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12/10/74 - Annual Awards Dinner, National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame (Includes draft)
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12/10/74 - Annual Awards Dinner, National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame (Includes draft)
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This file contains material relating to an award for Bob Hope.
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President's Speeches and Statements Reading Copies (Ford Administration)
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The original documents are located in Box 4, folder "12/10/74 - Annual Awards Dinner,
National Foorball Foundation and Hall of Fame (Includes draft)" of the President's
Speeches and Statements: Reading Copies at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.
Copyright Notice
The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of
photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Gerald Ford donated to the United
States of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections.
Works prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public
domain. The copyrights to materials written by other individuals or organizations are presumed to
remain with them. If you think any of the information displayed in the PDF is subject to a valid
copyright claim, please contact the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.
Digitized from Box 4 of President's Speeches and Statements: Reading Copies at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS FOR
BOB HOPE DISTINGUISHED AMERICAN AWARD
TUESDAY
DECEMBER 10, 1974
Chris Emerican ME Duh THANK
- 1 -
Congrato
LET CHRIS SCHENKEL FOR THAT FINE INTRODUCTION.
that
YOU KNOW, SINCE I BECAME PRESIDENT, I'M USUALLY INTRODUCED IN A
VERY STATELY AND DIGNIFIED MANNER - SUCH AS TONIGHT.
BUT THERE
WAS ONE DINNER WHEN I WAS INTRODUCED BY A FORMER TEAMMATE OF MINE
FROM MY OLD MICHIGAN FOOTBALL TEAM -- AND I'LL NEVER FORGET THAT
INTRODUCTION.
HE SAID, "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, IT MIGHT INTEREST
YOU TO KNOW THAT I PLAYED FOOTBALL WITH JERRY FORD FOR TWO YEARS --
AND IT MADE A LASTING IMPRESSION ON ME.
I WAS QUARTERBACK.
JERRY FORD WAS THE CENTER.
AND YOU MIGHT SAY, IT GAVE ME A
COMPLETELY DIFFERENT VIEW OF THE PRESIDENT!"
- 2 - -
Terently
IF YOU STOP TO THINK ABOUT IT, THERE ARE MANY SIMILARITIES
BETWEEN FOOTBALL AND GOVERNMENT.
FOR INSTANCE, IN BOTH AREAS
NOTHING IS EVER DONE WITHOUT DISCUSSING IT FIRST.
IN FOOTBALL,
IT'S CALLED A HUDDLE. IN WASHINGTON, IT'S CALLED A DEBATE.
AND
SOMETIMES THE TALK GOES ON FOR MANY, MANY HOURS WITHOUT REALLY
SAYING ANYTHING.
IN WASHINGTON, IT'S CALLED A FILIBUSTER.
IN FOOTBALL, IT'S CALLED HOWARD COSELL.
- 3 -
HOWARD COSELL TAKES A LOT OF KIDDING, BUT IN ALL
FAIRNESS, SOMEONE ONCE SAID: "TO ME, HOWARD COSELL WILL ALWAYS
LOOK TEN FEET TALL!"
I DON'T KNOW WHO SAID IT
I THINK IT WAS ABE BEAME.
- 4 -
IT IS A REAL HONOR TO BE HERE TONIGHT BECAUSE FOOTBALL
HAS MEANT so MUCH TO ME THROUGH THE YEARS.
YOU MIGHT BE
INTERESTED TO KNOW THAT I HAVE EVEN PUT TOGETHER A SMALL COLLECTION
OF MEMORABLE FOOTBALL QUOTATIONS AND I WOULD LIKE TO SHARE TWO OF
THEM WITH YOU TONIGHT.
THE FIRST QUOTATION IS FROM GRANTLAND
RICE: "WHEN THE ONE GREAT SCORER COMES TO WRITE AGAINST YOUR
NAME -- HE MARKS -- NOT THAT YOU WON OR LOST -- BUT HOW YOU PLAYED
THE GAME."
AND THE OTHER IS FROM WOODY HAYES
-
"BAH!
HUMBUG!"
- 5 -
INCIDENTALLY, I WISH WOODY HAYES AND THE OHIO STATE
BUCKEYES GOOD LUCK IN THE ROSE BOWL.
BUT AS A FORMER
MICHIGAN FOOTBALL PLAYER AND AS A TWELVE-TERM CONGRESSMAN FROM
MICHIGAN, I THINK THAT'S ABOUT AS FAR AS I SHOULD GO.
I MAY
COOK MY OWN BREAKFAST BUT I'M NOT ABOUT TO COOK MY OWN GOOSE!
- 6 -
WELL, OBVIOUSLY THE MICHIGAN WOLVERINES AREN'T THE ONLY
TEAM I ROOT FOR.
IN FACT, BACK IN THE CAPITOL, WE HAVE A
PROFESSIONAL TEAM WE'RE RATHER PROUD OF -- THE WASHINGTON REDSKINS.
MORE AFFECTIONATELY KNOWN AS THE OVER THE HILL GANG".
IT'S ALWAYS
EXCITING TO WATCH THE REDSKINS PLAY BECAUSE YOU'RE NEVER QUITE SURE
WHAT THEY'RE GOING TO REACH FIRST -- THE PLAY-OFFS OR SOCIAL SECURITY.
- 7 -
AND THE REDSKINS HAVE ONE OF THE MOST COLORFUL
T'm
quat. allen Two Q.St Lucky
QUARTERBACKS IN THE HISTORY OF THE GAME -- SONNY JURGENSEN.
EARLIER WE WERE TALKING ABOUT WOODY HAYES.
WELL, SONNY HAS A
MUCH MORE RELAXED ATTITUDE TOWARDS THE GAME.
I CAN REMEMBER
BACK IN 1968 WHEN SONNY, THROWING WITH A VERY SORE ARM, SCORED
FIVE TOUCHDOWN PASSES AGAINST THE CHICAGO BEARS.
AND AS HE
CAME OFF THE FIELD AT THE END OF THE GAME, OTTO GRAHAM, WHO WAS
THEN COACH OF THE REDSKINS, ASKED HIM, "HOW'S YOUR ARM?"
SONNY SAID, "IT HURTS SOMETHING AWFUL."
GRAHAM LOOKED WORRIED.
HE SAID, "IT'S GONNA BE A PROBLEM."
SONNY SAID, "IT SURE IS.
DID YOU EVER TRY TO DRINK LEFT-HANDED?" LEFT-HANDED?"
- 8 -
WELL, SOMEWHERE BETWEEN SONNY JURGENSEN AND WOODY HAYES
I THINK THERE IS ROOM FOR COMPROMISE.
IN MY LIFETIME, I HAVE
ATTENDED A LOT OF SPORTS DINNERS AND IT HAS BECOME SOMETHING OF A
RITUAL TO HONOR THE EXERCISE, THE SPORTMANSHIP, THE TEAMWORK AND
THE GOOD FELLOWSHIP THAT WE ALL RECEIVE OR HAVE RECEIVED FROM
FOOTBALL.
AND THAT IS. AS IT SHOULD BE.
- 9 -
BUT WHAT ABOUT WINNING?
HOW ABOUT A GOOD WORD FOR
THE ULTIMATE REASON ANY OF US HAVE FOR GOING INTO A COMPETITIVE
SPORT?
AS MUCH AS I ENJOYED THE PHYSICAL AND EMOTIONAL
DIVIDENDS THAT COLLEGE ATHLETICS BROUGHT ME, I SINCERELY DOUBT IF I
EVER SUITED UP
1
PUT ON MY HELMET -- AND YES INDEED, I DID WEAR A
HELMET - WITHOUT THE TOTAL COMMITMENT OF GOING OUT THERE TO WIN!
NOT TO GET EXERCISE, GOLD OR GLORY -- BUT SIMPLY TO WIN!
- 10 -
TO ME, WINNING IS NOT A SHAMEFUL CONCEPT.
I'D LIKE TO
THINK THAT WINNING IS AN AMERICAN TRADITION.
TWO HUNDRED YEARS
AGO, WE FOUGHT FOR OUR FREEDOM -- AND WON!
FOR THE NEXT
HUNDRED YEARS, WE CHALLENGED A CONTINENT -- AND WON!
- 11 - -
BUT SOMEBODY ONCE SAID, "THE PROBLEM WITH WINNING IS --
YOU HAVE TO KEEP DOING IT."
AND so TODAY, WE AMERICANS FACE
STILL ANOTHER HISTORIC STRUGGLE L- TO MAINTAIN OUR STRENGTH AS A
NATION AND OUR ECONOMIC WELL-BEING AS A PEOPLE.
AND BELIEVE ME,
IN THIS BATTLE AGAINST INFLATION, THERE ARE NO PLAY-OFFS AND THERE IS
NO "WAIT TILL NEXT YEAR."
IT IS WINNER TAKE ALL -- OR LOSER HAVE
NOTHING.
WIN.
IT'S A SMALL WORD.
LET'S BE CAREFUL NOT TO
LOSE IT.
- 12 -
TONIGHT, I HAVE COME TO NEW YORK FOR A VERY PERSONAL
REASON -- AND IT ALSO HAS TO DO WITH WINNING.
I HAVE COME TO
DO HONOR AND PAY TRIBUTE TO A MAN WHO HAS WON THE ADMIRATION,
THE AFFECTION AND THE EVERLASTING GRATITUDE OF ALL AMERICANS.
- 13 -
A SUPER-STAR LONG BEFORE THE TERM WAS EVER THOUGHT OF --
BOB HOPE HAS CONSISTENTLY BROUGHT TO OUR LIVES THE WARM GLOW AND
SUSTAINING LIFT OF THE PRECIOUS GIFT OF LAUGHTER.
AND TO THOSE
OF US WHO SERVED IN THE ARMED FORCES, BOB'S EAGERLY-AWAITED VISITS
BROUGHT HOME A LITTLE CLOSER.
- 14 -
BUT BOB HOPE IS MORE THAN A SUPERLATIVE ENTERTAINER.
MUCH MORE.
HIS DEDICATION TO THE NEEDS AND WELFARE OF ALL
AMERICANS HAS MADE HIM A LEADER IN HUMANITARIAN ACTIVITIES.
IT WOULD BE A MONUMENTAL TASK TO LIST ALL OF THE CHARITIES AND
CAUSES THAT HAVE SAID "THANKS FOR THE MEMORY" OF BOB HOPE'S
HELPING HAND.
- 15 -
THE PRESIDENT HAS SEEN
THROUGH THE YEARS I HAVE ALWAYS LOOKED FORWARD TO
SHARING A HEAD TABLE, A FOURSOME, AND MANY A MEMORABLE HOUR
WITH BOB.
I AM PROUD TO CALL HIM MY FRIEND.
AND so IT
GIVES ME GREAT PERSONAL PLEASURE TO PRESENT TONIGHT THE DISTINGUISHED
AMERICAN AWARD OF THE NATIONAL FOOTBALL FOUNDAT ION AND HALL OF
FAME TO BOB HOPE -- PATRIOT
ARDENT SPORT SMAN
INDOMITABLE,
COURAGEOUS AND UNSELFISH AMERICAN WHOSE LIFETIME CREDO IS THE
LIFTING OF THE HUMAN SPIRIT.
GENTLEMEN -- BOB HOPE!
END OF TEXT
THE PRESIDENT HAS SEIN
CLEARANCE FORM FOR PRESIDENTIAL SPEECH MATERIAL
TO:
THE PRESIDENT
VIA:
ROBERT HARTMANN
FROM:
PAUL THEIS
SUBJECT:
Annual Awards Dinner, The National
Football Foundation and Hall of Fame
Date and Place of Presidential Use: 7:00 p.m., Tuesday, December 10,
1974, New York, New York
Speechwriter: Orben
Edited by: Casserly/Theis
Basic research/speech material supplied by: Scheduling Office
Cleared by (please initial):
( ) Operations (Rumsfeld)
( ) Jack Marsh
( ) Congressional (Timmons)
( ) Economic Policy Board (Seidman)
( ) Domestic Council (Cole)
( ) N.S.C. (Scowcroft)
( ) O.M.B. (Ash)
( ) Press (Nessen)
( Research (Gregory) S.G.
( )
(Orben) PT
December 4, 1974
BOB HOPE DISTINGUISHED AMERICAN AWARD REMARKS --
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 10, 1974
Tet me
thank Chriss Schenkel for that fine introduction. You
know, since I became President, I'm usually introduced in a very
stately and dignified manner -- such as tonight. But there was one
dinner when I was introduced by a former teammate from my old
Michigan football team -- and I'll never forget that introduction. He
said, "Ladies and gentlement, it might interest you to know that
I played football with Jerry Ford for two years -- and it made a
lasting impression on me. I was quarterback. Jerry Ford was the
center. And you might say, it gave me a completely different view
of the President!"
-2-
If you stop to think about it, there are many similarities
between football and government. For instance, in both areas,
nothing is ever done without discussing it first. In football,
it's called a huddle. In Washington, it's called a debate. And
sometimes the talk goes on for many, many hours without really
saying anything. In Washington, it's called a filibuster. In
football, it's called Howard Cosell.
Howard Cosell takes a lot of kidding, but in all fairness,
someone once said: "To me, Howard Cosell will always look
ten feet tall!" I don't know who said it.
I think it was
Abe Beame
- -3-
It is a real honor to be here tonight because football has
meant so much to me through the years. You might be interested
to know that I have even put together a small collection of memorable
football quotations and I would like to share two of them with you
tonight. The first quotation is from Grantland Rice: "When the One
Great Scorer comes to write against your name -- He marks -- not
that you won or lost -- but how you played the game. 11 And the other is
from Woody Hayes: "Bah! Humbug!"
Incidentally, I want to wish Woody Hayes and the Ohio State
Buckeyes good luck in the Rose Bowl. As a former Michigan football
player and as a 12-term Congressman from muchyon Rapids, I think that's
about as far as I should go. I may cook my own breakfast but I'm not
about to cook my own goose!
-4-
Before we go any further, I want to go on record as
saying that I have absolutely no hard feelings or recriminations
insert
about Michigan not going to the Rose Bowl this year. On the
contrary, I want to wish Woody Hayes and his team
trem-the
- all the luck in the world on January 1st.
?
~:
7
But I/m only human. I'll be darned if I'm going to give him a
WIN button!
Well, obviously the Michigan Wolverines aren't the only
team I root for. In fact, back in the Capital, we have a professional
team we're rather proud of -- The Washington Redskins. More
affectionately known as "The Over The Hill Gang." It's always
exciting to watch the Redskins play because you're never quite
sure what they're going to reach first -- the play-offs or
Social Security.
- -5-
HH
think
he Redskins have one of the most colorful
quarterbacks in the history of the game -- Sonny Jurgensen.
Earher
New we were talking about Woody Hayes. Well, Sonny has a
much more relaxed attitude towards the game. I can remember
back in 1968 when Sonny, throwing with a very sore arm, scored
five touchdown passes against the Chicago Bears. And as
he came off the field at the end of the game, Otto Graham, who
was then coach of the Redskins, asked him, "How's your arm? "
Sonny said, "It hurts something awful. 11 Graham looked worried.
He said, "It's gonna be a problem. " Sonny said, "It sure is.
Dil You ever try to drink left-handed? "
-6- -
Well somewhere between Sonny Jurgensen and Woody Hayes
I think there is room for compromise. In my lifetime, I have
attended a lot of sports dinners and it has become something of a
ritual to honor the exercise, the sportmanship, the teamwork and
the good fellowship that we all receive or have received from football.
And that is as it should be.
But what about winning? How about a good word for the
ultimate reason any of us have for going into a competitive sport?
As much as I enjoyed the physical and emotional dividends that
college athletics brought me, I sincerely doubt if I ever suited up,
put on my helmet -- and yes indeed, I did wear a helmet - - without
the total commitment of going out there to win! Not to get
exercise, gold or glory -- but simply to win!
-7-
To me, winning is not a shameful concept. I'd like to think that
winning is an American tradition. Two hundred years ago, we fought
In the next
for our freedom -- and won! A hundred years ago we challenged a
N
continent -- and won!
But somebody once said, "The problem with winning is -- you
have to keep doing it. " And so today, we Americans face still another
historic struggle -- to maintain our strength as a Nation and our
economic well-being as a people. And believe me, in this battle against
inflation, there are no play-offs and there is no "wait till next year. 11 It is
winner take all -- or loser have nothing.
Win. It's a small word. Let's be careful not to lose it.
Tonight, I have come to New York for a very personal reason --
and it also has to do with winning. I have come to do honor and pay
tribute to a man who has won the admiration, the affection and the
everlasting gratitude of all Americans.
- -8-
A super-star long before the term was ever thought of -- Bob
Hope has consistently brought to our lives the warm glow and sustaining
lift of the precious gift of laughter. And to those of us who served in
the armed forces, Bob's eagerly-awaited visits brought a little
closer.tous.
But Bob Hope is more than a superlative entertainer. Much more.
His dedication to the needs and welfare of all Americans has made him
a leader in humanitarian activities. It would be a monumental
task to list all of the charities and causes that have said "Thanks for
the Memory" of Bob Hope's helping hand.
Through the years , I have always looked forward to sharing a head
table, a foursome, and many a memorable hour with Bob. I am proud to
call him my friend. And so it gives me great personal pleasure to present
tonight THE DISTINGUISHED AMERICAN AWARD of The National Football
and Hall of Fame
Foundation/to Bob Hope -- Patriot.
Ardent Sportsman.
Indomitable,
-9-
Courageous and Unselfish American who lifetime credo is the lifting
of the human spirit.
Gentlemen -- Bob Hope !
# # #