beefier, faster.

Christ, look at those receivers they had.

Lance, Allworth, Sellers, all those people.

Hayes, how would you like to have Hayes running for you?

You know, they...

They've got so much talent, see, and if one starts and the other is on the bench, it doesn't help you one way or another, you know.

But you say, who do you want in there?

Sellers, Hayes, Allworth, Parks, you know, Kruax, Ditka.

Even Kruax they had mine, yes.

But I think the big thing is that if you stick in there and want it badly enough and work together and

And, boy, you know, I don't know what you saw.

They had about fourth and a foot to go.

And we stopped them.

Oh, I saw that with that great tackle.

Oh, was that a big play.

That was one of the—that broke their hearts right there.

Fourth and a foot, and they went for it, and you whacked them, and they were finished right then.

That was the key.

Well, in a game like this, nothing is the key, but they could have gotten momentum with that.

Oh, see, last week, with three minutes to play, they got two touchdowns.

I know.

They can strike from anywhere.

That's right.

They're so potent.

Well, you and your wife and your family should have a great New Year's now.

You know what we're going to do?

I have my in-laws with me.

They're over here from Tunisia.

Isn't that great?

And they just help besides themselves, and we're going to... You give them all my best, and you can tell the press, of course, if I call, because I always do that.

I just don't want to horn in on your game.

I appreciate it so much, and Happy New Year to you and your family.

It'll be a good 73.

Right.

Okay.

We have so much to be thankful for.

That's right.

Bye.

Thank you.

Nixon phone call with Allen on Washington Redskins and Football

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Nixon Library Finding Aid

Also recorded on January 1, 1973

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