Ike's Favorite Sports

• Baseball
• Football
• Golf
• Fishing
• Hunting
• Horseback Riding

Ike was an accomplished athlete who always enjoyed the exercise, fresh air, relaxation, good companionship, and competition which various sports provided. As a boy, he fished, and played baseball and football. He was a noted football player at West Point until a knee injury ended his participation. As a young Army officer, he coached several football teams. As he grew older, he turned to golf and, when he could, fishing, which he combined with his passion for cooking.

Ike's highly visible participation in sports as president, coupled with the national trend toward increased leisure time in the 1950s, helped to increase the popularity of certain sports such as golf and fishing and to accentuate a growing awareness of the need for regular exercise to maintain good health.

Ike's Favorite Motto

"Gently in Manner -- Strongly in Deed"

Latin inscription, "Suaviter in modo, fortiter in re", attributed to Claudio Aqua Viva. The "paperweight" Ike kept on his desk at the White House and later at the Gettysburg office, and now in the Eisenhower Museum displayed this inscription.

Favorite Bible Passage

Ike - Although he expressed no real "favorite", the Bible was open to the following passages during his inaugurations...

• 1953 Inauguration - Psalm 127:1 and 2 Chronicles 7:14
• 1957 Inauguration - Psalm 33:12

Mamie Eisenhower - Psalm 91

Ike's Favorite Books

• The Bible
• Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
• The works of Shakespeare
• For relaxation, Ike read western novels

In a 1966 letter, Ike wrote that the two most influential books in his life, other than the Bible, were On War by Carl von Clausewitz, and The History of the United States by George Bancroft.

Ike's Cookbook

Try Ike's recipes!

Go to Ike's cookbook

This cookbook consists of Eisenhower's personal collection of recipes, including some he developed himself, such as Eisenhower's Vegetable Soup and Beef Stew, and others he collected. His Vegetable Soup and Beef Stew were often requested by the public, and were printed in numerous newspapers.

NOTE: Recipes previously appearing in published sources may be subject to copyright restrictions.

 

Ike's Favorite Foods

This information was culled from several lists prepared at different times by Eisenhower's staff in response to the inquiring public.

Entrees
• Roast Stuffed Breast of Veal
Beef Stew
• Steak (rare)
Quail Hash
Trout

Soups
Ike's Vegetable Soup
• Chicken Noodle Soup

Desserts
• Prune Whip
• English Rice Pudding
• Floating Island
Frosted Mint Delight
Mamie's Deep Dish Apple Pie
Mamie's Million Dollar Fudge
Mamie's Sugar Cookies

Vegetables
Fluffy Turnips
• President's Corn Pudding
• String Beans Almondine

Source
Description
Dwight D. Eisenhower, unknown man, W. Alton Jones, Howard Snyder, and James Hagerty eat dinner after a fishing trip. Eisenhower, George Allen, William E. Robinson, James Hagerty, and Howard Snyder were guests of W. Alton Jones at his Hianloland Farms Estate, West Greenwich, Rhode Island. September 19, 1958.

Mamie's Recipes

In an oral history interview, Mamie recalled, "[A]t home, the cook would not allow us in the kitchen, so I never had any kitchen experience at all."  When she married Ike, she was soon confronted with cooking. Here are some of her favorite recipes.

Frosted Mint Delight
Mamie's Deep Dish Apple Pie
Mamie's Million Dollar Fudge
Mamie's Sugar Cookies
Fluffy Turnips

Favorite Flowers

Ike - Carnations, Roses

Mamie - Pink Sweetheart Roses

"Mrs. Eisenhower's favorite flowers are the Violet, the Gardenia, the Azalea, and the Gladiola. I am likewise fond of these particular flowers but my own favorite is the Rose and of all varieties the yellow Rose ranks first in my estimation." ....letter signed Dwight D. Eisenhower dated August 24, 1967

Favorite Colors

Ike - None

Mamie - Pink, Yellow, Green (These were favorites in not only attire, but in decorating as well)

Rights Information
Unrestricted
Description
State Dining Room set for state dinner honoring President & Mrs. Ahmed Sékou Touré of the Republic of Guinea. October 26, 1959

Ike's Favorite Hobbies and Activities

Painting, Bridge, Cooking, Photography, Reading Westerns

Source
Description
Dwight D. Eisenhower paints at Fraser, Colorado.

Mamie's Favorite Hobbies and Activities

Bridge, Canasta, Scrabble, fashion, corresponding with friends

Source
Description
Mamie and Ike play a board game at Camp David.

Ike's Favorite Music

The following list was prepared by White House personnel January 23, 1954.

• America the Beautiful
• Annie Laurie
• Army Blue
• Battle Hymn of the Republic
• Deep River
• Dixie
• Drigo's Serenade
• From Greenland's Icy Mountains
• Goin' Home
• God Bless America
• I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen
• In the Evening by the Moonlight
• In the Gloaming
• It's the Army
• Jeannie with the Light Brown Hair
• Juanita
• Kiss Me Again
• Last Round-up
• Listen to the Mocking Bird
• The Lord's Prayer
• Merry Widow Waltz
• My Maryland
• My Old Kentucky Home
• My Blue Heaven
• O Susannah
• Over There
• Old Man River
• Rosary
• Roses of Picardy
• Swanee River
• Smoke Gets in Your Eyes
• Swing Low, Sweet Chariot
• Tenting Tonight
• Tramp, Tramp, Tramp...The Boys are Marching
• There's Something About a Soldier
• Wagon Wheels

Favorite Popular Melodies

• Banks of the Wabash
• I Believe
• I Pass by Your Window
• O, What a Beautiful Morning
• Down Among the Sheltering Palms
• Jingle, Jingle, Jingle
• Greensleeves
• To a Wild Rose
• Serenade in the Night
• In the Still of the Night
• Stardust
• Moonlight and Roses
• Sleepy Lagoon
• Drink to Me Only With Thine Eyes
•One Alone
• Time on My Hands

Sacred Music

• O God, Our Help in Ages Past
• Lead, Kindly Light
• Abide With Me
• God of Our Fathers
• A Mighty Fortress is Our God
• God Moves in a Mysterious Way
• God of Our Life
• I Love to Tell the Story

Christmas Music

• Silent Night
• Adeste Fidelis
• The First Noel

Semi-Classical

• The Palms
• Serenade by Drigo
• Clair de Lune
• Festival
• Dream of Olwen
• Song of Love
• Flirtation Waltz
• Amoureuse
• Barcarole
• Indian Summer
• Caucasian Love Song (a melody from Countess Maritza)
• Songs My Mother Taught Me (a melody from The Gypsy Baron)
• The Old Refrain
• The Student Prince Medley
• Deep in My Heart
• The entra acte and intermezzo from the Chocolate Soldier
• Funeral March of a Marionette
• Beethoven's Minuet Number 2 in G
• Nocturne by Schumann
• Medley from the Merry Widow

Last Revised Date
November 03, 2022