 try to get this coin act passed to raise some more funds for our Olympic athletes and he's the man that's gonna continue this program on for a few minutes won't let him get too carried away because Obviously he must be in a hurry to go somewhere. They always are. Mr. William Simon Bill, please come up and do what you got to do Thank you very much Mike ladies and gentlemen is my High honor and great privilege to introduce the president of the United States Mr. Ronald Reagan. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you Bill, thank you very much Reverend clergy Governor Bond, Mr. Toastmaster The distinguished gentlemen here at the head table and you ladies and gentlemen I Was going to bring your good senator John Danforth out here, but there was a tax bill on the floor of the Senate and he figured that you'd want him There voting and I can assure you I wanted him there voting But we did have the pleasure of his daughter accompanying us out here Mike earlier tonight you said that if you hadn't won you wouldn't be here and Others wouldn't have been here and then you suggested that I might not have been here. I Have to tell you the possibility is that I would have because in the business that I used to be in if you Didn't sing or dance you wound up as an after-dinner speaker But I'm delighted to be here tonight. I Felt for a long time that the work of the Olympic Committee Isn't good work. It's great work Because the dedication and the dedication and the selflessness of the people of the committee and through the generosity of people like yourselves We keep America participating in a tradition that goes back thousands of years Yes, the Olympic Games are athletic games and contests They give us an opportunity every four years to see our young men and women giving their their best to their country But let us also remember that there is a longer and a deeper meeting behind the Olympic torch those games started in ancient Greece as a means of bringing peace and Trying to end the wars that went on constantly between the city states of Greece and the tradition The Olympics became so pronounced even then in its first beginning that if Wars were going on When Olympic time came the wars were called off While they performed and joined together in the games now You know lately. I found myself Eyeing another tradition from ancient Greece History has it that there was a city-state there in which they had a custom that if anyone wanted to suggest a government program He did so standing on a chair with a noose around his neck And if the people liked the idea they took the noose off And if they didn't they took the chair away And I've been giving that a lot of thought lately Seriously, we've known such moments of pride in this great four-year event The the individual was going back to the great Jim Thorpe Then there was Jesse Owens repudiating the arrogance of the Nazi cult and Hitlerism and Just a few years back and you'd be surprised what glowing words I was going to have here about a hockey team until By this time It's all been said No, but it was a bunches up in a small upstate New York town a Bunch of down the block American kids did the impossible and did electrify our nation One thing that hasn't been told here about that victory over the Russian hockey team Sensational victory that it was Before that game in the locker room These down the block kids who weren't supposed to have a chance against that great team their coach told them That they had been born For that moment They were there because they were born to be there for that event and of course When they left that ring chanting USA USA, I think the whole nation was chanting it with them It was an unforgettably proud moment and they've shown What I like to think is the best of the American spirit But they also represented what amateur They also represented what amateur sports and the Olympics are all about To is to foster a noble and inspiring patriotism. Yes, but also the healthiest possible kind of international relationship free For a time of animus and hatred in keeping with the original tradition of the Olympics It's a cliche to say that sports are a character builder, but then You know what a cliche is a cliche really is something that is so obviously true That it is spoken and repeated over and over again until we call it a cliche More than any other people Americans are sports minded and Maybe this is what has contributed to what we call the American personality With all our faults We're the most generous people in the world Youngsters in this country grow up influenced by heroes in the world of sports and the legends of sports Become part of American folklore I could just Relate one Some of us remember back some years to those great national championship football teams of bud Wilkinson's out in, Oklahoma And one year with one of those national championship teams they were playing Texas Christian late in the season TCU'd had a very mediocre season But then as can happen in sports on that day meeting the national champions They rose to the heights and in the closing minutes of the game a TCU and made a diving catch of a pass in the end zone for what would be the winning touchdown and With the stadium going wild He walked over to the referee handed him the ball and said no sir. It touched the ground before I caught it Now we're all grown up so possibly our first reaction was Well, that was the wrong thing to do. We should have kept his mouth shut. He could have gotten away with it But was he wrong? Suppose he grew up to represent you in Congress or possibly in the state house Maybe even in the house. I'm living in now Or he could have become a Supreme Court judge What then? Would we say then he should have kept his mouth shut in the interest of Political advantage or expediency Or do you want to hear from him always the truth Well, he became a high school coach and I think the parents of the young men who learned football and other things from him Must feel that they were very fortunate Now I know there are those who decry the emphasis placed on sports. They say kid games athletics they the Maybe sometimes we wonder about All of the great time and effort that's put into these athletic spectacles Well, since I started telling stories. Would you mind if I told another one? This one has to do with football also. See I didn't play hockey It's also a little personal I played football in the line. I was a guard right guard But I remember and have remembered 50 years now my senior year and We were playing a team and there was a center and I'm played beside the center being a guard and our team and This center took off on our center in the most vicious manner fouling Every dirty thing he could get away with but also his language and the things that he was saying and What he was saying made it plain that his whole motive was nothing more than the difference in the color of his skin and that of our center Berkey and in the Huddles I looked across once and Berkey's lip was bleeding He had a bad knee and this fellow had discovered it. His lip was bleeding from biting it trying to keep Down any sounds of pain Well, the rest of us wanted to do something about this opponent of his But over and over again in the huddle Burke. He said this is my my fight And he just played football Nothing dirty and no fouling. He just played football until he had played this man opposite him off his feet and Late just a few minutes to go in the fourth quarter They sent in a substitute and this fellow started off the field and he was wobbling and he got about Halfway to the sideline and he turned around he came back and he elbowed his way through the two teams standing there waiting for play to begin again Stepped up to Berkey and the tears were coming out of his eyes and he stuck out his hand and Crying said I just want you to know You're the greatest guy. I've ever met and Turned and left the field. I I Think the young man learned something very important that Saturday afternoon Now, maybe he might have learned it some other way sometime in life But then maybe he might not he might have gone through life soured and embittered un-reasoning By un-reasoning Prejudice and hatred But I think all of us learned something in That game that day Well, that's why the work of the Olympic Committee is so vital Wrapped up in all the difficult nuts and bolts work that goes with an event Like these great games is the importance the overriding importance of the contestants themselves The young men and women learning the importance of honor striving Fair play love of country and yes, love of their fellow man Now the members of the committee Need to know that all of us in this country are behind them They need our support now during this time when the all-important training and recruiting of athletes is going on I can tell you they've got a friend in Washington and I'm gonna do everything I can to be of help Now well, that doesn't mean bill that I'll volunteer to run the 400 meters Not anymore We have with us tonight a very special guest and honoree But before we get to him, I hope you will forgive me if I indulge in a little paternal pride Mike my son, you know broke the record in that boat run New Orleans to St. Louis Mike, I'm proud of you but Not just proud of what you did, but proud because you did it for the cause that brings us together here tonight. I Know it wasn't just a bit. I don't know how you're still awake But it a lot of effort went into that boat ride and it was for a great effort the effort of the Olympic Committee Whether you've gotten a record or not. I think all of us here hope that other Americans Will emulate you and give them of themselves in behalf of our country and our Olympic team But now the guest of honor Ladies and gentlemen, I'm going to be privileged to assist in presenting an award to this distinguished guest a few years ago the New York Times wrote of the business success Of August Bush the third and among the accolades they described his grasp of detail his voracious appetite for work and his ability to attract and keep talented executives August You wouldn't like to spare a few minutes and give me some just suggestions as to how I could get that I'd like to get that kind of coverage in the New York Times. I've been re-reading it more and enjoying it less But enough fooling around Your Accomplishments as the head of one of America's most important countries is impressive, but tonight We're here to thank you for your generosity Your hard work on behalf of American sports and especially on behalf of the US Olympic Committee You have arranged to give the committee more than a million dollars of seed money for the training and recruiting of our young athletes precisely at this moment When when it is needed At a same at the same time anheuser-busch is guaranteeing ten million dollars contribution for the 84 games in Los Angeles You've been the guiding force behind this And it is this personal effort on your part Your interest in the Olympic sports and the willingness to give of yourself even with all the demands on your time For which all of us are particularly grateful and we hope that other Americans will be inspired by your example because of your effort I Am privileged here to participate With something that is being done on behalf of the US Olympic Committee And I'm going to ask Bill Simon to come up here with me as We will present to august bush the third the sportsman of the year award Mr.. President and August and ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to read the citation on the Award the United States Olympic Committee sportsman of the year presented to august a bush third in recognition of his dedicated support and Continuous commitment to the principles and youth development programs of the United States Olympic Committee and the thousands of athletes who benefit