Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 555 › Conversation 555-016

Nixon, Brown & Woods on Hall of Fame and Iowa Dam Dedication

Thursday, August 5, 1971 · 8:50 PM–9:43 PM ET · Oval Office · 3 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Woods, Rose Mary; Brown, JimConversation555-016 on Tape 555 (tape position 04:52:31–04:59:16)StartThursday, August 5, 1971 at 8:50 PMEndThursday, August 5, 1971 at 9:43 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 555-016 ↗ · National Archives Catalog, NAID 417178775 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon met with Rose Mary Woods and Jim Brown to dictate personal correspondence following recent public appearances. He directed Woods to draft an encouraging letter and send an autographed portrait to a young boy who presented him with a drawing during an Iowa dam dedication. Additionally, Nixon dictated a congratulatory note to football legend Jim Brown, commending his recent induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame and his dedication to his community.

Presidential Correspondence
Jim Brown
Hall of Fame
Iowa Dam Dedication
Public Relations

Audio

Download MP3 · 7.7 MB

NARA Description

On August 5, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon, Rose Mary Woods, and Jim Brown met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:50 pm and 9:43 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 555-016 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 555-16

Date: August 5, 1971
Time: Unknown between 8:50 pm and 9:43 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President dictated a memorandum to Rose Mary Woods.

     Drawing from unknown boy ["Tim"]
         -Iowa Dam dedication
         -Dictation of letter
               -Appreciation
                    -Talents
               -Autographed portrait

The President dictated a letter to Jim Brown at an unknown time between 8:50 pm and 9:43 pm.

     Induction into Hall of Fame

Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript is incomplete. The transcription skipped stretches of speech — roughly 2 minutes of this recording (about 69% of it) is represented by only a few words. Listen to the audio rather than relying on the text below; a corrected transcript is queued.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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

which is attached, was made by an eight, ten-year-old boy who handed it to me when I walked down the fence after speaking at the Isle of Dan dedication.

I would like to send him a letter and an autographed picture.

The letter will read, Dear Tim.

This is the Tim.

You will note that his father is dressed in his dresses on the opposite side.

I want you to know how much I appreciated your hands in the drawing that you made while I was speaking at the late dedication in Iowa last Saturday, period.

You obviously have a great talent.

And I...

I would expect that you may well become either one of our foremost artists or cartoonists in the years ahead.

I'll close it in an autographed color.

Photographed.

One day I'm gonna visit you in the middle of the vacation.

Sure.

And then I'll call you back then.

I would like to send a picture.

This is a Jim Brown football player.

Here, Jim.

On Saturday afternoon, after returning from the Hall of Fame ceremony, I had a chance to catch the... that you made at the Hall of Fame when you were inducted.

Well, perfect.

I particularly, uh, I think millions of Americans will appreciate the fact that you've... ...remembered your... ...Francisco... ...Manhattan... ...it's a tributary to them.

After you've reached the pinnacle of both sports...

Passport for the Narcissist 7.

Also recorded on August 5, 1971

068-002 5:22 PM · 1 hr 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon and representatives of leading farm publications, including Claude Gifford, Thomas Huheey, Royal Fraderich, Wayne Swegle, Joseph A. Elliot, Cordell W. Tindall, Richard E. Albrecht, Ferdie J. Deering, William D. Knox, Robert G. Rupp, Lane Palmer, Jack Pickett, Herbert G. Klein, White House photographer, met in the Cabinet Room of the White House at an unknown time between 5:22 pm and 6:20 pm.
068-003 5:22 PM · 26 min — unknown person(s) met in the Cabinet Room of the White House at an unknown time between 5:22 pm and 6:20 pm.
068-004 5:22 PM · 2 min — unknown person(s) met in the Cabinet Room of the White House at an unknown time between 5:22 pm and 6:20 pm.
068-005 5:22 PM · 1 min — unknown person(s) met in the Cabinet Room of the White House at an unknown time between 5:22 pm and 6:20 pm.
555-013 8:50 PM · 7 min — President Richard M. Nixon, John C. Whitaker, Ruby Keeler, Bobby Van, and J. Willard Marriott met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:50 pm and 9:43 pm.
555-014 8:50 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and Henry A. Kissinger met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:50 pm and 9:43 pm.
555-015 8:50 PM · 19 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:50 pm and 9:43 pm.
555-017 8:50 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:50 pm and 9:43 pm.

All 25 conversations from August 5, 1971 →

Nixon, Ehrlichman & Brown on 1972 Presidential Campaign August 10, 1972 · 17 min
Nixon & Butterfield on Campaign surrogates and Drug abuse prevention October 9, 1972 · 1 min

Cite this conversation

Conversation 555-016, August 5, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives (NAID 417178775). Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/555-016 (accessed November 1, 2026).