The first game between Army /Navy was played in 1890, with Navy emerging as the winner, 24-0. They have played every year since, with the following 10 exceptions.
In 1893, following a Navy victory, an incident after the game almost led to a duel between a Rear Admiral and Brigadier General. As a result of that event, President Cleveland called a cabinet meeting, after which, the Secretary of the Navy, Hillary A. Herbert and Secretary of War, Daniel S. Lamont, issued orders that the respective Academies could play only home game. These orders effectively defused the situation, as the game was placed on hold (1894-1898) for five years.
The teams resumed playing in 1899, Army won 17-5!
In 1909, a cadet, Eugene Byrne, died in a game against Harvard and as a result, Army cancelled the rest of their season.
During WW I, the game was put on hold in 1917 and again, in 1918 and finally, in 1923-24, the games were cancelled when the Academies could not agree on eligibility rules for the players.
“The Event” was moved to Philadelphia in 1899 and has been played in the “City of Brotherly Love” (Greek Origins) for most of the 20th and 21st Centuries. The host sites include the following cities and number of games played in the respective venues: Philadelphia: 83 games, New York: 11 Baltimore: 4, East Rutherford: 4, Annapolis & West Point: 7 (1890 through 1893, 1942, 1943, & 2020), & Chicago (1926), Pasadena (1983), & Princeton (1905) each have hosted a game!
This weekend’s game marks the 123th meeting between the Academies, Navy leads the series 62 (wins) 53 (loses) and 7 (ties).
In 1926, the game played @ Chicago’s Soldier Field to honor those who fought in WW I, Navy entered the game undefeated and Army having lost to only ND, the teams battled to a 21-21 tie in front on 100,000 Americans. Navy was awarded the National Championship!
In both the 1944 & 1945 Games the teams entered the contest ranked 1st & 2nd in the country. In the 1944 game, Army won 23-7 and was crowned National Champion. In the 1945 game Army entered the game unbeaten while Navy had battled to 7-0-1 record (tied with ND 6-6 in Cleveland) the Cadets won the game (32-13) the National Championship for the 2nd year in a row! Army would win their 3rd (in a row) & final, National Championship in 1946, finishing 9-0-1 (tied ND, 0-0, @ Yankee Stadium) while taking down the Midshipmen, 21-18!
Since the 1963 season, Army has finished the regular season ranked, in the top 25, just twice, in 1996, 24th & in 2018, 22nd, while Navy has finished a season ranked only once, from the days of Staubach, in 2015, @ 21!
The teams have entered their annual battle with both squads having winning records only four times since the 1963 game, 1996, 2010, 2016 & 2017 season. This year, Army enters the game with an 8-3 record, while Navy has struggled, coming in @ 3-8 in the 2021 season!
The days of this game having national championship implications or the teams being national powers have long since faded into history. High academic standards, potential NFL career opportunities, weight/height limits, and military commitment upon graduation have greatly diminished the talent pool for the Academies. Yet the intensity of the play, the games significance for the players, and the day, date & time the NCAA schedules the ‘Event’ if anything, have grown!
Navy won the game 14 straight times, 2002 from 2015 and some of those games have not been close. In 2006, Navy won, 26-14; 2007, 38-3; 2008, 34-0; 2009, 17-3; & in 2010, 31-17. That said, the game in 2011 was 24-21 in the 4th Quarter, before Navy kicked a field goal to secure the 27-21 win and with exception of 2013, a 34-7 Navy win, the games have been decided by single digits, 2012, 17-13; 2014, 17-10, and 2015, 21-17!
Then, in 2016, Army finally broke through and won the annual battle 21-17. The Black Knight would then win three (3) of the next four (4) games (2017, 14-13, 2018, 17-10 & 2020, 15-0)!
The boys & girls in the desert have made Army a 7.5-point favorite in 2021!
Having a brother-in-law, and two nephews, who are West Point Graduates, I have to say, I’m good with that spread, and respectively, mind you, respectively … Go Army!
SCFP was really happy that the NCAA agreed to move this game back a week. America needs to celebrate the young men and women, who are willing to make the commitment and sacrifices a military career demand(s).
It is absolutely fitting that the last regular season college football game be played between Army & Navy and played on a weekend, when all other FBS programs are idle and, hopefully, honoring their gridiron peers!
Americans will / should always honor the participants in this game, …. period… no question! Yet, for it to remain America’s greatest sports rivalry, Army needed to step up in 2016 and put an end to that 14-year nose-bleed. They did and have now won 4 of the last five! Now it is time for Navy to step up, Don’t give up the ship, Damn the Torpedoes, Scratch one flattop and you may fire when ready Gridley! Go Navy! Go Army!
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