Army–Navy Game
Sport | Football |
---|---|
First meeting | November 29, 1890 Navy, 24–0 |
Latest meeting | December 9, 2023 Army, 17–11 |
Next meeting | December 14, 2024 |
Stadiums | Commanders Field (2024) M&T Bank Stadium (2025) MetLife Stadium (2026) Lincoln Financial Field (2027) |
Trophy | Secretary's Trophy Third leg of triangular series for Commander-in-Chief's Trophy |
Statistics | |
Meetings total | 124 |
All-time series | Navy leads, 62–55–7 |
Largest victory | Navy, 51–0 (1973) |
Longest win streak | Navy, 14 (2002–2015) |
Current win streak | Army, 2 (2022–present) |
The Army–Navy Game is an American
The Army–Navy Game is one of the most traditional and enduring rivalries in college football. It has been frequently attended by the
The game has been primarily played in
.The series has been uninterrupted since 1930. Through the 2023 meeting, Navy leads the series 62–55–7.
History
The first game between Army and Navy was on November 29, 1890. Since then, the two academies have played annually in all but ten years, and have played in consecutive annual games every season since 1930. Throughout its history, the game has been played in several neutral locations, including New York City and Baltimore, but it is most commonly played in Philadelphia, which is roughly equidistant from the two academies. Historically played on the Saturday after Thanksgiving (a date on which most other major college football teams end their regular seasons), the game is now played on the second Saturday in December and is traditionally the last regular-season game played in NCAA Division I football.
For much of the first two thirds of the 20th century, both Army and Navy were often national powers, and the game occasionally had national championship implications. However, as the level of play in college football increased, both academies' stringent admissions standards and height and weight limits made it difficult for them to compete. Since 1963, only the 1996, 2010, 2016 and 2017 games have seen both teams enter with winning records. Nonetheless, the game is considered a college football institution. The tradition associated with the game has kept it airing nationally on radio since 1930 and on television since 1945. It has remained an over-the-air broadcast even in the age of cable, satellite, and streaming.
The game is especially emotional for the seniors, called "first classmen" by both academies, since it is typically the last competitive regular season football game they will ever play (though they sometimes play in a subsequent bowl game). However, some participants in the Army–Navy Game have gone on to professional football careers. For example,
The game is the last of three contests in the annual Commander-in-Chief's Trophy series, awarded to each season's winner of the triangular series among Army, Navy, and Air Force since 1972. The rivalries Army and Navy have with Air Force are much less intense than the Army–Navy rivalry, primarily due to the relative youth of the USAFA, established in 1954, and the physical distance between the USAFA and the other two schools. The Army–Air Force and Navy–Air Force games are usually played at the academies' regular home fields, although on occasion they have been held at a neutral field.
Since 1901, there have been ten sitting presidents of the United States to attend the Army–Navy Game. The first was Theodore Roosevelt, who attended the game in 1901 and 1905. Harry S. Truman attended all but one edition during his eight years in office (1945–1952), missing the 1951 game due to vacation. George W. Bush and Donald Trump each attended three times; Bush in 2001, 2004, and 2008, and Trump in 2018, 2019, and 2020. Trump also attended a game as president-elect in 2016.[6][7] John F. Kennedy attended both games played during his presidency in 1961 and 1962; he was assassinated fifteen days before the 1963 game. Presidents who each attended once include Woodrow Wilson (1913), Calvin Coolidge (1924), Gerald Ford (1974), Bill Clinton (1996), and Barack Obama (2011).[8][7]
On October 25, 2023, it was announced that Army would join Navy in the American Athletic Conference (AAC) in football effective in the 2024 season. As part of the arrangement, the Army–Navy Game will remain an out-of-conference date for both schools, and still be played on an annual basis. In the event that the teams possess the two highest win-loss records within the AAC, it is conceivable that they would contend in an AAC Championship game, potentially leading to the occurrence of consecutive Army-Navy Games.[9]
Traditions
The rivalry between Annapolis and West Point, while friendly, is intense. The phrases "Beat Navy!" and "Beat Army!" are ingrained in the respective institutions and have become a symbol of competitiveness, not just in the Army–Navy Game, but in the service of the country. The phrases are often used at the close of (informal) letters by graduates of both academies.
A long-standing tradition at the Army–Navy football game is to conduct a formal "prisoner exchange" as part of the pre-game activities. The prisoners are the cadets and midshipmen currently spending the semester studying at the sister academy. After the exchange, students have a brief reprieve to enjoy the game with their comrades.
Notable games
Navy Midshipman (and later Admiral) Joseph Mason Reeves wore what is widely regarded as the first football helmet in the 1893 Army–Navy Game. He had been advised by a Navy doctor that another kick to his head would result in intellectual disability or even death, so he commissioned an Annapolis shoemaker to make him a helmet out of leather.[13]
On November 27, 1926, the Army–Navy Game was held in Chicago for the National Dedication of Soldier Field as a monument to American servicemen who had fought in World War I. Navy came to the game undefeated, while Army had only lost to Notre Dame. Played before a crowd of over 100,000, the teams fought to a 21–21 tie, resulting in Navy being awarded a share of the national championship.[14][15]
In both the 1944 and 1945 contests, Army and Navy entered the game ranked #1 and #2 respectively.[16] The 1945 game was labeled the "game of the century" before it was played. Army (9–0) defeated a 7–0–1 Navy team 32–13. Navy's tie was against Notre Dame.[17]
In 1963, shortly after the
On December 10, 2016, Army defeated Navy for the first time since 2001 with a 21–17 victory, snapping its 14-game losing streak against Navy.
In 2022, Army defeated Navy by a score of 20–17 in double overtime in the first overtime game in the series' history.
Venues
Only seven games have ever been held on the campus of either academy, primarily because neither team has ever played at an on-campus stadium large enough to accommodate the large crowds that attend. The rivalry's first four games were hosted on the parade grounds of the respective academies. For all but three years since 1899, it has been held at a neutral site. Two were held on campus due to World War II travel restrictions (1942 at Navy's old Thompson Stadium and 1943 at Michie Stadium); and the 2020 game was held at Michie Stadium due to COVID-19 restrictions in Philadelphia.
Philadelphia has been the traditional home of the Army–Navy game, due to the historic nature of the city and its location approximately halfway between West Point and Annapolis. Through the 2023 meeting, 90 of the 124 games in the series have been contested in Philadelphia, including every game from 1932 to 1982 except three games that were relocated due to World War II travel restrictions. For decades, the Pennsylvania Railroad and its successors offered game-day service to all Army–Navy games in Philadelphia using a sprawling temporary station constructed each year near Municipal Stadium on the railroad's Greenwich freight yard. The service, with more than 40 trains serving as many as 30,000 attendees, was the single largest concentrated passenger rail movement in the country.[23][24]
All games contested in Philadelphia through 1935 were played at what is now
Outside of Philadelphia, the New York area has been the most frequent Army–Navy site. The
A number of games throughout the history of the series have also been hosted in
The 2023 game was held at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
The Rose Bowl is the only site west of the Mississippi River where an Army–Navy game has been played, in 1983. Pasadena, California, home to the Rose Bowl, paid for the travel expenses of all the students and supporters of both academies, including 9,437 in all. The game was held at the Rose Bowl that year because there are a large number of military installations and servicemen and women, along with many retired military personnel, on the West Coast.[25] The game has been held one other time in a non-East Coast venue, at Chicago's Soldier Field, which hosted the 1926 game.
Future venues
- December 14, 2024 - Commanders Field in Landover, Maryland
- December 13, 2025 - M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore
- December 12, 2026 - MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey
- December 11, 2027 - Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia
Total games by venue and geography
Stadiums
Venue | Games | Army victories | Navy victories | Tie games | First game | Most recent game |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
John F. Kennedy Stadium (demolished) |
41 | 16 | 22 | 3 | 1936 | 1979 |
Franklin Field | 18 | 11 | 7 | 0 | 1899 | 1935 |
Veterans Stadium (demolished) | 17 | 11 | 5 | 1 | 1980 | 2001 |
Lincoln Financial Field | 14 | 3 | 11 | 0 | 2003 | 2022 |
Polo Grounds (demolished) | 9 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1913 | 1927 |
Giants Stadium (demolished) | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1989 | 2002 |
M&T Bank Stadium | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2000 | 2016 |
The Plain | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1890 | 1892 |
Worden Field | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1891 | 1893 |
Municipal Stadium (Baltimore) (demolished) |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1924 | 1944 |
Yankee Stadium (demolished) | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1930 | 1931 |
Michie Stadium | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1943 | 2020 |
Osborne Field (demolished) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1905 | 1905 |
Soldier Field | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1926 | 1926 |
Thompson Stadium (demolished) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1942 | 1942 |
Rose Bowl | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1983 | 1983 |
Commanders Field | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2011 | 2011 |
MetLife Stadium | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2021 | 2021 |
Gillette Stadium | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2023 | 2023 |
Cities
City | Games | Army victories | Navy victories | Tie games | First game | Most recent game |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Philadelphia | 90 | 41 | 45 | 4 | 1899 | 2022 |
New York City | 11 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 1913 | 1931 |
Baltimore | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1924 | 2016 |
East Rutherford, New Jersey | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1989 | 2021 |
West Point, New York | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1890 | 2020 |
Annapolis, Maryland | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1891 | 1942 |
Princeton, New Jersey | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1905 | 1905 |
Chicago | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1926 | 1926 |
Pasadena, California | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1983 | 1983 |
Landover, Maryland | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2011 | 2011 |
Foxborough, Massachusetts | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2023 | 2023 |
Metropolitan areas
CSA | Games | Army victories | Navy victories | Tie games | First game | Most recent game |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Philadelphia-Reading-Camden | 90 | 41 | 45 | 4 | 1899 | 2022 |
New York-Newark | 21 | 9 | 10 | 2 | 1890 | 2021 |
Washington-Baltimore-Arlington |
10 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 1891 | 2016 |
Chicago-Naperville | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1926 | 1926 |
Los Angeles-Long Beach | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1983 | 1983 |
Boston-Worcester-Providence | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2023 | 2023 |
States
State | Games | Army victories | Navy victories | Tie games | First game | Most recent game |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pennsylvania | 90 | 41 | 45 | 4 | 1899 | 2022 |
New York | 15 | 8 | 6 | 1 | 1890 | 2020 |
Maryland | 10 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 1891 | 2016 |
New Jersey | 6 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1905 | 2021 |
Illinois | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1926 | 1926 |
California | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1983 | 1983 |
Massachusetts | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2023 | 2023 |
Game results
Rankings are from the
Army victories | Navy victories | Tie games |
|
- Note: there were no games for the following years; 1894–1898, 1909, 1917–1918 & 1928–1929
See also
- Army Mules
- Army–Navy Cup, a college soccer game between the same schools
- Army–Navy lacrosse rivalry
- Bill the Goat
- List of NCAA college football rivalry games
- List of most-played college football series in NCAA Division I
- Secretaries Cup, an annual rivalry game between the Coast Guard Bears and Merchant Marine Mariners
Other neutral-site rivalries
- Florida–Georgia football rivalry
- Red River Showdown, Texas/Oklahoma
- Southwest Classic, Arkansas/Texas A&M
References
Citations
- ^ Staff writer (November 18, 2008). "President Bush Will Attend Army–Navy Game for First Time since 2004"". ESPN. Associated Press. Retrieved December 24, 2009.
- ^ Staff writer (May 18, 2017). "CBS Sports to Remain Home of Annual Army–Navy Football Classic Through 2028". Navy Sports Webpage. Archived from the original on October 9, 2017. Retrieved May 18, 2017.
- ^ Gelston, Dan (December 5, 2008). "Army–Navy, Instant Replay, Tony Verna, 45 Years Later ..." Los Angeles Daily News. Associated Press. Archived from the original on August 5, 2010. Retrieved December 24, 2009.
- ^ "Army, Navy have no plans to move game for College Football Playoff schedule". USA Today. May 22, 2015. Retrieved December 12, 2015.
- ^ Brown, Clifton (March 9, 2022). "Ravens Place Alejandro Villaneuva on Reserve/Retired List". BaltimoreRavens.com. Retrieved July 28, 2022.
- ^ "Trump Attends Army-Navy Game As Black Knights Snap 14-Year Losing Streak". npr.org. December 10, 2016. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
- ^ a b "donald-trump-will-observe-time-honored-tradition-at-army-navy-game". washingtonpost.com. December 8, 2016. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
- ^ Regan, Brett (December 10, 2019). "The 10 Sitting Presidents Who Attended the Army-Navy Game". FanBuzz. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
- ^ "Army set to join AAC for football, sources say; Navy game intact". ESPN.com. October 25, 2023.
- ^ Eastwood, Kathy. "West Point, Naval exchange students gear up for big game". United States Military Academy. Archived from the original on October 27, 2017. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
- ^ "Gospel Choir". United States Military Academy. Archived from the original on December 25, 2019. Retrieved December 24, 2019.
- ^ Blansett, Sarah (December 12, 2014). "Tradition and History Wrapped into 115th Army–Navy Game". Military.com. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
- ^ "History of the Football Helmet" from Past Time Sports. Accessed Jan 1, 2010
- ^ Nimitz Library | U.S. Naval Academy Archival Images: Army–Navy Football: 1926. Accessed December 31, 2009 Archived January 14, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "NCAA Record Book" from NCAA. Accessed Dec 10, 2023
- ^ Fernandes, Andréa (December 10, 2011). "Army–Navy: Football's Greatest Rivalry". mentalfloss.com. Retrieved December 15, 2018.
- ^ "Middies All Hepped Up to Knock Over Cadets". Los Angeles Times, November 27, 1945. "Navy, far from conceding next Saturday's football 'game of the century' to Army, will field a spirited, offense-minded team determined to win and 'not merely hold down the score,' Public Relations Chief Lt. William Sullivan said today."
- ^ Norlander, Matt. "Film on '63 Army–Navy game shows impact of rivalry, JFK tragedy". CBS Sports. Retrieved December 12, 2013.
- ^ Gelston, Dan (December 5, 2008). "Army–Navy, Instant Replay, Tony Verna, 45 Years Later ..." Los Angeles Daily News. Associated Press. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
- ^ Hoye, Walter B (January 2, 1965). "Naval History". Detroit Tribune. p. 7.
- ^ "Carl Roland Stichweh HOF profile". CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on December 9, 2014. Retrieved December 12, 2013.
- ^ "Army Sports Hall of Fame Members – By Induction Class". CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on May 16, 2013. Retrieved December 12, 2013.
- ISBN 9780811729031– via Google Books.
- ^ Froio, Michael (December 11, 2015). "To The Game: A Pennsylvania Railroad Tradition". Retrieved August 24, 2016.
- ^ Clark, N. Brooks (December 5, 1983). "The Week" Archived October 15, 2008, at the Wayback Machine. Sports Illustrated. Accessed December 24, 2009.
- ^ Staff writer (June 15, 2022) "Future Sites of America's Game Announced". "armynavygame.com" Accessed June 15, 2022
- ^ "Winsipedia – Army Black Knights vs. Navy Midshipmen football series history". Winsipedia.
Bibliography
- ISBN 978-0-7881-5777-6