Winter Auction 2018 Ending February 17
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 2/18/2018
Dwight D. Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States of America, and, allegedly, a semi-professional baseball player for the Junction City Soldiers of the Central Kansas League. The Hall of Famer Mel Ott stated that Eisenhower told him that he suited up for the Junction City nine under the assumed name of “Wilson” during the 1911 baseball season. Eisenhower was a notable athlete, playing football for West Point, famously competing against the legendary athlete Jim Thorpe, a student a Carlisle Indian School. After his athletic career met its end, Eisenhower became a decorated general in World War II, supervising the Allied war effort in North Africa and Europe. In 1952, the five-star general ran for president, with Richard Nixon as his vice-president. Eisenhower won the election in a landslide, receiving 442 electoral votes to Adlai Stevenson’s 89. Eisenhower held the office for two terms, ceding his post to John F. Kennedy in 1961.
Eisenhower has signed a side panel of this Official American League Joseph E. Cronin baseball. “Ike” used a blue pen to scribe his signature. His signature is very clear, with only a small obfuscation on the “E” in Eisenhower. Below his signature, “Wash D.C.” and “1964” have been written by an unknown hand in black pen. This baseball comes with a LOA from PSA/DNA (AE05257).