There’s an old saying about something being as American as “baseball and apple pie.” I’m not a pie fan, but I certainly can’t say the same about “America’s Pastime.” With us being in the throes of America 250, there’s really no better time to examine our Commanders-in-Chief who before coming to the capitol knocked mud out of their cleats. Out of the 45 men who have held the highest office in the land (don’t forget Chester A. Arthur and Donald Trump served non-consecutive terms), several strolled the diamond at various levels in their younger days.
- Dwight D. Eisenhower (Our 34th President): Played semi-pro baseball under the pseudonym “Wilson” to protect his amateur status, which allowed him to be an exceptional centerfielder at West Point
- Lyndon B. Johnson (Our 36th President): Played sandlot baseball as a catcher and utility player growing up in Texas
- Gerald Ford (Our 38th President): A standout all-around athlete, he played football and baseball during his youth and at the University of Michigan
- George H.W. Bush (Our 41st President): Was the captain and first baseman for the Yale baseball team and played in the very first College World Series in 1947… and again in 1948
- George W. Bush (Our 43rd President): A solid Little League player in Midland, Texas, then was a prep-school utility player at Phillips Academy in Massachusetts
- Barack Obama (Our 44th President): Known as a sandlot leftie during his childhood in Hawaii
- Donald Trump (Our 45th and 47th Presidents): Trump was a high-school catcher who had a bit of pop in his bat, enough to get him scouted by both the Philadelphia Phillies and Boston Red Sox
In all seriousness, there was a minor-leaguer named Don Trump who played in the Florida State League for the Leesburg Packers in 1952.
To avoid that problem, we didn’t just take guys sharing a surname; you could build entire teams of Jacksons, Johnsons, and Wilsons. Instead, to make this list, players needed the full presidential moniker as part their own full legal name…which is exactly how they are listed.
Infield:
- 1B James Madison Walker
- 2B Woodrow Wilson Williams
- 2B/SS/3B John Kennedy
- SS William Henry Harrison Geer
- 3B George Washington Bradley
Outfield:
- OF Andrew Jackson Leonard
- OF /DH Brian James Buchanan
- OF Chester Arthur Emerson
- OF James Garfield Durham
- OF William McKinley Venable
Catchers:
Pitchers:
- SP Grover Cleveland Alexander
- SP Thomas Jefferson Davis Bridges (named for both a U.S. and Confederate president)
- SP Theodore Roosevelt Lilly
- SP Ulysses Simpson Grant McGlynn
- RP George Washington Smith
- RP Benjamin Harrison Van Dyke
- RP Ulysses Simpson Grant Stoner
- RP Calvin Coolidge Julius Caesar Tuskahoma McLish (named for a U.S. President and a Roman Emperor)
- RP James Madison Pearce
- RP Martin Van Buren Walker
- RP Millard Fillmore Howell
- RP Franklin Pierce Harter
- RP Abraham Lincoln Bailey
- RP Franklin Delano Roosevelt Wieand
- RP Monty Franklin Pierce Stratton (named for a U.S. President and USAF Brigadier General Jimmy Stewart plays him in the movie)
Manager:
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