Joe Steffy

As one of only four, he has attended every Army Home Football game since 1952. He is an Army All American. Page 2 of Army Lore

I remember this story from the Army Lore tought to me as a Plebe in 1958.

As Joe Steffy came up to the line and took his stance, he looked across at his Navy Opponent and said

“On the next play Doc Blanchard is coming through this hole, I don’t know about you, but I am getting out of the way”.

Joe was called to get the exact quote. Joe said “I know exactly what you are going to ask”. When the quote was read, Joe said “It is not true, — It never happened. It was made up by an after dinner speaker”.

Greatness creates Legends.

Joe Steffy came to West Point from Tennessee to join the Class of 1949 and never went home. His athletic accomplishments require no embellishing or spin; they speak for themselves. He set the standard for all who do the dirty work of the interior line.

Army’s only Outland Trophy winner for best lineman in the nation, given the second year of the award’s existence. College Football Hall of Fame inductee, 1986. Army Sports Hall of Fame, 2007. First team All-American, 1946 & 1947. Three-year letterman, opening holes for Mr. Inside and blocking downfield for Mr. Outside. Team captain as a Second Classman, necessitating “below the zone” promotion to Cadet Sergeant because Superintendent Maxwell Taylor insisted the football captain wear stripes. Played on College All-Star team vs. Philadelphia Eagles. Kicked extra points and field goals one year. Played hurt. Member of national championship teams, 1945 & 1946. Beat Navy three years. Varsity letter in track and holder of the Plebe shotput record for 33 years.

The rugged 190-pound wildcat went on to serve in Korea, where he earned a Bronze Star and Purple Heart, coach the Army football team, and run a successful business for many years in nearby Newburgh. His frequent presence at Michie Stadium never fails to inspire hope in the Army faithful. Well done, Joe Steffy.

By Dave Phillips 62’s Scribe & Sports Historian

The 46 National Ranking

Sixty years later, it still bothers Joe Steffy. He and his former Army football teammates, now in their early-80s, still talk about the 1946 season. But this story starts in ’44.

Army went 9-0 that year, winning the national championship, repeating the feat in ’45. Then came 1946: Army vs. Notre Dame at Yankee Stadium. Army had beaten Notre Dame 48-0 and 59-0 the previous two years. The ’46 game featured four current or eventual Heisman Trophy winners, three current or eventual Outland Trophy winners and 23 current or eventual All-Americans.
It ended in a 0-0 tie.

In ’46, Army finished the year 9-0-1: Unbeaten, but not perfect. Even though Steffy begs to differ.

“They didn’t beat us, nobody did,” Steffy says.
Still, the real disappointment came for Army at the end of the season. The Associated Press voters went with Notre Dame at No. 1. Back in those days, though, there was no official coaches’ poll and a host of national polls. Notre Dame was voted tops in five polls, Army in two and the teams were co-champs in three more.
As you can see, even back then, the polls were far from perfect.

“We were still the national champs,” he says. “It’s like the heavyweight champ of the world, you have to beat him to take away the title. They didn’t beat us, I still can’t believe it””

By Justin Rodriguez
Times Herald-Record
December 23, 2007
Edited

1946 Team

http://www.collegefootball.org/famersearch.php?page=1&submitted=1&school=Army&sortby=school

http://www.tshf.net/inductees/steffy.html

http://www.goarmysports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=11100&ATCLID=611579

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outland_Trophy

Joseph Benton Steffy, Jr

Class 1949

Company H-1

Home Town Chattanooga, Tennessee

High School Baylor Prep

Prior College Attendance Univ of Tennessee, 1944-45

Football & Track — Freshman year at Tennessee: Joe was an excellent track man throwing discus, javelin and shot put. He was sent to SEC track championship meet in May, 1945 as Tennessee’s one-man track team competing against other SEC teams most of which had 15 to 35 members. Tennessee (read Joe Steffy) came in third for the whole SEC!

Date of Entry to Academy 2 July 1945

Date of Graduation 7 June 1949

Age at Graduation 23

Cullum Number 17333

Cadet Rank

Cow Year Corporal/Sergeant
Fall of Cow Year called to Supe’s office and immediately promoted to Sgt because Supe (Maxwell Taylor) wanted his Football Team Captain to “have stripes.”
Firstie Year Sergeant

Cadet Military Position Asst Sqd Ldr/Squad Leader

Height 5′ 11″

Weight

Entry 180#
Playing Weight 190#
Graduation 175#

Teams Football & Track

Football Coach Col Earl Blaik

Football Assistant Coach

Team Mates – Doc Blanchard, Glenn Davis, “Bobby Jack Stewart”, Goble Bryant, “Art Gerimetta”, Dan Folbergh,” Jack Green”

Type of Play

One “platoon” Played every phase of the Game
Col Blake Believed in Power Plays up the middle
Emphasis on running the ball on offense
Type of Offense – Standard T-formation
Type of Defense – Wide Tackle 6-man line with stunts
Coach Blaik was one of first to institute stunts

Positions Played

Football Offensive Left Guard; defensive guard & nose guard; place kicker (cow year)

Team Captain

Jack Green 1945
Doc Blanchard & Glenn Davis 1946
Joe Steffy 1947

Originally on 3 year War Program – allowed to play Plebe year

Award of 5 Army A’s with 3 Gold Stars for beating Navy

Plebe Football & Track
Yearling Football & Track
Cow Football
Firstie Ineligible for Football

Army’s Football Record during Joe’s 3 Years of eligibility 22-2-3, 29 games, 9 per year

Injuries: Separated shoulder cow year, played with a special device to hold arm down

Track – Held Academy Plebe record for the shot put for 33 years

Team Recognition

National

Football 1945: Undefeated National Champs
Football 1946: Undefeated National Champs
Football 1947: 5-2-2, including defeat of Navy (21-0)

Regional

Lambert Trophy 1946 & 1947

Individual Recognition

The 2nd Recipient of the Outland Trophy and Army’s only receipent – 1947 http://www.sportswriters.net/fwaa/awards/outland/winners.html
1st Tm All-American, 1946 & 1947
College Football Hall of Fame, 1986
West Point Athletic Hall of Fame in 2007

Individual Records

Plebe Held Plebe shot put record for 33 years

Post Season Play

Invited to play in North-South College All-Star game (did not because Academy
would not give time off)
After graduation played in College All-Stars against the Philadelphia Eagles (lost 38-0); played in Eastern All-Stars against NY Giants (won 28-14)

Class Standing 560 of 574

Spent last 3 months of 1st class year in Walter Reed
which did not help academic standing

Turn Out Stars Ordnance Firstie year along with about 100 classmates who thought they could coast through because they were “so proficient!”

Relationship with Tactical Department – Great Plebe Year; so-so Yearling, Cow & Firstie Years

Clubs and Intramurals: Played on company soccer team Firstie year; won regimental championship

Officer Assignment to the Academy

Returned form Korea to serve as Assistant Football Coach, 1952-1955

3 Army A’s in Football

Football’s Greatest Decade – – by Bernie Mcarty – http://www.la84foundation.org/SportsLibrary/CFHSN/CFHSNv01/CFHSNv01n1b – – see page 5

This writer believes West Point 1945 is the greatest team of all time. The 1944 Army team may actually deserve that title, but it was never tested. Army was also undefeated in 1946, 1948 and 1949.

Army’s top stars during 1945-1949 were the effulgent “Touchdown Twins”, Glenn Davis and Doc Blanchard, Arnold Tucker, Arnold Galiffa, Rip Rowan, Bobby Jack Stuart and Gil Stephenson in the back-field, and up front” Joe Steffy”, Art Gerometta, Jack Green, “Bill Yoemans”, Joe Henry “Tex” Coulter,Al Nemetz, and the sterling end duo of Hank Foldberg and Barney Poole.

In 1945 the Newspaper Enterprise Assoc. simply picked the entire Army team as its All-American team, stating no group of All-Americans could beat the Cadets. Only a world war could have brought together such a collection of players to one institution. But it took the coaching genius of Col. Earl Blaik to mold the players into a cohesive unit. In truth, Navy personnel was equal to Army’s on an individual basis. The Middies never jelled as a team, however.

The 1951 Army outfit might have been as good as the 1945 Cadets, but the infamous cribbing scandal wiped out the team.