TRADITION
The friendly rivalry is still intense, with USMA cadets living by the motto “Beat Navy,” which is even emblazoned on the roof of one of the school’s buildings, and USNA midshipmen living “Beat Army,” which can even be seen stamped on the weight plates in the school’s weight room.Each year, on the Friday before the game, the Army and Navy Pep Bands enter the Pentagon, where they march through the halls, stopping at the offices of senior leaders and throwing pep rallies. (The above photo is from the 2003 Pentagon rallies.) This year, the Navy pep rally was in the morning and the Army one in the afternoon.
*
Both schools send out a team of students to run footballs from their campuses to the stadium. The midshipmen of the 13th Company have been running the game football from Annapolis to the playing field since 1982, a tradition that originated in an attempt to get the “unlucky” company off the campus. The USMA marathon team runs the ceremonial ball from West Point to the playing field. Both relay teams usually have to run through the night; it can get so cold that iPods will literally freeze and stop working and ice will form on the hands and gloves of the runners. The Army relay team practices for their duty with a large rock as somewhat of a joke, but also to convey the deeper message that they cannot drop the ball.
*
One of the pre-game activities is a “prisoner exchange.” The prisoners? Juniors from each academy who are spending the semester in “enemy territory.” The juniors are exchanged and allowed a brief reprieve to spend the game with their own schools’ students.
*
Both the Brigade of Midshipmen (the USNA students) and the Corps of Cadets (the USMA students) march onto the field just before kick-off. Dennis Herring, mass communications chief in the USNA public affairs office, called the march on “truly one of the greatest spectacles in all of sports.”
*
The “finest moment” of this rivalry comes at the conclusion of the game in a show of “mutual respect and solidarity”: the teams stand together to sing both schools’ alma maters. First, the winning and losing team face the losing academy’s students to sing that school’s alma mater; then, the losing team joins the winning team on the other side of the field to sing the alma mater of the winning academy to its students. Tears stream down the faces of players and students alike.
*
The winning team of the Army-Navy game is awarded the Thompson Cup, named for donor Robert M. Thompson. Thompson was appointed to the Naval Academy in 1864 and graduated 10th in the class of 1868; he served as a Naval officer, then became a lawyer, business magnate, philanthropist, and president of the American Olympic Association.
*
USNA has two “Victory Bells” that flank the steps of Bancroft Hall, which is home to the entire brigade of midshipmen and is the largest single dormitory in the world. Each time Navy defeats Army, the Enterprise Bell (from WWII’s most decorated ship, the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise) rings continually from the announcement of the final score until the team returns to Bancroft Hall. Once the team returns, the Navy score is rung on the Japanese Bell (a replica of the bell presented to Commodore Matthew C. Perry in 1854) by the team captain, coach, superintendent, and commandant, followed by each team member.
*
While the game is always emotional, especially for “firsties” or seniors, it becomes even more emotionally significant in times of war. The Army-Navy game is the last competitive football game the seniors will play before being deployed to war zones, with some players never to return. By the 2004 game, at least one ’03 graduate, Navy’s J.P. Blecksmith, had been killed in Iraq; he was remembered at the ’04 game, his pads and jerseys placed on chairs on the sidelines.
*
Both schools send out a team of students to run footballs from their campuses to the stadium. The midshipmen of the 13th Company have been running the game football from Annapolis to the playing field since 1982, a tradition that originated in an attempt to get the “unlucky” company off the campus. The USMA marathon team runs the ceremonial ball from West Point to the playing field. Both relay teams usually have to run through the night; it can get so cold that iPods will literally freeze and stop working and ice will form on the hands and gloves of the runners. The Army relay team practices for their duty with a large rock as somewhat of a joke, but also to convey the deeper message that they cannot drop the ball.
*
One of the pre-game activities is a “prisoner exchange.” The prisoners? Juniors from each academy who are spending the semester in “enemy territory.” The juniors are exchanged and allowed a brief reprieve to spend the game with their own schools’ students.
*
Both the Brigade of Midshipmen (the USNA students) and the Corps of Cadets (the USMA students) march onto the field just before kick-off. Dennis Herring, mass communications chief in the USNA public affairs office, called the march on “truly one of the greatest spectacles in all of sports.”
*
The “finest moment” of this rivalry comes at the conclusion of the game in a show of “mutual respect and solidarity”: the teams stand together to sing both schools’ alma maters. First, the winning and losing team face the losing academy’s students to sing that school’s alma mater; then, the losing team joins the winning team on the other side of the field to sing the alma mater of the winning academy to its students. Tears stream down the faces of players and students alike.
*
The winning team of the Army-Navy game is awarded the Thompson Cup, named for donor Robert M. Thompson. Thompson was appointed to the Naval Academy in 1864 and graduated 10th in the class of 1868; he served as a Naval officer, then became a lawyer, business magnate, philanthropist, and president of the American Olympic Association.
*
USNA has two “Victory Bells” that flank the steps of Bancroft Hall, which is home to the entire brigade of midshipmen and is the largest single dormitory in the world. Each time Navy defeats Army, the Enterprise Bell (from WWII’s most decorated ship, the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise) rings continually from the announcement of the final score until the team returns to Bancroft Hall. Once the team returns, the Navy score is rung on the Japanese Bell (a replica of the bell presented to Commodore Matthew C. Perry in 1854) by the team captain, coach, superintendent, and commandant, followed by each team member.
*
While the game is always emotional, especially for “firsties” or seniors, it becomes even more emotionally significant in times of war. The Army-Navy game is the last competitive football game the seniors will play before being deployed to war zones, with some players never to return. By the 2004 game, at least one ’03 graduate, Navy’s J.P. Blecksmith, had been killed in Iraq; he was remembered at the ’04 game, his pads and jerseys placed on chairs on the sidelines.
ATHLETICS
Navy midshipman Joseph Mason Reeves (who went on to become an admiral) wore the first football helmet in the 1893 Army-Navy game. A Navy doctor had informed Reeves that one more kick to the head could result in “instant insanity” or death. An shoemaker from Annapolis crafted the leather helmet that Reeves sported to protect his noggin.
*
The first shut-out in the rivalry since 1978 occurred in 2008, when Navy walloped Army 34 to 0.
*
The Army-Navy game has been, for the majority of its history, the last regular-season contest in college football. It was historically played on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, but was moved to the second Saturday in December to avoid it being on the same weekend as other college games.
*
5 Heisman Trophy winners 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 competitive game of the players’ lives, due to their commitments to the military, at least a handful 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 punter 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 played for the (then) Los Angeles Raiders; he played for the Raiders full-time once he satisfied his commitment to the Navy.
- Caleb Campbell (Army ’08) was the first USMA player selected in the draft in more than a decade, but he served two years in the Army before joining the Detroit Lions last year.
*
The first shut-out in the rivalry since 1978 occurred in 2008, when Navy walloped Army 34 to 0.
*
The Army-Navy game has been, for the majority of its history, the last regular-season contest in college football. It was historically played on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, but was moved to the second Saturday in December to avoid it being on the same weekend as other college games.
*
5 Heisman Trophy winners 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 competitive game of the players’ lives, due to their commitments to the military, at least a handful 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 punter 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 played for the (then) Los Angeles Raiders; he played for the Raiders full-time once he satisfied his commitment to the Navy.
- Caleb Campbell (Army ’08) was the first USMA player selected in the draft in more than a decade, but he served two years in the Army before joining the Detroit Lions last year.
