I spent the last 3.5 hours watching the 112thArmy - Navy game . It ’s a particularly personal game in my family : my grandfather served in the Army ; his first son , my dad , was born at West Point and went on to attend the Naval Academy , serve 20 years in the Navy ; his firstborn Logos , my brother , is presently a senior at West Point , preparing to fine-tune in May and embark on a career in the Army . So yeah , you could say watch the biz is a big deal for us .
To lionize this 112th meeting of the USNA and USMA football game teams on the football field , I ’ve amass a thorough list of interesting fact on this longstanding custom , one of the most enduring contention in college football .
HISTORY
In 1890 , a Navy football instrumentalist challenged USMA Cadet Dennis Mahan Michie to a biz ; Michie accepted the challenge and a tradition was born.(Above is a view of the 1908 game.)*After a simple 3 Army - Navy games , the tradition was debar from 1894 to 1898 . As the chronicle goes , the Navy winnings in 1893 incite an incident between a rearward admiral and a brigadier full general that most precede to a affaire d’honneur . The two team were then restricted to playing only home base games , preventing another match - up . When the custom re-start in 1899 , the secret plan was displace to Philadelphia , considered a achromatic emplacement due to its near - equidistance from both academies.*Since the move to Philadelphia in 1899 , the City of Brotherly Love has hosted the Army - Navy game a aggregate of 83 times . New York City has hosted 11 time , Baltimore ( MD ) and East Rutherford ( NJ ) have each host 4 times , and the game has been played just one time each in Chicago ( IL ) , Pasadena ( CA ) , Princeton ( NJ ) . The game has been make for 3 meter on Navy ’s home turf in Annapolis , MD ; Army has also had the base reward 3 clock time with games at West Point , NY . This year , the secret plan was played in the DC area — at FedEx Field in Landover , MD — for the first time . As Army coach Rich Ellerson put it,“I’m surprised it has film this long , but it ’s fitting and appropriate that this game be play in our nation ’s capital … It ’s going to feel like a plate game for both of us . "
( At go out is the image from the 1944 Army - Navy game syllabus . )
TRADITION
ATHLETICS
Navy midshipman Joseph Mason Reeves ( who went on to become an full admiral ) wore thefirst football game helmetin the 1893 Army - Navy biz . A Navy Dr. had informed Reeves that one more kick to the caput could result in " instant insanity " or death . An cobbler from Annapolis crafted the leather helmet that Reeves lark to protect his noggin.*The first shut - out in the rivalry since 1978 occurred in 2008 , when Navy wham Army 34 to 0.*The Army - Navy plot has been , for the legal age of its chronicle , the last regular - time of year competition in college football game . It was historically played on the Saturday after Thanksgiving , but was moved to the 2nd Saturday in December to avoid it being on the same weekend as other college games.*5 Heisman Trophy achiever have played in the historic game : Doc Blanchard ( Army , 1945 ) , Glenn Davis ( Army , 1946 ) , Pete Dawkins ( Army , 1958 ) , Joe Bellino ( Navy , 1960 ) , and Roger Staubach ( Navy , 1963).*While the Army - Navy game is usually the last free-enterprise biz of the actor ' lives , due to their commitment to the military machine , at least a smattering of players have gone on to professional football careers , including the following 5 USNA alumni and 1 USMA alumnus:- Joe Bellino ( Navy ' 61 ) played in the AFL for the Boston Patriots.- Roger Staubach ( Navy ' 65 ) played for the Dallas Cowboys , was the MVP of Super Bowl VI , and was inducted into the Hall of Fame.- John Dickson Stufflebeem ( Navy ' 75 ) was a bettor for the Detroit Lions.- Phil McConkey ( Navy ' 79 ) played for the New York Giants , including at Super Bowl XXI.- Napoleon McCallum ( Navy ' 85 ) concurrently served his Navy commitment and act for the ( then ) Los Angeles Raiders ; he played for the Raiders full - time once he satisfied his consignment to the Navy.- Caleb Campbell ( Army ' 08 ) was the first USMA histrion take in the draft in more than a tenner , but he serve two years in the Army before bring together the Detroit Lions last twelvemonth .
PARTING WORDS
