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 question of whether Dwight Eisenhower played semi - professional baseball is not well documented and is 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 . 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 . " Cadet Honor Code . The Cadet Honor Code , formalized in the 1920s , states simply that : 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 . Eisenhower ' s love for baseball . Eisenhower long had aspirations of being a professional baseball player . He is quoted as saying : 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 . " 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 magazine " ( 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 : 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 " 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 . 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 . " A player by the name " Wilson " is listed among the 1911 roster of the Junction City Soldiers minor league team of Junction City , Kansas . He was said to have played in 9 games with 31 at bats and 11 hits for a batting average of . 355 . He also had 10 putouts in 10 chances for a perfect 1 . 000 fielding percentage . References . Most of this article is based on research conducted by and reproduced with permission from the Eisenhower Presidential Library .