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    "title": "70.1 - Sports - Presidential Interest and Participation (1)",
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    "ocrText": "The original documents are located in Box 90, folder \"70.1 - Sports - Presidential Interest\nand Participation (1)\" of the Charles H. McCall Files at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential\nLibrary.\nCopyright Notice\nThe copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of\nphotocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Gerald R. Ford donated to the United\nStates of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections.\nWorks prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public\ndomain. The copyrights to materials written by other individuals or organizations are presumed to\nremain with them. If you think any of the information displayed in the PDF is subject to a valid\ncopyright claim, please contact the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.\nSome items in this folder were not digitized because it contains copyrighted\nmaterials. Please contact the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library for access to\nthese materials.\n70:1\nEMBARGOED FOR RELEASE\nMAY 7, 1976\nUNTIL 11:15 A.M. (EDT)\nOffice of the White House Press Secretary\nTHE WHITE HOUSE\nFORD 2. GERATO LIBRARY\nFACT SHEET\nFederal Assistance for the 1980\nWinter Olympic Games\nThe President announced today that he is requesting legislation\nto provide for special financial assistance for the 1980 Winter\nOlympic Games, to be held in Lake Placid, New York.\nThe proposed legislation will:\n-\nGive the Secretary of Commerce the responsibility\nfor coordinating the Federal assistance for the\nconstruction of the permanent sports facilities\nrequired for the Games (estimated cost of $28\nmillion). The Secretary would use existing\nprogram authorities and budgets to the maximum\nextent possible, and could request additional\nappropriations, if needed, to finance the\nconstruction;\n-\nStipulate that the Federal Government not assume\nany special responsibility for financing other\nfacilities or services which may be needed for\nthese Games. These costs would be the respon-\nsibility of the State and local governments.\nThe sports facilities expected to be built with Federal\nfinancial support include:\n-\nA new field house with two ice sheets and a\nseating capacity of 9,000;\n-\nA 90-meter ski jump which would be the only\none of its kind in the country;\n-\nA 400-meter outdoor speed skating oval; and\n-\nA luge run.\n####\nFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE\nMAY 7, 1976\nOFFICE OF THE WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY\nGERMITO R. FORD LIBE.\nTHE WHITE HOUSE\nREMARKS OF THE PRESIDENT\nUPON HIS SIGNING\nOF THE REQUEST FOR FUNDING\nFOR FACILITIES FOR THE 1980 OLYMPICS\nTHE ROSE GARDEN\n11:40 P.M. EDT\nFirst, I wish to extend my very warm welcome\nto all of you who are here today, the representatives of\nthe Lake Placid Organizing Committee, Philip Krumm, President\nof the United States Olympic Commistee, Gerald Zornow, Chairman\nof the President's Commission on Olympic Sports and other\nCommissioners of that body, distinguished Congressmen are\nalso here, Gene Cowan, ABC host, spectacular coverage of the\nOlympics who brought the thrill of victory and the agony\nof defeat right into the living room for myself and millions\nand millions of other Americans who were watching those\nspectacular Olympic games, and finally and most particularly,\nto the seven athletes who won medals on our behalf in the\n1976 Winter 01ympic games in Innsbruk:\nToday we are here to pay tribute to your recent\naccomplishments and to consider the future of American\namateur athletics in the Olympic efforts of this country.\nI doubt whether anybody here, except the athletes themselves,\nfully understands the tremendous sacrifices that you and your\nfellow teammates have made over the years and at Innsbruk\nin order to successfully compete in the Olympic games.\nI would like to thank each and every one of them\non behalf of all Americans for the honor which their\nachievements have brought to our country and for advancing\nthe cause of international fellowship.\nObviously, it makes all of us extremely proud of what\nyou have done. I believe that the time is right for greater\nunderstanding and support of amateur athletic competition in\nthis country. For this reason, I appointed a Presidential\nCommission on Olympic Sports last year to examine the nature\nof American athletic competition. Their report, due later\nthis year, will assess the organization and the financing of\namateur sports in this country and how it affects American\nparticipation in international competition, such as the 01ympic\ngames.\nMORE\nPage 2\nAn important factor in the success of\nAmerican Olympic teams is the availability of first class\nfacilities for training as well as competition.\nMany of the most thrilling events of the 1978\nOlympics like the bobsled races and ski jumping events were held\nat facilities which required tremendous expenditures to\nconstruct. Europe, as we all know, has several speed skating\nrinks and a number of 90 meter ski jumps. The United States,\nI am sorry to say, has only one speed skating rink and no 90\nmeter ski jumps. As a result, American athletes in these\nevents must spend long months abroad to prepare for competition\nor they must, on the other hand, limit their training.\nAmerica is very proud of her Olympic athletes\nand proud to have them take part in the great Olympic competition.\nI am proposing, therefore, legislation that will provide\nspecial financial assistance for the 1980 Winter Olympic\ngames to be held at Lake Placid, New York. The funds will be\nused to build permanent sports facilities, including, among\nothers, a speed skating rink, a 90 meter ski jump and a\nluge run. These facilities will not only be used for the\n1980 Olympics, but will also be available for United States\nathletes to train on thereafter.\nI know that many of the Senators and the Congress-\nmen here today, like Bob McEwen of New York State, have worked\nhard to improve amateur athletics and to bring the 1980 winter\ngames to the United States. Hopefully, the proposals that\nI am making and submitting to the Congress will permit the full\nrealization of these goals.\nThank you very much.\nEND\n(AT 11:45 P.M. EDT)\na019\nr W czczvtqyv\n70.1\nPM-Ford Bit 490\nBy JONATHAN WOLMAN\nAssociated Press Writer\nWASHINGTON AP - President Ford will join the \"\"Bird\"\" watchers at\nbaseball's All-Star game tonight to cap a series of appearances that\nmay be designed to steal some of the nation's attention from the\nDemocratic convention.\nWith Mark The Bird\", Fidrych, who talks to baseballs, on the\nmound more American television viewers may see Ford at the All-Star\ngame than will tune in on the Democrats, convention in New York.\nAlthough he has no substantive public duties on tap today. Ford will\nbe quite visible meeting at the White House with the farm family\nof the year\" and a group of foreign exchange students.\nAfter the White House announced that Ford would speak Monday night\nat a convention here, reporters asked if the President was rearranging\nbis schedule to make an appearance every night the Democrats were\nmeeting.\nSpokesman Ron Nessen said it would be wrong to suggest that Ford is\nsetting his schedule \"in some way to counter or top the Democratic\nconvention.\"\nThe highlight of tonight's Democratic convention session is expected\nto be the rubber-stamping of a noncontroversial party platform. Two\nnetworks will provide gavel-to-gavel coverage, while ABC-TV telecasts\nthe All-Star game.\nFidrych - known as The Bird because of an alleged resemblence to the\nwild-feathered bug-muncher on television's Sesame Street - 1s\nexpected by many to be more of a draw than the Democratic platform.\nThere was debate in the White House about whether Ford should lay\nlow while the nation's political attention was riveted to the\nDemocrats. but it was understood that Ford's decision to attend the\nbaseball game was made partly in anticipation of its expected huge TV\naudience.\nFord jokingly told National Exchange Club conventioneers Monday\nnight. \"I made my speech especially short because I didn't want to\ndeprive any of you of the opportunity of watching another\nconvention.\"\nHe said he was making no great effort to watch the Democratic\npoliticking himself. and, referring to tonight's Democratic session,\nbe said \"I will be preóccupied» with the baseball game.\nTonight's politicking follows the departure of White House media\nadviser Robert Mead. who resigned after criticism of White House\npreparations for live telecast of last week's state dinner for Queen\nElizabeth II.\nEarlier Monday. Ford urged American Olympic officials to seek a\nreversal of a tentative International Olympics decision that could bar\nathletes from Taiwan from competing in the Montreal Olympics.\nNessen said Ford \"hopes and really expects\" that some solution\nwill be reached that would permit the team from Taiwan to compete.\nWhen asked about d'possible withdrawal by U.S. athletes. the White\nHouse spokesman said \"\"It\"s too soon to progress to a question like\nthat'' in light of the President's reported optimism.\nThe controversy arose because the Taiwan team planned to compete as\nthe Republic of China. Canada has diplomatic ties with the People's\nRepublic of China, which resents Taiwan's use of Republic of China.\n0221aED 07-13\nEisenhare\n70.1\n9 307\nPublic Papers of the Presidents\n307\nq\nRemarks at the First Football Hall of\nFame Dinner, New York City. October 28, 1958\nMY. 1974 DEC 24 PMr. LS4che, my old chief, General MacArthur-\nand my Friends:\nIt is really unforgiveable for an old soldier to be surprised. This he\ntries to do to someone else, but he is likely to encounter defeat if he is him-\nself careless. Long ago I accepted this wonderful invitation, but only a\nfew minutes ago did I realize that I, an obscure football player of a good\nmany years ago, was to get this gold medal. I thank you all.\nMost of you know that I have been out politicking. So, one of the\nfew things I have not been accused of in recent weeks is understatement.\nBut I am guilty of exactly that when I say I am honored and gratified by\nyour invitation to join this distinguished company this evening.\nNow I did not bring with me a formal address. But long since I have\nlearned that, only by reducing to writing such thoughts as I want to\ncommunicate to any audience, can I be sure of applying any effective\ncurb to the garrulous tendency that sometimes afflicts me as an old soldier.\nIndeed, so bare did I feel was my cupboard of good subjects for an\nafter-dinner talk, that I am prompted to tell one story, not about football,\nbut about a very great football player and coach when he was a very\nsmall boy. The hero-or villain-was Bo McMillan.\nBo grew up in a small Texas town, where he had the reputation of\nbeing the best behaved boy in the whole village. One Sunday morning\nthe town constable, walking down the street, saw Bo standing in front of\nthe village jewelry store, and strangely he had a very large brick in his\nhand. He stood there at least ten minutes, and suddenly he threw that\nbrick right through the plate glass window.\nStunned, the constable asked Bo how a model boy could ever do such\na thing.\n\"Well sir,\" said Bo, \"you see I'm a Catholic-and today I'm on my\nway to confession. And my trouble is, sir, I was just a mite short of\nmaterial!\"\nShort as I am, I do want to give sincere congratulations to each of your\nhonored guests on having been selected for the Silver Anniversary Awards.\nAnd likewise, I render my salute to the players and coaches who this year\njoin the all-time greats in Football's Hall of Fame.\n816\nDwight D. Eisenhower, 1958\n307\nNow beyond that, it does seem to me that I might be able to suggest\na few ideas on the value of football and other sports in exciting and\ndeveloping the spirit of competition, SO important to our country.\nWherever human liberty is respected, competition is the animator of\nprogress. In football, in business, in politics, in the trades, professions\nand the arts, the normal urge to excel provides one of the most hopeful\nassurances that our kind of society will continue to advance and to\nprosper. Morale-the will to win, the fighting heart-are the honored\nhallmarks of the football coach and player. Likewise, they are char-\nacteristic of the enterprising executive, the successful troop leader, the\nestablished artist and the dedicated teacher and scientist.\nThis morale-this will, this heart-we need not only as in athletic\nteams as individuals, but collectively. And we need it in business organ-\nizations; indeed, in the nation.\nFor there is another kind of competition which America must meet-\nponderous, persistent, deadly. It is clever and powerful, and it is out to\nwin, by whatever means and at whatever cost. It plays no rules save its\nown.\nMy friends, that is the competition we are up against today, and we\nknow that the contest is likely to be long and tough. But our team is\nmade up of every individual in America. And we need to make each\none of them the best player that can be put on the field.\nThis requires fitness-fitness in its deepest and broadest sense. We\nknow that fitness is far more than a healthy body. It is more than an\nalert, disciplined mind. Fitness is the sum of all values which enable a\nman to act effectively in his nation's behalf in this great contest in which\nwe are engaged. In this meaning, fitness is the individual's maximum\ndevelopment for the nation's good.\nWithin our trust is a whole generation of Americans who soon will be\nmaking this country's decisions, and will be generating as well as guiding\nits great power. Their success will be largely determined by the oppor-\ntunities we give them to prepare themselves for the test. Thus youth\nfitness, in all its dimensions, is the proper concern of every single Ameri-\ncan. To this task the inspirational football coach is as dedicated as the\nmost respected professor. And the whole field of sports contributes\nmightily toward that objective. So, also, do other movements keyed to\nthe service of youth: Boy Scouts, the 4-H and FFA Clubs, the YM and\nYWCA's, Youth Centers and church-sponsored youth groups.\n817\nI\n307\nPublic Papers of the Presidents\nThese things build morale, an indispensable ingredient of success in\nany human organization. And in the nation it is vital. Morale com-\nprehends many things, most of them intangibles, spiritual in nature. In\na free people the very basis of morale is a clear understanding of the\ndeathless truth for which our nation stands—that man's dignity and\nliberty are the cornerstones of our political, economic and social structure.\nThis is the concept for the defense of which our forefathers were ever\nready to give their all.\nThis kind of development cannot be brought about by acts of Congress\nor policy statements by public officials. Our young cannot be made fit\nby governmental edict. The nature of the objective is such that it can be\nattained only by the voluntary action of private individuals. Men and\nwomen, boys and girls, working together in their homes, churches, schools\nand civic organizations will accomplish what no amount of government\nplanning, ordering and spending can ever do.\nThe power generated by a democracy is the aggregate of all decisions\nand all actions by the sum total of its citizens. Nothing constructive ever\nemerges from government, from business, or from anywhere else, until a\nperson, by himself or with others, puts his head, his hand and his heart\nto a clear objective of his own choosing.\nIt is what you and I think, what you and I believe, what you and I are\nready to work for, to sacrifice for. It is what you and I are ready to do\nfor others as well as for ourselves. This is what determines the level of\nAmerica's greatness.\nAnd this leads me to express one hope, in which I trust you will find\nno partisan impulse or motive. Certainly I intend none. It is that every\nAmerican will make himself a competitor in good citizenship, and so\ndoing will vote his convictions on November fourth.\nBefore this audience, I should especially like to make an appeal to\nevery athlete, active or retired, that he will not visit a golf club, a shooting\nfield, a fishing stream, or take part in any recreational activity of any kind\non that day until after he has voted.\nAgain let me express my deep appreciation of the great courtesy and\nhonor you have accorded me, my thanks to you for a very fine evening,\nmy congratulations to our honored guests, and my very best wishes for\nanother wonderful football year !\nThank you very much.\n818\nDwight D. Eisenhower, 1958\nq 308\nNOTE: The dinner, sponsored by the Na-\nreferred was the first to be presented an-\ntional Football Foundation and the Foot-\nnually by the Football Hall of Fame to\nball Hall of Fame, was held at the Hotel\na person dedicated to propagating the\nAstor. The President's opening words\nconcept of amateur football. The medal\nreferred to George Murphy, toastmaster,\nwas presented to the President \"in recog-\nand Chester J. LaRoche, President of the\nnition of a lifetime devotion to American\nFootball Hall of Fame.\ncollege football.\"\nThe gold medal to which the President\n308 9 Television Address Delivered in the Fifth\nRegiment Armory, Baltimore, Maryland.\nOctober 31, 1958\nGovernor McKeldin, Senator Beall, Senator Butler, Congressman\nDevereux-all Republican Candidates-Fellow Americans:\nI am grateful for your welcome. It is good to have partners and\nfriends, especially when there's a battle to wage.\nNow we are in a battle. We are in the last days of a political\ncampaign that will, among other things, determine the complexion of\nthe Congress for the next two years.\nThis campaign is a continuation of the efforts that we undertook six\nyears ago in the cause of good government.\nI pledged then that if elected, Republicanism would bring sane,\nprogressive, and honest government to America.\nWe have done exactly that.\nBut our work is not complete.\nAnd that is why I'm here tonight.\nI want to talk to you here and to other thoughtful citizens across the\ncountry about good government, and how to keep it.\nNow in my conviction, here in Maryland, this means re-electing your\nable Senator, Glenn Beall, who has steadfastly supported this Adminis-\ntration; it means electing your courageous soldier statesman Jim\nDevereux; it means re-electing Congressmen Ted Miller and DeWitt\nHyde; and electing Fife Symington. Indeed, my friends, it means\nelecting a Republican team here and across the nation.\nNow I have been urging the election of Republicans, because of my\n819\nKennedy\n[495] Dec. 5\nPublic Papers of the Presidents\n495 Statement by the President Upon Establishing Awards for\nSignificant Contributions to the Export Expansion Program.\nDecember 5, 1961\nI AM DELIGHTED to be able to announce\nAn increased level of exports is absolutely\nthe revival of a great national symbol in a\nessential for a healthy situation in our in-\nnew and constructive context of national\nternational balance of payments. Such a\nurgency.\nhealthy situation in turn will enable us to\nThe \"E\" flag that once flew over plants\ncarry our international responsibilities for\nmaking notable records in war production\npreservation of freedom.\nnow will fly over factories contributing sig-\nI hope that all Americans will regard the\nnificantly to the goals of international peace\nnew \"E\" symbol as an incentive to their best\nand prosperity. I call on both management\nefforts.\nand labor to exert their utmost efforts toward\nMore exports will mean a stronger\nproducing and selling in the world market.\nAmerica; a more prosperous America, and\nHere is the next great frontier we must\ngreater assurance of a free world.\ncross. The United States must in the best\ntraditions of American competitiveness and\nNOTE: Executive Order 10978 \"Establishing Presi-\ndential Awards for Significant Contributions to the\ningenuity, push forward with the develop-\nExport Expansion Program\" was issued by the Presi-\nment and sale of goods in all the markets of\ndent on December 5, 1961 (26 F.R. 11714).\nthe world.\n496 Address in New York City at the National Football Foundation\nand Hall of Fame Banquet.\nDecember 5, 1961\nMr. LaRoche, ladies and gentlemen:\nwe just take it as it comes and we're not\nI want to express my thanks to you for this\ngiving it back.\naward. Politics is an astonishing profes-\nI'm proud to be here tonight. I think\nsion-it has permitted me to go from being\nGeneral MacArthur, when he was Superin-\nan obscure lieutenant serving under General\ntendent, really spoke about football in the\nMacArthur to Commander in Chief in 14\nclassic way, because on so many occasions, in\nyears, without any technical competence\nwar and peace, I have seen so many men who\nwhatsoever; and it's also enabled me to go\nparticipated in this sport-some celebrated\nfrom being an obscure member of the junior\nand some obscure-who did demonstrate\nvarsity at Harvard to being an honorary\nthat the seeds had been well sown.\nmember of the Football Hall of Fame.\nI am delighted to be here tonight and par-\nActually, there are not so many differences\nticipating with you. This is a great Ameri-\nbetween politics and football. Some Repub-\ncan game. It has given me, personally, some\nlicans have been unkind enough to suggest\nof the most pleasant moments of my life-\nthat my election, which was somewhat close,\nfrom last Saturday when I had a chance to\nwas somewhat similar to the Notre Dame-\nsee the Army-Navy game to a Harvard-Yale\nSyracuse game. But I'm like Notre Dame,\ngame I saw 40 years before.\n770\nJohn F. Kennedy, 1961\nDec. 5 [496]\nAnd I'm also glad to be here tonight with\nums, or from walking across the room to\nsome men who also gave me some of the\nturn on our television sets. And this is\nmost exciting moments of my life. Clint\ntrue for one sport after another, all across\nFrank, who I understand is sitting down\nthe board.\nthere, whom I saw score 5 touchdowns\nThe result of this shift from participation\nagainst Princeton. Tom Harmon who\nto, if I may use the word \"spectation,\" is all\nscored 2I points on my 21st birthday in the\ntoo visible in the physical condition of our\nfirst half of a game against California. Cliff\npopulation.\nBattles who made George Marshall look\nDespite our much-publicized emphasis on\ngood at Boston way back in the thirties.\nschool athletics, our own children lag behind\nAnd Jay Berwanger who's here tonight, who,\nEuropean children in physical fitness. And\nwhen Chicago was tenth in the Big Ten, was\nastonishingly enough, when Dr. Kraus and\non everyone's All-American. And Sam\nDr. Weber recently went back, after IO years,\nHuff, who campaigned with me through\nto Europe they found a sharp decline in the\nthe coal mines of West Virginia-and he's\nphysical fitness of European children, be-\neven better at that than he is on Sunday.\ncause in the last decade mechanization had\nSo I'm like a good many other Americans\nbegun to get at them too.\nwho never quite made it-but love it.\nIt's no wonder that we have such a high\nI do see a close relationship between sports\nproportion of rejections for physical reasons\nand our national life and I sometimes won-\nin our Selective Service. A short time ago\nder whether those of us who love sports have\nGeneral Hershey told me that since October\ndone as much as we should in maintaining\nof 1948, of some six million young men ex-\nsports as a constructive part of this country's\namined for military duty, more than a mil-\nexistence.\nlion were rejected as physically unfit for\nI will not enter into a debate about whether\nmilitary service. A good many of these men\nfootball or baseball is our national sport.\nwould not have been rejected if they had\nThe sad fact is that it looks more and more\nhad an opportunity, when younger, to take\nas if our national sport is not playing at all-\npart in an adequate physical development\nbut watching. We have become more and\nprogram.\nmore not a nation of athletes but a nation of\nTo get two men today, the United States\nspectators.\nArmy must call seven men. Of the five\nProfessional athletes-professional athlet-\nrejected, three are turned down for physical\nics-I believe has a great place in our national\nreasons and two for mental disabilities. To\nlife, but I must confess that I view the grow-\nget the 196 thousand additional men that we\ning emphasis on professionalism and special-\nneeded for Berlin, the government had to\nization in amateur sports without great en-\ncall up, therefore, 75° thousand men-and\nthusiasm. Gibbon wrote two centuries ago\nthe rejection rate is increasing each year.\nthat professionalism in amateur sports was\nI find this situation disturbing. We are\none of the early evidences of the decline and\nunder-exercised as a nation. We look, in-\nfall of the Roman Empire.\nstead of play. We ride, instead of walk.\nFootball today is far too much a sport for\nOur existence deprives us of the minimum of\nthe few who can play it well. The rest of\nphysical activity essential for healthy living.\nus-and too many of our children-get our\nAnd the remedy, in my judgment, lies in one\nexercise from climbing up to seats in stadi-\ndirection; that is, in developing programs\n771\n[496] Dec. 5\nPublic Papers of the Presidents\nfor broad participation in exercise by all of\ngram for our elementary and secondary\nour young men and women-all of our boys\nschools. Pilot projects have been set up in a\nand girls.\nnumber of cities.\nI do not say this in order to decry excel-\nThe results so far show the effectiveness\nlence in sports or anywhere else. But ex-\nof what can be done and the extent of the\ncellence emerges from mass participation.\nneed. In Muskogee, Okla., for example, a\nThis is shown by the fact that in some areas\ncity which prides itself on athletic achieve-\nof our Olympic Games, we have steadily\nment, which has had seven All-Americans\nfallen behind those nations who have stressed\nin recent years, 47 percent of the students\nbroad participation in a great variety of\nfailed a minimum physical fitness test. Only\nsports.\na fraction of those who qualified could pass\nI believe that as a nation we should give\nthe more comprehensive test of physical capa-\nour full support, for example, to our Olym-\nbility. Yet only 6 weeks of participation in\npic development program. We will not sub-\na daily 15-minute program of vigorous exer-\nsidize our athletes as some nations do, but\ncise brought about a 24 percent improvement\nwe should as a country set a goal, not in the\namong those who failed the first test.\nway the Soviet Union or the Chinese do, but\nThroughout the country we have found\nin the kind of way that Australia and other\nequally discouraging examples of defi-\ncountries do-perhaps in our own way, to\nciency-and equally encouraging examples\nemphasize this most important part of life,\nof progress. I hope that every school district\nthe opportunity to exercise, to participate in\nin this country will adopt our minimum\nphysical activity, and generally to produce a\nprogram.' I urge every parent to support the\nstandard of excellence for our country which\nprogram and his own children's participation\nwill enable our athletes to win the Olym-\nin it. I urge our colleges and universities to\npics-but more importantly than that, which\nlay down basic standards of physical fitness.\nwill give us a nation of vigorous men and\nI urge the Nation's community recreation\nwomen.\ncenters to provide more opportunity for\nThere are more important goals than win-\nthose who are no longer attending school.\nning contests, and that is to improve on a\nAnd finally, I urge organizations such as this,\nbroad level the health and vitality of all of\nwith all of the prestige and influence which\nour people.\nyou bring to American life, to help establish\nWe have begun this year to make progress\nmore programs for participation by Ameri-\ntoward this goal with the new President's\ncan boys and girls-by Americans young and\nCouncil on Youth Fitness. The idea behind\nold. In short, what we must do is literally\nour youth fitness program is to give as many\nchange the physical habits of millions of\nAmerican boys and girls as possible a chance\nAmericans-and that is far more difficult\nfor a healthy physical development.\nthan changing their tastes, their fashions, or\nCoach Bud Wilkinson, who shook off the\neven their politics.\nWashington-after losing his first five games\nI do not suggest that physical develop-\nfinally got out of our atmosphere and went\nment is the central object of life, or that we\non to win his next five, and the Council\nshould permit cultural and intellectual values\nstaff, in cooperation with the Nation's lead-\nto be diminished, but I do suggest that physi-\ning educators and medical organizations,\ncal health and vitality constitute an essential\nhave worked out a basic physical fitness pro-\nelement of a vigorous American community.\n772\nJohn F. Kennedy, 1961\nDec. 6 [497]\nNo one knew this better than the men of\nAttorney General, Byron White, who was\nGreece, to whom our civilization owes so\nsimultaneously a Rhodes scholar and a half-\nmuch. The Greeks sought excellence not\nback for the Detroit Lions, and the year that\nonly in philosophy and drama and sculpture\nhe led the league in ground gained rushing,\nand architecture, but in athletics. The same\nwas also number one man in his class at the\npeople who produced the poetry of Homer,\nYale Law School. We can combine and\nthe wisdom of Plato and Aristotle-they also\nmust combine intellectual energy and physi-\nproduced the Olympic Games. The Greeks\ncal vitality.\nunderstood that mind and body must develop\nTheodore Roosevelt once said, \"The credit\nin harmonious proportion to produce a crea-\nbelongs to the man who is actually in the\ntive intelligence. And so did the most bril-\narena-whose face is marred by dust and\nliant intelligence of our earliest days, Thomas\nsweat and blood\nwho knows the great\nJefferson, when he said, \"Not less than two\nenthusiasms, the great devotions-and\nhours a day should be devoted to exercise.\"\nspends himself in a worthy cause-who at\nIf a man who wrote the Declaration of Inde-\nbest if he wins knows the thrills of high\npendence, was Secretary of State, and twice\nachievement-and if he fails at least fails\nPresident could give it 2 hours, our children\nwhile daring greatly-so that his place shall\ncan give it IO or I5 minutes.\nnever be with those cold and timid souls who\nThere's no reason in the world-and we've\nknow neither victory nor defeat.\"\nseen it tonight-why Americans should not\nThe athletes in this room-you gentle-\nbe fine students and fine athletes. When I\nmen-and your colleagues across the country\nwas young, Barry Wood used to play with\nhave known victory and defeat, and have ac-\nBen Ticknor football for Harvard-and\ncepted both. I salute you.\nhockey and baseball and tennis. He was a\nNOTE: The President spoke at the Waldorf-Astoria\nten-letter man-and also the First Marshal\nHotel in New York City. His opening words \"Mr.\nof Phi Beta Kappa. And since then he has\nLaRoche\" referred to Chester J. LaRoche, President\ncombined a life of leadership in the medical\nof the National Football Foundation.\nThe award to which the President referred is the\nprofession.\nFoundation's gold medal presented annually by the\nI have in Washington, as you know-and\nFootball Hall of Fame to a person dedicated to propa-\nhe is a friend of many of you-the Deputy\ngating the concept of amateur football.\n497 Address in New York City to the National Association of\nManufacturers. December 6, 1961\nMr. President, and gentlemen:\nI have not always considered the member-\nI understand that President McKinley and\nship of the NAM as among my strongest\nI are the only two Presidents of the United\nsupporters. I'm not sure you've all ap-\nStates to ever address such an occasion. I\nproached the New Frontier with the greatest\nsuppose that President McKinley and I are\npossible enthusiasm, and I was therefore\nthe only two that are regarded as fiscally\nsomewhat nervous about accepting this in-\nsound enough to be qualified for admission\nvitation, until I did some studying of the\nto this organization on an occasion such as\nhistory of this organization. I learned that\nthis.\nthis organization had once denounced on\n773\n1974 DEC 24 PM I 54\nDennis\nBERALD R. FORD 18\nLIBRARY\nJOHN, McCALLUM AND CHARLES H. PEARSON\nCOLLEGE\nFOOTBALL\nU.S.A.\n1869 1972\nOFFICIAL BOOK OF THE\nNATIONAL FOOTBALL FOUNDATION\nFOOTBALL'S ELITE-THE GOLD MEDAL WINNERS\nN the turbulent world of college foot-\nqualities-courage, stamina, coordinated efficiency.\nball many a hard kick is aimed at\nIn all my long public service, both in war and in\nthe game itself. The man who\npeace, it is in the football men that I have found\nwinces most sharply at this occa-\nmy greatest reliance.\"\nsional roughing from skeptical edu-\nAnd then General MacArthur told of a meeting\ncators and from football's often self-\nhe once had with President Franklin Roosevelt.\nseeking family of coaches and players is Chet\n\"As I was about to terminate my tour as Chief of\nLaRoche, long-time president (now Chairman of\nStaff and enter upon that long, lonesome, bitter 16\nthe Board) of The National Football Foundation\nyears of unbroken service in the Far East, President\nand Hall of Fame, and one of the best friends col-\nRoosevelt asked me to recommend a successor. I\nlege football ever had.\nran down a list of possibilities for him and when I\nTo Chet LaRoche, football always has ranked\nhad finished, he looked at me and asked, 'Which\nwith family, church and school as a \"training\none is a football man, Douglas?' And, that was the\nground for men of spirit and incubator of competi-\none who replaced me as Chief of Staff-Malvin\ntive fiber.\" As successful and hard-hitting a busi-\nCraig, an Army back of the 1897 team.\n\"\nnessman in later life as he was a Yale quarterback\nFrom 1958 through 1970, winners of the Gold\n54 years ago, Chet always has been an evangelical\nMedal Award included four Presidents, a Supreme\nadmirer of the old-fashioned virtues of determina-\nCourt Justice, leading educator, four captains of in-\ntion and grit. He is by temperament a man who\ndustry and business, and three famous football\nseeks solutions in action (some years ago, annoyed\ncoaches. Each had, indeed, \"distinguished himself\nwith having to ransom his hat every time he ate in\nby his service to football and his country.\" And\na restaurant, he started his own with Author-Artist\neach most certainly agreed with Chet LaRoche that\nLudwig Belmans). To champion football's cause,\nin football, as in all athletics, \"spirit must predomi-\nChet spearheaded the creation of the National\nnate over technique.\"\nFootball Foundation and Hall of Fame \"to mobi-\nlize the game as a vital force in preparing Ameri-\ncan youth for the competitive business of everyday\nliving.\"\nIn 1958, LaRoche conceived and activated the\nidea of honoring great Americans who have con-\ntributed in a significant manner to college football\nand whose careers embody the highest ideals for\nwhich football stands. Today, the \"Gold Medal\nAward\" represents the highest individual honor\nwhich the National Football Foundation and Hall\nof Fame can bestow.\nFirst recipient of the Gold Medal was Dwight\nDavid Eisenhower, on October 28, 1958, President\nof the U.S. and ex-football player, West Point '15.\nTen years later, at the 11th annual Awards Din-\nner in New York, the National Football Founda-\ntion and Hall of Fame's Awards Committee de-\ncided it was high time they honor the man whose\nTHE GOLD MEDAL\ncredo was \"never de-emphasize the value of win-\nThe Gold Medal Award represents the highest in-\nning\"-Chester J. LaRoche.\ndividual honor which the National Football Foundation\nIn 1959, General Douglas A. MacArthur was\nand Hall of Fame can bestow. The recipient shall have\nthe Gold Medal Award recipient. The multi-deco-\ncontributed in a significant manner to college football\nrated war hero told an audience of 1,500: \"The\nand his career shall embody the highest ideals for which\ngame has become a symbol of our country's best\nthe game of football stands.\n263\nGOLD MEDAL RECIPIENTS\n1958-Dwight D. Eisenhower\n1964-Donold B. Lourie\n1959-Douglas A. MacArthur\n1965-Juan T. Trippe\n1960-Herbert C. Hoover\n1966-Earl H. Blaik\nAmos Alonzo Stagg\n1967-Frederick L. Hovde\n1961-John F. Kennedy\n1968-Chester J. LaRoche\n1962-Byron R. White\n1969-Richard M. Nixon\n1963-Roger M. Blough\n1970-Thomas J. Hamilton\nTHE FIRST ANNUAL FOOTBALL FOUNDATION\nAND HALL OF FAME AWARD\nOn October 28th, 1958 at the Astor Hotel in\nNew York City, the first annual awards dinner of\nPRESENTED TO\nthe National Football Foundation and Hall of\nDWIGHT DAVID EISENHOWER\nPRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES\nFame was held with Dwight David Eisenhower,\nIN RECOGNITION OF\nPresident of the United States, Guest of Honor and\nALIFETIME OF DEVOTION TO\nAMERICAN INTERCOLLEGIATE\nrecipient of the first Gold Medal Award.\nFOOTBALL\nOCTOBER 28,1958\nThe dinner was attended by over 2,000 guests,\nleaders in business professions and government.\nGeorge Murphy, former MGM star and former\nYale football player, was Master of Ceremonies.\nGeneral Eisenhower-Gold Medal Winner 1958\nGordon MacRae, ex-Syracuse star, the Sea Chant-\ners of the U.S. Navy Band and the Whiffenpoofs of\nner. Amongst the many prominent business leaders\nYale sang. Herb Shriner with his humorous stories\npresent were Raymond C. Firestone, President of\nbrought peals of laughter from President Eisen-\nFirestone Tire and Rubber; Norman Chandler,\nhower and made General MacArthur break into\nPublisher, Los Angeles Times; Frank Pace Jr.,\nbroad smiles. Tom Hamilton presented nine new\nPresident General Dynamics Corp; William E.\nelectees to the Hall of Fame. Harry Stuhldreher,\nRobinson, President Coca Cola Co.; Juan Trippe,\nspeaking on behalf of the new electees, expressed\nPresident Pan American Airways.\ndeep appreciation for the highest honor in sports-\nThe late Frank Graham of the former New York\ndom.\nJournal-American put it this way:\nEd Garbisch presented 60 of the members of the\n\"It was a salute to Football the like of which\nHall of Fame who were present at the Awards Din-\nthe game never has known before.\"\nDwight Eisenhower at Awards Dinner 1958\n264\nNATIONAL\nREPUBLICAN\nWASHINGIO\nCONGRESSIONAL\nDEC23'74\n20\nCOMMITTEE\nD.C\nDRIMETER\nP.O. 398090\n512 HOUSE OFFICE BLDG. ANNEX\nWASHINGTON, D.C. 20515\nMr. Paul Theis\nc/o The White House\n1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.\nWHITE HOUSE SECURITY\nWashington, D.C.\nDEC 24 DYA 1974\nProcessed\nA082\nR A\nGOLF 2-26\n70.1\n?\nTURD\nWITH FORD\nBY DAVID L. LANGFORD\nGENETO\nLAUDERHILL, FLA. (UPI) -- IT WAS A DAY OF CLOWNING, FLIP TALK AND\nLIBRARY\nGOLFING TIPS BUT THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES STILL HAD\nCONGRESS ON HIS MIND.\nPRESIDENT FORD, CELEBRATING AT A COUNTRY CLUB RECEPTION WEDNESDAY\nNIGHT AT THE END OF A SLAP-HAPPYROUND OF GOLF, SAID, \"IT WAS GREAT\nTO BE HERE AND PARTICIPATE.\"\n\"BUT, YOU KNOW, I CAN'T QUITE GET ALL OF THE PROBLEMS OUT OF MY\nMIND EVEN ON A DELIGHTFUL DAY LIKE THIS.\"\nFORD, DEMONSTRATING A POWERFUL DRIVER BUT A POOR PUTTER, SHOT A\n28-OVER-PAR 100 IN THE CELEBRITY PRO-AM ROUND OF THE JACKIE\nGLEASON-INVERRARY GOLF CLASSIC IN A QUINTET WITH COMEDIANS JACKIE\nGLEASON AND BOB HOPE, PRO GOLFER JACK NICKLAUS AND NEW YORK\nBUSINESSMAN ELLIOTT KAHN, WHO CONTRIBUTED $10,000 TO CHARITY FOR THE\nPRIVILEGE OF PLAYING.\nAT A PARTY THROWN BY GLEASON, THE PRESIDENT SAID THE NIGHTCLUB\nCOMIC ASKED HIM AT THE FIRST TEE WHAT HIS BIGGEST PROBLEM WAS.\n\"I SAID 'GOLF,' BUT WHAT WAS REALLY ON MY MIND WAS CONGRESS,\" THE\nPRESIDENT SAID.\nBUT NICKLAUS, SHOOTING A COURSE RECORD 63 WHILE FINDING TIME TO\nHELP FORD WITH HIS CHIP SHOTS, THINKS THE PRESIDENT WAS ONLY JESTING.\nTHROUGHOUT THE 18 HOLES, HE SAID, THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE DISCUSSED\nEVERYTHING FROM FOOTBALL TO CHILDREN BUT NEVER MENTIONED THE ECONOMY\nNOR THE ENERGY PROBLEM.\n\"THIS WAS HIS DAY OF ENJOYMENT,\" NICKLAUS SAID. \"HE SAID, 'YOU\nWON'T HAVE TO ASK ME TWICE IF YOU_WANT TO PLAY GOLE.\nTHE PRESIDENT SAID HIS ROUND WITH NICKLAUS, WHO BEAT GENE\nLITTLER'S RECORD ON THE INVERRARY COURSE BY TWO STROKES, WAS \"ONE OF\nTHOSE THINGS I'LL ALWAYS REMEMBER. I HAVE GREAT RESPECT FOR\nEXCELLENCE AND I WAS PLAYING WITH PEOPLE WHO EPITOMIZE THAT.\"\nNICKLAUS RETURNED THE COMPLIMENT. \"HE ACTUALLY COULD BE A_GOOD\nGOLFER IF HE HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO PLAY MORE.\"\nA RECORD CROWD FOR A PGA TOURNAMENT OF 41,720 SURROUNDED THE\nFAIRWAYS TO WATCH THE CELEBRITIES.\nBEFORE HOPE DROPPED OUT AFTER THE 14TH HOLE TO CATCH A PLANE, HE\nAND GLEASON KEPT THE CROWD ENTERTAINED. BUT THE GALLERY PROVIDED ITS\nOWN LAUGHS.\nONE WOMAN, PERHAPS TOO OLD TO WEAR THE BLUE BIKINI SHE DISPLAYED,\nSCOOPED UP A GLEASON CHIP SHOT JUST BEYOND THE EIGHTH GREEN. HER\nHUSBAND, IN AN ORANGE AND PURPLE COSTUME, TURNED RED IN THE FACE.\nTHREE MARSHALS RAN TO HER, WAGGLING THEIR ARMS. HOPE GRINNED\nGLEEFULLY. NICKLAUS STARED DIPLOMATICALLY AT THE SKY AND THE\nPRESIDENT PULLED OFF HIS WHITE CAP AND SCRATCHED HIS HEAD.\nAT ANOTHER POINT, A MAN WAVED HIS HANDS AT THE PRESIDENT, NODDED\nTOWARD A BEAMING WOMAN OF LARGE CHARMS AND SHOUTED, \"PRESIDENT FORD,\nTHIS IS MY WIFE.\"\nTHE PRESIDENT THREW BACK HIS HEAD AND LAUGHED.\nAT ANOTHER STOP, HOPE STAGE-WHISPERED TO THE GALLERY, \"PLEASE\nDON'T APPLAUD WHILE THE PRESIDENT IS SHOOTING. HE' LL RAISE MY TAXES.\"\nUPI 02-27 08:43 AED\n2034\na czzczyyvu V\nPresident's Golf 330\nLAUDERHILL, Fla. AP - President Ford would make a fine golfer if\nhe had time to develop 1t, says one of the sport's well\"known\n:\nprofessionals\nActually. the President could be a very good golfer if he had the\ntime to devote to it. the time to practice it, \" says Jack Nicklaus.\nPresident Ford played in Wednesday's pro am prior to today's first\nround of the $260. 000 Jackie Gleason Golf Classic. The President\ncompeted as a member' of Nicklaus' team along with host Gleason, Bob\nHope and Elliot Kahn, a Great Neck. N.Ys businessman.\nThe President shot 100.0 He scrambled over the first eight holes but.\nplayed his last 10 in only eight over par. He didn't make a birdie.\nbut had three natural pars - net birdies with his listed 18 handicap.\nHe had only one chance to help the team, and Nicklaus deprived him\nof that. Using a three wood off the tee the President got off as\nmassive. 284 yard drive on the ninth hole. He pitched on and\ntwo putted for the solid par, a net birdie. But Nicklaus birdied the\nhole from 20 feet.\n6 \"He had a chance to help and I robbad him of 1t with the birdie,\nNicklaus said,\nTalking about the President's golf game. Nicklaus noted: ''He's\nquite capable of being B solid six or séven handicapper. \"\n-\nHis biggest problem is his grip, Nicklaus said.\nHe nuts his left hand on the club just so. \" Nicklaus said and\ndemonstrated the proper grip, \"You can see he's very careful about\nit. But by the time he hits the ball, his hand has moved 90 degrees.\nThe President had his problems over the first eight holes. He\nbree putted three times. He hit one in a lake. He hit one out of\nbounds He took three to get out of a sand trap. He once struck his\nwedge in the ground. moving his chip only inches.\nOn the sixth. 8 par three he missed the green to the right. He\nmissed the chip and didn't get 1t out of the rough. Finally he chipped\non, some 30 feet by, His mouth was working for B moment and then his\nwg_clinched. His face was B scowl. He ended up three putting for 8\nsix.\n0401aED 02-27\n70.1\nFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE\nFEBRUARY 26, 1975\nOFFICE OF THE WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY\n(Lauderhill, Florida)\nTHE WHITE HOUSE\nEXCHANGE OF REMARKS\nBETWEEN THE PRESIDENT\nAND\nJACKIE GLEASON\nINVERRARY COUNTRY CLUB\n8:00 P.M. EDT\nMR. GLEASON: Gentlemen, as you all know, we are\nhonored with the President of the United States, and he would\nlike to say a few words.\nMr. President.\nTHE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much, Jackie.\nI don't know a day, since last August, where I\nhave had a more enjoyable, a more wonderful time than today\nin this great tournament with you and Bob Hope and Elliott\nKahn and Jack Nicklaus. You know, this is just one of those\nthings that I will always remember, and I thank you and\nthe others who participated.\nI -- going a long time back . have great respect\nfor excellence, and I was playing with some people today\nwho epitomize that, you and Bob, in the field of entertain-\nments the unquestioned excellence in the field that you\nexcel so beautifully in -- Elliott Kahn, a young man who\nhas done superbly in the business world, and the one I envy\nthe most, (Laughter) it is not you.\nMR. GLEASON: I know.\nTHE PRESIDENT: It is not Hope.\nMR. GLEASON: I know.\nTHE PRESIDENT: It is not Elliott. If I could just\nbe half as good as Jack Nicklaus (Laughter.)\nA long time ago, back when the ball was round in\nfootball, I played a little football against another school\nin the Big Ten, and I loved the competition because Ohio\nState always represented a great skill, great competence,\ntremendous competitive urge and so forth. And as much as I\nhate to lose to them, I think they represent the best, and\nof course, Jack Nicklaus in golf represents the finest.\nAnd Jack, to play with you today and have you break the\ncourse record was a great thrill for me.\nMORE\nPage 2\nYou and I didn't contribute one thing to our score.\nMR. GLEASON: Yes we did; you broke a record today.\nTHE PRESIDENT: What did I do?\nMR. GLEASON: We went around the entire course, and\nthere was not one dissident voice or sign throughout the\nentire area. And that is a record.\nTHE PRESIDENT: Well, I just want to thank you and\neverybody that was related, Mr. Fuqua and all of the others,\nwho made a significant contribution to this.\nI have a couple of serious comments to make. You\nknow, as an office holder in the Federal Government, who\ncarries a lot of weight in Washington -- in only Washington --\nit gives me a great deal of pleasure tonight to say that I\nwant to extend to you happy birthday, to a man who carries\na lot of weight, anywhere, anywhere, Jackie Gleason. (Laughter.)\nI did appreciate, as Jack Nicklaus and you and Bob\nand Elliott Kahn and the others know -- after a couple of\nhard weeks and a few more coming down the road, it was great\nto be here and participate. Still, I can't quite get all\nof the problems out of my mind, even on a delightful day\nlike this.\nYou know, on the first tee, Jackie Gleason asked\nme this question: what was my greatest problem? I think he\nwas referring to golf. (Laughter.) But I had what was\nreally on my mind, and I said, \"Congress.\" (Laughter.)\nBut I enjoyed playing with others in our fivesome;\nit was a great treat. All of them are far better, infinitely\nmore competent than myself, but I am going to work at it.\nAnd if you are kind enough to invite Betty and me down next\nyear -- that is a subtle way of asking for an invitation.\nMR. GLEASON: You are not only invited next year,\nbut if you follow me, I know where a martini is. (Laughter.)\nTHE PRESIDENT: Well, somebody asked me, out on the\ngolf course, how I shot today, and I said I shot a 72. The\ntruth was, that is before I asked for a rebate. (Laughter.)\nBut, let me say, I appreciate very much, Jackie,\nthe opportunity to be with all of you, to be with Jack Nicklaus\nand to meet Barbara Nicklaus and their son, Steve, and\ndaughter, Nancy, and to meet the others, who are here, and\nto be with people who are superb, the best. It is the kind\nof challenge that I think we in American have to seek and\nwork to achieve. So, thank you very much on behalf of Betty\nand myself.\nMORE\nPage 3\nYou know, we have had more pickets outside of\nWashington concerning her than concerning me, but that is\nan indication of her character. And I am very proud to\nintroduce to all of you the First Lady, my dear wife,\nBetty Ford.\nEND\n(AT 8:05 P.M. EDT)\n70.1\nFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE\nSEPTEMBER 11, 1974\nOFFICE OF THE WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY\n(Pinehurst, North Carolina)\nTHE WHITE HOUSE\nREMARKS OF THE PRESIDENT\nAT THE\nWORLD GOLF HALL OF FAME\nENSHRINEMENT DINNER\nAT 10:35 P.M. EDT\nThank you very, very much, Governor Jim\nHolshouser, my good golfing partner, the Governor\nof South Carolina, Senator Jesse Helms, my old friend\nEarl Ruth. But I do wish to acknowledge and pay\nspecial tribute to the inductees who I tremendously\nadmire and greatly respect, and I have really enjoyed\nlistening to the stories that each of them have given.\nR. FORD LIBRARY\nAnd it is an awfully hard act to follow\nafter the tales they have told and the incidents\nthat they have related.\nIt has also been one of the great things\nthat I have admired, excellence, and I have spent a\ngreat deal of time in the last few years on Saturday\nafternoons and Sunday afternoons watching various\ntournaments.\nI usually take with me and sit in front of\nthe television and take a pile of work and in between\nthis shot and that shot, I try to concentrate. But\nI really am more interested in the excellence that they\ndemonstrate to the American people. I admire excellence.\nI respect it.\nAnd it seems to me that this is what we want\nin this country and what we want in the world. And\nto be here this afternoon and this evening and to get\nbetter acquainted with those I have known, and to meet\nothers that I have not known, in the sport of golf.\nhas been a great and an exhilarating day to me, and I\ncompliment and congratulate everyone of them because\nthey epitomize excellence in probably one of the most\ncompetitive areas of athletic competition that I have\never seen.\nAnd I just hope that they, through their\nexample, give to all Americans the kind of spirit, the\nkind of drive, the kind of dedication that is so essential\nif we are to achieve what is the best for everybody in\nthis country and throughout the world.\nMORE\nPage 2\nIf I may, I would like to tell you the most\nmemorable golfing experience I ever had. I was at the\nBurning Tree course, which is one of those courses in\nWashington, D. C. I was playing with Ben Hogan,\nand Arnold Palmer and Byron Nelson. And they came up\nto me and they said they were looking for another\ngreat, great golfer to join them. I said, \"Well,\nhere I am.\" And they said, \"Good. You can help us look\nfor one.\" (Laughter)\nI didn't mind that so much, but what really\nhurt me was when Arnold Palmer asked if I would not\nwear his slacks except under an assumed name. (Laughter)\nI do appreciate the honor of the invitation from\nDon and Bill, but as I stand before all of you golfing\nimmortals, one thought keeps running through my mind. I\nhave an 18 handicap, and I guess I played it that way\ntoday in between the first and 18th hole. You need\nme as a good golfer like Sam Snead needs another\ntomato can. (Laughter)\nThey say you can always tell a good player\nby the number of people in the gallery. You have heard,\nand we have all heard, of Arnie's Army. My group\nis called Ford's Few. (Laughter)\nI figured it out, that my problem is I have\na very wild swing and I demonstrated it on a number of\noccasions for Patty and some of the others this afternoon. Back\non my home course in Grand Rapids, Michigan, they\ndon't yell \"Fore,\" they yell \"Ford.\"\nAnd you know, all of these fine Secret Service\nmen you have seen around me today, and elsewhere. When I play\ngolf, I am told they qualify for combat pay. (Laughter)\nBut I try to keep my hands in whenever I can.\nPersonally, I thoroughly enjoy playing golf with Henry\nKissinger. Henry is undoubtedly one of the greatest,\none of the finest, and one of the very best diplomats\nthe world has ever known, and fortunately for us, he has\nbeen carrying out that responsibility on behalf of\nour country. I will tell you why I say that: Last\nweek, I was in a sand trap, which I frequently find\nmyself in. There was a water hazard beyond that, and\nthen some 95 feet or more to the pin, and Henry conceded\nthe putt. (Laughter)\nBut this afternoon, I had one of the greatest\nthrills of my lifetime, the chance to play a few holes\nwith the super stars of world golfing and I thoroughly\nenjoyed it and they were most considerate of my diffi-\nculties.\nMORE\nPage 3\nI can't tell you how I felt out there surrounded\nby such legendary names as Berg, Hogan, Nelson, Nicklaus,\nPalmer, Player, Sarazen, Snead. And in all honesty,\nit was something like being in a golfer's heaven, and\nI appreciate the opportunity to be there.\nBut as the cliche goes, tonight I have good news\nand some bad news. The good news, that four of our honorees,\nJack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player and Sam Snead,\nwill be competing in the World Open beginning tomorrow.\nThe bad news is today they shared the course\nwith me. And I will tell you what I mean.\nIn 1972, I played with Sam Snead in the Pro-Am\nbefore the Kemper Open, and he didn't win. (Laughter)\nIn 1973, I played with Miller Barber before the Kemper\nOpen, and he didn't win. And this year, I played\nwith Tom Weiskopf before the Kemper Open and then\nI played with Dave Stockton up at Pleasant Valley in the\nPro-Am, and neither of them won the tournament.\nNow, you know why, I am sure, in Washington\nI am known as the President of the United States, and\nin golf, I am sort of known as the jinx of the links.\n(Laughter)\nFrankly, I figured it out, that Snead, Barber,\nWeiskopf and Stockton blew about $165,000 in prize\nmoney by their performance with me in the several\nPro-Am tours that I indicated. But if you think they\nare unhappy, you should see the Internal Revenue\nService. (Laughter)\nAs you undoubtedly know by now, I thoroughly\nenjoy golf, not only the competition, but the people.\nI enjoy the exercise it provides, the competitive\nchallenge, the good fellowship before and after\neach game.\nMORE\nPage 4\nBut if I had to single out one attribute\nof golf above all others, it would be found in the\nvery simple statement from the ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITTANICA,\nand I quote, \"Golf is played on the honor system. A player\nis expected to count his own strokes even though he may\nmiss the ball completely, to acknowledge the fact promptly\nif he violates a rule and incurs a penalty, and to avoid\ninterfering in any way with his opponents or his fellow\ncompetitor's play.\nGolf is one of the few games where honor is\nmore important than the rules. Without good sportsman-\nship, golf could not exist. Without trust, another\nname for good sportsmanship, governments cannot exist.\nBut there is still one more lesson to be\nlearned from golf and I have never seen a tournament,\nregardless of how much money, or how much fame, or\nprestige, or emotion was ever involved, that didn't end\nwith the victor extending his hand to the vanquished.\nI have enjoyed sitting there watching on\ntelevision the pat on the back, the arm around the\nshoulder, the praise for what was done right, and the\nsympathetic nod for what wasn't. These are as much a\npart of golf as life itself, and I would hope that\nunderstanding and reconciliation are not limited to\nthe 19th hole.\nBefore I leave -- and let me express to Don\nand Bill my great enjoyment to be with all of you -- I\nwould like to thank them and you for asking me. It was\na delightful day, after a few kind of tough ones.\n(Laughter)\nThis afternoon for a few hours, quite unsuccess-\nfully, I tried to make a hole in one. Tomorrow morning\nI will be back in Washington trying to get out of one.\n(Laughter)\nAnd thank all of you for making this a most\nwelcome \"mini\" vacation.\nThank you, and good night.\nEND\n(AT 10:35 P.M. EDT)\n70.1\nFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE\nDECEMBER 10, 1974\nOFFICE OF THE WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY\n(New York City, New York)\nTHE WHITE HOUSE\nREMARKS OF THE PRESIDENT\nTO THE\nNATIONAL FOOTBALL FOUNDATION\nAND\nHALL OF FAME\nTHE GRAND BALLROOM\n9:26 P.M. EST\nChris, Your Eminence, Dick Kasmaier, distinguished\nguests:\nIt is a very high honor and a very great privilege\nto have the opportunity of participating in this\nprogram this evening, and may I at the outset congratulate\nthe new inductees as well as the scholar athletes.\nBob Hope and I were commenting,as all of these fine\nyoung athletes were being introduced, that we never saw\nsuch a packaging of brains, appearance and skill, and I\ncongratulate each and every one of you.\nLet me thank you, Chris, for that introduction.\nIt is kind of the routine introduction that comes with\nthis office. (Laughter) You know, since I became\nPresident, I am usually introduced in a more dignified and\nstately manner.\nOn some occasions there is a variation, however.\nBut there was one dinner a few weeks ago when I was\nintroduced by a former teammate of the University of\nMichigan back a good many years, and frankly I will never\nforget that introduction.\nHe said, \"Ladies and gentlemen, it might interest\nyou to know that I played football with Jerry Ford for\ntwo years and it has made a lasting impression on me. I\nwas a quarterback, Jerry Ford was a center, and you might\nsay it gave me a completely different view of the President.\"\n(Laughter)\nIf you stopped to think about it, there are many\nsimilarities between football and Government. For instance,\nin both areas nothing is ever done without discussing it\nfirst. In football you call it a huddle; in Washington\nyou call it a debate, and sometimes the talk goes on for\nmany, many hours without really saying anything.\nMORE\nPage 2\nIn Washington it is called a filibuster; in\nfootball it is called Howard Cosell. You know, Howard\nCosell takes a lot of kidding, but in all fairness,\nsomeone once said, \"To me, Howard Cosell will always\nlook ten feet tall.\" I don't know who said it, but I\nthink it was Abe Beame. (Laughter)\nIt is a real honor to be here tonight because\nfootball has meant so much to me for a good many years. You\nmight be interested to know that I have put together\nover the years a small collection of memorable football\nquotations, and I would like to share with you tonight two\nof them.\nThe first quotation is from Grantland Rice, who\nwas a great sports writer many years ago, and he said,\n\"When the one Great Scorer comes to write against your name,\nhe marks not that you won or lost, but how you played the\ngame. \" And the other is from Woody Hayes: \"Bah, humbug!\"\nIncidentally, I wish Woody Hayes -- he is an\nex-Big Tenner -- and the Ohio State Buckeyes good luck in\nthe Rose Bowl.\nBut as a former Michigan football player and a\n12- term Congressman from Michigan, I think that is about as\nfar as I ought to go.\nYou know, I may cook my'own breakfast, but I am\nnot about to cook my own goose. (Laughter)\nMORE\nPage 3\nWell, obviously the Michigan Wolverines are not\nthe only team I root for. In fact, back in the capital we\nhave a professional team we are very, very proud of, the\nWashington Redskins, more affectionately known as the\nOver-The-Hil1-Gang.\nYou know, it is always exciting to watch the\nRedskins play, because you are never quite sure what they\nare going to reach first -- the playoffs or social security.\nAnd the Redskins have one of the most colorful\nquarterbacks in the history of the game, Sonny Jurgenson.\nAnd isn't George Allen lucky to have two great quarterbacks\nlike Billy Kilmer and Sonny Jurgenson?\nWell, earlier I was saying a word or two about my\ngood friend Woody Hayes. I think it is well known that\nSonny Jurgenson has a nuch more relaxed attitude toward the\ngame.\nI can remember back in 1968 when Sonny, throwing\nwith a very, very sore arm scored five touchdown passes\nagainst the Chicago Bears. And as he came off the field\nat the end of the game Otto Graham, who was then the coach\nof the Redskins asked him, \"Sonny, how's your arm?\"\nSonny said, \"It hurts me awful.\"\nGraham looked worried. He said, \"It is going\nto be a problem.'\nSonny said, \"It is. Did you ever try to drink\nleft-handed?\" (Laughter)\nWell, somewhere between Sonny Jurgenson and Woody\nHayes I think there is a little room for compromise.\nIn my lifetime I have attended a lot of sports\ndinners, and it has been something of a ritual to honor\nthe exercise, the sportsmanship, the teamwork, the good\nfellowship that we receive and have received from football,\nand that is as it should be.\nBut what about winning? How about a good word\nfor the ultimate reason any of us have for going into a\ncompetitive sport? As much as I enjoyed the physical and\nemotional dividends that college athletics brought me, I\nsincerely doubt if I ever suited up, put on my helmet --\nand, yes, I did wear a helmet -- without the total\ncommitment of going out there to win, not to get exercise,\ngold or glory, but simply to win.\nMORE\nPage 4\nTo me, winning is not a shameful concept.\nI would like to think that winning is in the great\nAmerican tradition.\nTwo hundred years ago we fought for our\nfreedom, and we won, and for the next hundred years we\nchallenged the continent, and we won.\nBut somebody once said, \"The problem with\nwinning is you have to keep on doing it\". And so\ntoday we Americans face another historic struggle to\nmaintain our strength as a Nation, as a people, and our\neconomic well being for all of us, and believe me in\nthis battle against inflation, or recession, there are\nno playoffs, and there is no \"till next year,\" It is\nwinner take all, or loser have nothing.\nAs I see it, WIN, it is a very small word,\nbut let's be careful not to lose it.\nTonight I have come to New York for a very,\nvery personal reason, and it also has something to do\nwith winning. I have come to do honor and to pay tribute\nto a man who has won the admiration, the affection and the\neverlasting gratitude of all Americans --- a superstar\nbefore the term was ever thought of.\nBob Hope has consistently brought to our lives\nthe warm glow and the sustaining lift of that precious\ngift of laughter, and to those of us who served in the\narmed forces, Bob's eagerly awaited visits brought\nhome an awful lot closer.\nBut Bob Hope is more than a superlative enter-\ntainer -- much, much more. His dedication to the needs\nand the welfare of Americans has made him a leader in\nhumanitarian activities. It would be a monumental task\nto list all of the charities and causes that have said\nthanks for the memory of Bob Hope's helping hand.\nThroughout the years I have always looked\nforward to sharing a head table, a foursome, and many\na memorable hour with Bob Hope. I am proud to call him\nmy friend.\nAnd so it gives me a great deal of personal\npleasure to present tonight the Distinguished American\nAward of the National Football Foundation and Hall of\nFame to Bob Hope --patriot, ardent sportsman, indomitable,\ncourageous, unselfish American whose lifetime credo is the\nlifting of the human spirit.\nGentelmen, Bob Hope.\nEND\n(AT 9:34 P.M. EST)\nBistm\nSUNDAY HERALD ADVERTISER, MARCH 2, 1975\nSECTION FIVE\n70\nA2\nSWIMMING: \"The Ideal conditioner\nHow he keeps in shape\nFord is most athletic\nPresident since JFK\n:: He hits well off the tee\nSKIING: \"He's done very well\nWhite House Correspond-\nand exercise room for the President, and\nFord sustained a cartilage tear while\npassions, and he enjoys weekend rounds\nsets,\" Dr. Lukash admits, and\nOC-\nbecause there isn't the susceptibility to\nHill News.\nequipped with an exercise bike and what\nhe was in junior high and in 1929 had a\nwith close Washington associates. \"He\ncasionally he is a little overcompetitive,\nwear and tear on joints and ankle In-\nDr. Lukash describes as an ex-\nmeniscectomy on his left knee. Ford had\ntries to play every Sunday,\" Dr. Lukash\nEE WALCZAK\ntrying for the rougher shots. He's taken\njuries. And there are no side effects like\ntensorflexion weight machine. Ford now\na right lateral meniscectomy in 1972, and\nsays. \"He hits well off the tee, has good\na few falls at Camp David, but he\nthe general aching and muscle-tightening\nN-In the beefy, square-\nrises at 5:30 a.m. and launches into a 25-\nminute fitness program prescribed by\nDr. Lukash says that \"It would appear\niron shots, and could lower his handicap\nbounces right up.\"\nthat many joggers go through. It has a\nD Ford\nfrom 18 to 10 or 12 just bv sharnening un\ntramandous tonic effect bacquee all the\nn,\n0-\nDS\nS\n18\nin\nn°\nth\nis\nn\n6\ny\n5,\nof\nS\nDelieving mat ne noat. taking on everything, manucuming\nbuancu\nprece\nWITHING\nONE OF THE MOST famous ships to\n\"Atalanta\nvanished in the same area.\nSports ustrated\nJULY 8, 1974 60 CENTS\nMY VIEW OF SPORT\n122,\n1\nVICE-PRESIDENT GERALD FORD\nDAAGO,\nMR 75 888 88999992X52 05 05:00 00\nLIBRARY\nRM 02 E0B\nTHE WHITE HOUSE\nWASHINGTON DC 20500\n®\nIN DEFENSE OF THE\nCOMPETITIVE URGE\nby GERALD R. FORD\nwith JOHN UNDERWOOD\n*16\nThe Vice-President reflects fondly on his \"halcyon days\" as a\nMichigan football star and Yale coach, and ponders the current\nstate of sport, arguing that winning is a necessary goal; that\ninternational athletic victories serve nations well; and that\nthe preoccupation with money may end up alienating the fan\nne lesson to be learned in reaching an age where\nhome-cooked psychology in recent years that winning isn't\nyou are both a viable politician and a washed-up line-\nall that important anymore, whether on the athletic field or\nman is that past glories are not negotiable in the open\nin any other field, national and international. I don't buy\nmarket. When you stop winning they not only start boo-\nthat for a minute. It is not enough to just compete. Win-\ning, they start forgetting.\nning is very important. Maybe more important than ever.\nI used to think of myself as a pretty dashing figure on the\nDon't misunderstand. I am not low-rating the value of\nski slopes of the East and in northern Michigan, and could\ninformal participation. Competing is always preferable to\nat least count on outstripping my children on the various\nnot competing, whether you win or not, and one reason is\nruns we tried. Nowadays, when the family gets together at\nas good as another for getting involved. Swimming laps,\nVail for our annual Christmas ski reunion, my sons and my\nfor example, is preferable to doubling your waistline. As a\ndaughter go zooming by, usually with just the encourage-\nyoung man I took up skiing in order to get to know a cer-\nment to make me boil. Such as: \"Hurry up, Dad.\" They\ntain young lady better. happened to be a devotee, and I\nsee themselves getting faster and faster as I get slower and\nan eager beginner. I lost the girl but I learned to ski. The\nslower. They forget all the times I picked them out of the\nsubject used to be a sensitive one with my wife, who came\nsnowbank.\nalong afterward, but I have reminded her that that was in-\nWhen I was House Minority Leader and a regular ad-\nstructive athletics, not competitive athletics. The important\nversary of Lyndon Johnson's, he once said-with minimum\nthing was I learned to ski.\naffection-'There's nothing wrong with Jerry Ford except\nIf you don't win elections you-don't play, so the impor-\nthat he played football too long without his helmet.\" Lyn-\ntance of winning is more drastic in that field. In athletics\ndon got a lot of mileage out of that quote, and I used it my-\nand in most other worthwhile pursuits first place is the man-\nself one year when I addressed the Gridiron Club in Wash-\nifestation of the desire to excel, and how else can you achieve\nington. I said he was wrong, that I always wore my helmet\nanything? I certainly do not feel we achieved very much as\non any gridiron, and I picked up my old leather bonnet and\na Michigan football team in 1934. And I can assure you we\nput it on, right on top of my white tie and tails. It had been\nhad more fun on those championship teams in 1932-33.\na while, though> I had a hard time getting it down over my\nBroadly speaking, outside of a national character and an\nears. Of course, heads do have a tendency to swell here in\neducated society, there are few things more important to a\nWashington.\ncountry's growth and well-being than competitive athletics.\nMy playing days at Michigan are now a standard intro-\nIf it is a cliché to say athletics build character as well as mus-\nduction in magazine stories such as this, usually accom-\ncle, then I subscribe to the cliché. It has been said, too, that\npanied by a picture (page 19) of a rugged-looking hairy\nwe are losing our competitive spirit in this country, the thing\nyoung man (me) hunched over a ball in the center's po-\nthat made us great, the guts of the free-enterprise system. I\nsition, and the notation that Ford was \"the most valuable\ndon't agree with that; the competitive urge is deep-rooted in\nplayer on a losing Michigan team.\" I always feel damned\nthe American character. I do wonder sometimes if we are ad-\nwith faint praise when I read that. I'd much rather have\njusting to the times, or if we have been spoiled by them.\nbeen the \"least valuable player on a winning Michigan\nFor one, do we realize how important it is to compete\nteam,\" the kind we had my sophomore and junior years\nsuccessfully with other nations? Not just the Russians, but\nwhen we were undefeated and won national championships.\nmany nations that are growing and challenging. Being a\nThose were what sportswriters up on their clichés would\nleader, the U.S. has an obligation to set high standards. I\ncall my \"halcyon days.\" Certainly they offer brighter mem-\ndon't know of a better advertisement for a nation's good\nories than my efforts to stay competitive-and fit-since.\nhealth than a healthy athletic representation. Athletics hap-\nToday I am a habitual exerciser--a 15-minute swim twice a\npens to be an extraordinarily swift avenue of communica-\nday in the backyard pool, slower-and-slower. skiing near\ntion. The broader the achievement the greater the impact.\nour place in Vail, and an occasional round of golf with\nThere is much to be said for Ping-Pong diplomacy.\nfellow hackers around Washington.\nWith communications what they are, a sports triumph\nThe reason I make reference to those winning seasons at\n.can be as uplifting to a nation's spirit as, well, a battlefield\nMichigan is that we have been asked to swallow a lot of\nvictory. And surely no one will argue that it is not more\ncontinued"
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