Nixon, Schollander & Rose on Sports and Leadership

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I know you're in a very, very busy day.

Oh, he's alright.

I just went over.

Two and a half years has been a challenge.

Well, I want to say that I'm certainly most appreciative of the work you have done.

I think it's extremely important for your case.

somebody, despite all their compliesation, but they still are in arms being impressed by success in any area, by sacrifice, by dedication, and so forth.

And you also had to have it, too.

You had to have it.

I guess your luck really was to be in, I mean, to be in

in an environment where you got pushed right there, right there, right there,

the judge had to also have a reading on this, had to be prepared.

I think that the God-given talent was there as a matter of having the coach bring it out.

You know, it is, you know, some young people of today, they profess not to have an interest in sports, and they did, or things are much more serious, supposedly, but you take a school such as, well, the University of Pennsylvania, which is not terribly known for its sports other than basketball, and it's amazing to not be the ELC team for 75 years, yet they did this year for the first time, and now that school...

That's good or bad school?

Tremendous.

You see, the point that so many fail to realize is that even though everybody doesn't participate, we all get a vicarious benefit and lift from our people, our team, our school, our country doing well, right?

Absolutely.

I don't know, I guess they still play.

But Penn's turned away from those pursuits.

But it's good, isn't it?

So they finally beat Yale, and there's not even 70-some years in advance.

Yale, of course, is a lot of standing in this field.

It hasn't been for years.

What is the reason for the deal?

Is it coaching?

Well, it was Bob Kitt, who was there, went 14 hours, and just passed on.

But...

But for so many years, he has had the new techniques and had the driving discipline that allowed the boys to do well.

And I think his record before he retired was six and ten long.

I think it was.

How does he compare, in your mind, to Haynes?

Because you know him very well.

Quite different.

Bob Haynes was the old-time coach.

George Haynes, my Olympic coach, was a new, young...

It was the Santa Clara Sun Club, which produces all these phenomenal people.

Yeah.

You know, you talk about Australian tennis or tennis and the natural areas which encourage it just as Southern California has.

But Australian tennis became great.

You know, then that tough, ruthless coach of theirs, you know, for so many years.

You remember, he was, the press hated him and the rest before.

They, yeah, I remember seeing Lombardi, they went, oh, sure, he's a driver.

So is George Allen.

You get that George Allen was a different kind.

Well, he's much like Lombardi.

George Allen is, of course, he's a rough edge that Lombardi has.

He's a polished fellow, and...

There is a no-nonsense discipline.

I just don't know whether Jurgensen is going to get along with that.

Jurgensen loves a good time.

He's probably a lot of Jurgensen.

I might remember that, but I've seen him play.

If Jurgensen could ever bring himself to a little discipline, you know, lose about 10 pounds and so forth, if anybody could ever touch him,

Great pass from Gibson.

Just unbelievable.

You wonder how he does it.

And that must have an effect on the rest of the team.

He's got brains.

He's a great footballer.

He can throw that ball like any man.

He's had that.

And if he just had the other thing, gosh, you know what?

When you're a quarterback, you've got to set an example of the others.

And when he's out, you know, raising hell every night,

getting picked up in cars and this and that.

And he goes, well, what does that do to the others?

And also, as I said, it wasn't due to his children.

Eventually, he wanted to play with the money and design the books to make them special ones.

He's very poor.

Now, Unitas, on the other hand, is a follower of his son.

There's a real problem.

I mean, he was at this conference.

I just can't believe it.

But here, Johnny Unitas, he comes back again.

But he's a leader of men.

The question about a leader of men.

strong, intelligent, fine personality, fine character.

Yeah, I've met so many in the whole field.

And there's sort of a common language as far as the character of people in athletics.

And I don't mean they're all good.

Some of them are fine people.

But, you know, you take the golfers.

They're really great guys.

They're kind of a denomination.

You ask the golfers, and I have a perspective that's awful.

I want to give you something.

I wrote a good one of these in this conference, too.

Are you going to give it to me?

Yes, sir.

Did you count it?

I did, yes.

Oh, yeah.

Well, that's great.

Now, this is, as you know, as the president, I should see you up there.

So, this

I think you would.

You would be particularly learned, McGee.

Once you learn it, you can do it.

But you're perceived in everything.

And rhythm.

It's all solely rhythm.

I guess that's virtually everything.

I get that, sir.

Thank you so much.

Good to see you.

Thanks a lot.

Appreciate your help.

Nixon, Schollander & Rose on Sports and Leadership

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Nixon Library Finding Aid

Also recorded on May 21, 1971

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