Eisenhower Baseball Controversy

The Eisenhower Baseball Controversy refers to the allegations that the former general and President of the United States, Dwight Eisenhower, played minor league (semi-professional) baseball for Junction City in the Central Kansas League the year before he attended the United States Military Academy at West Point. The story goes that he did so under the assumed name of "Wilson". The subject as to whether Dwight Eisenhower played semi-professional baseball is not well-documented and subject to various interpretations.

Controversy

While at the Academy, Eisenhower played American football for West Point. This would not be an issue except that in order to play college football, one must have never played a sport for money, because doing so causes forfeiture of an athlete's amateur status. If Eisenhower did in fact play baseball for money, it would have been in violation of the Cadet Honor Code. One source contends that Eisenhower even signed a voucher claiming that he had never played sports for money. [ [http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-6228_11-5224902.html Geek Trivia: Out at first, but ruled safe ] ] The Eisenhower Presidential Library claimed in an e-mail that "We do not have any documentation as to whether Ike signed a voucher when he arrived at West Point. It would be interesting to see if West Point required this in 1911."fact|date=June 2008

Cadet Honor Code

The Cadet Honor Code, formalized in the 1920s, states simply that: quote|"A Cadet will not lie, cheat, steal, or tolerate those who do." [http://www.west-point.org/academy/malo-wa/inspirations/buglenotes.html West Point Bugle Notes]

Though Eisenhower graduated in 1915, before the formalization of the Honor Code, playing amateur football while having formerly been a professional athlete, would constitute either lying, cheating, or both. In the early, informal, sometimes characterized as vigilante justice, phase of the Honor System, it is unclear if Eisenhower would have graduated to become an officer in the United States Army.fact|date=June 2008

Eisenhower's love for baseball

Eisenhower long had aspirations of being a professional baseball player. He is quoted as saying:quote|When I was a small boy in Kansas, a friend of mine and I went fishing and as we sat there in the warmth of the summer afternoon on a river bank, we talked about what we wanted to do when we grew up. I told him that I wanted to be a real major league baseball player, a genuine professional like Honus Wagner. My friend said that he'd like to be President of the United States. Neither of us got our wish. [ [http://www.baseball-almanac.com/prz_qde.shtml President Dwight D. Eisenhower Baseball Related Quotations by Baseball Almanac ] ]

At West Point, Eisenhower tried out for the baseball team but did not make it. He would later be quoted as saying, "Not making the baseball team at West Point was one of the greatest disappointments of my life, maybe my greatest." [ [http://www.baseball-almanac.com/prz_qde.shtml President Dwight D. Eisenhower Baseball Related Quotations by Baseball Almanac ] ]

Evidence

The evidence that exists on the subject of Eisenhower playing semi-pro baseball consists of quotes and later statements which can be contradictory. In June 1945 during his homecoming trip to the United States at the end of World War II in Europe, General Eisenhower attended a New York Giants game in New York City. According to articles in "The New York Times" (June 20, 1945) and "Life" (July 2, 1945), he acknowledged in a meeting with the two team's managers that he had briefly played semi-pro ball in Kansas. He was again quoted as referring to this incident during his visit to Abilene, Kansas, a few days later ("The New York Times", June 23, 1945; "The Wichita Eagle", June 23, 1945). The "Times" quoted him as saying: quote|I was a center fielder. I went into baseball deliberately to make money, and with no idea of making it a career. I wanted to go to college that fall, and we didn't have money. But I wasn't a very good center fielder, and didn't do too well at it.

The Eisenhower Center Biography affirms his need for money after graduating high school, but makes no mention of a baseball career. Instead, it states that he "had been working for two years at the Belle Springs Creamery after his high school graduation in 1909" [ [http://www.dwightdeisenhower.com/biodde.html Biography: Dwight D. Eisenhower ] ] in order to make money.

Eisenhower never made it clear what years he played ball and for what teams. His naval aide's wartime diary, "My Three Years with Eisenhower: The Personal Diary of Captain Harry C. Butcher, USNR" (Simon & Schuster, 1946), mentions that during the war General Eisenhower told his staff and colleagues stories about playing semi-pro baseball.

Eisenhower's early biographer, Kenneth S. Davis ("Soldier of Democracy", Doubleday, 1945), relates that it was common for temporary "town teams" to be organized to play teams from other towns and that players would split up the gate money at the end of the game. Quite often this would amount to only a few dollars per player.

After his election as president in 1952 there was renewed interest in Eisenhower's sports activities, and he received numerous inquiries regarding his having played semi-pro baseball. The president and his staff either ignored these inquiries or outright denied such activities.Fact|date=June 2008

Mel Ott, major league baseball player, is quoted as saying that "The General admitted that as a youth he had done so (played semi-pro ball), under the assumed name of Wilson." [ [http://www.baseball-almanac.com/prz_qde.shtml President Dwight D. Eisenhower Baseball Related Quotations by Baseball Almanac ] ]

References

Most of this article is based on research conducted by and reproduced with permission from the Eisenhower Presidential Library.

Notes

External links

* [http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-6228_11-5224902.html How did minor league baseball almost cost America a future president?]
* [http://www.usma.edu/cpme/ Simon Center for the Professional Military Ethic at West Point]
* [http://www.eisenhower.archives.gov/ Eisenhower Presidential Library]
* [http://www.baseball-almanac.com/prz_qde.shtml Eisenhower Baseball Quotes]