5-2 Lost to Navy 17-0
Destroyed Navy in the Anthracite Bowl scoring 52 points
Eastern Co-Champions














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6 – 0
Army 33 and Navy 0










1958-110358_NewYorkTimes
Provided by Russ “Skip” Grimm – Class of ’76


Lost to Navy
Eastern Champs
















Here are “John Brinson”‘s recollections of that first season from his emails earlier this year. He obviously has better recollection than the rest of us. It probably seems like ancient history now. A great experience.
The asterisk denotes Navy star, which we all received. (Somehow mine was omitted from the Howitzer. How’ll I ever convince my grandchildren I was there?)
We were all there on that final drive of 45 yards, running on every play, 4 yards, 5 yards, 4 yards until we got to the goal line, and “Ralph Wensinger” took it over behind Brad and the rest of us. They couldn’t stop us.
Yes, Ralph was a Classmate of ours, and a great quarterback. KIA, RVN
There were 600 at the screening in May; 150 made it to the tryouts in September; Coach “Eric Tipton” had 2 weeks to cut the squad to 48, teach plays, and play our first game. All 6 of us made the starting team. Center, LG, LT, LE, QB, RB.
Brad was elected team captain, and a good one he was.
This Fall, 52 years!
John —–
QB “Ralph Wensinger” (’59 x ’58) KIA, RVN Ralph was ’58 for 3 years.
RB “Jude Thiebert”
Center “Brad Johnson”
LG “Bill Shely”
LT “John Brinson”
LE “Dick Schonberger”
We were all starters – first team. It was not easy making the starting team, because the coach rightfully preferred Yearlings, then Cows, who would return next season. We played both offense and defense – under the then-current NCAA rules.
We were undefeated, beat Navy, and won the (EIAA) Eastern Intercollegiate Athletic Association Championship in Army’s first year – in a league that had been dominated by Navy for years. It was great fun. President Eisenhower attended one of our games.
(Note:) My recollection is two games that year, one when the President was visiting WP and came down on a Friday evening and the other was the first 150# A/N game at Annapolis Our great coach, “Eric Tipton”, went on to become the all-time winningest coach in Army history (lightweight football, baseball).
Eric was All-America at Duke in 1938, and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1965. We all loved him, and honored him at a 150 lb. reunion at West Point in 1993 when he was 78 years old. He died at age 86.




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The Lightweights also contributed to the success of the “Big” Team…two 66 stars – Jim Greenlee and Van Evans – were called up by second-year Head Coach Tom Cahill and made timely contributions in the highly successful 8-2 season. Van Evans, also an indoor/outdoor track sprint star, scored three touchdowns (1 rushing, 1 receiving, 1 punt return) and is still (as of 2013 Press Guide) Army’s 4th all-time leader in season punt returns, season punt return yards, and 7th in season punt return average (min 20 returns), 19th (min 10 returns). Two touchdowns came in Army’s win over Virginia. However, his punt return against Stanford was even more notable, as described in the on April 29, 1968 Sports Illustrated article – ‘On, Brave Old Army Team’ :
“Early last season in a game with Stanford, Army punted from its 36-yard line though trailing 20-17 with less than five minutes to play. For the first time since he took the job, Cahill got booed. Really booed, by 31,500 people crammed into Michie Stadium. “That was some voice,” he said. “Whew!” But shortly after the punt, Army’s 150-pound halfback, Van Evans, ran back a Stanford kick into scoring position, and Army pulled the game out. A cheerleader with tears in his eyes came up and apologized to Cahill, for himself and the corps, for ever doubting….”
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Cadet Stilwell seated front row next to Team mate with large Army A. Stilwell earned his Football A as an Army Quarterback.
The Team went 6-2-1, beating the Nationally Acclaimed University of Chicago. They played Navy at Franklin Field in Philadelphia. The Coach was Edward King Class of 1896 while the Captain was Edward Farsworth
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Howitzer 1904
http://digital-library.usma.edu/cdm/compoundobject/collection/howitzers/id/8945/rec/51
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The following is from ‘Bill Stern’s Favorite Football Stories’ published in 1948 by Blue Ribbon Books, Garden City, NY:
VINEGAR JOE
On November 14, 1903, the great Chicago University football team, with the immortal Walter Eckersall, (http://www.hickoksports.com/biograph/eckersall.shtml) came to West Point to play against an under-dog Army team. The odds were twenty-to-one that Eckersall with his trip-hammer Chicago teammates would slaughter the Army team.
As the game opened, Chicago lived up to all advance notices. Their methods were revolutionary and revelationary, but by some miracle, the Army players managed to plow through for a touchdown. Whereupon, the enraged Eckersall and his equally angry teammates ripped through for a touchdown to tie the score a 6 to 6. And there it stood as the game moved foot by foot, yard by yard toward its finish. Suddenly, with very little time left in the game, the Army quarterback was hurt. And from the Army substitute bench came Joe!
And the guy named Joe found himself nose-guard to nose-guard with the famous Walter Eckersall probably the greatest quarterback in gridiron history.
Well, Army started down the field with a touchdown glint in its eye. But there was a fumble on the ten-yard line and Chicago grabbed the ball. Eckersall fell back to his five-yard line for a neat kick and the ball landed directly in Joe’s hands on the 45-yard line. The substitute might have done the usual thing of trying to carry the ball. If he had done that, he might have been tackled and dropped in his tracks, – for the great Eckersall was bearing down on him even while the punt was still in the air.
But substitute Joe was an unusual guy. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Eckersall charging down at him – so, he made a split-second decision. He simply decided to “hold”. He was half crouched when the decision was reached, and it caught Eckersall completely off guard. The Chicagoan, expecting him to dash off, interfered. It was a costly blunder. Chicago was penalized 25 yards and the ball moved down to the 20-yard line. The substitute Joe, by deciding merely to hold, outfoxed the great Eckersall. And so, with only a few minutes left to play, Army gambled on a field goal. They made it, and the game was won by Army, with a single field goal. It was one of the most stunning football upsets in gridiron history!
Substitute Joe became the hero of the hour – and all because he had made that split-second decision which brought a startling victory.
That was “Vinegar Joe” – a football hero from long ago – known the world over, until his death, as General Joe Stilwell, who commanded the U. S. forces in the East and bedeviled the foe with the sledge-hammer tactics he learned as a number one football star at West Point

Cadet Joe Stilwell – later to be remembered as Vinegar Joe Stilwell
NO ARMY-NAVY CONTESTS; Eligibility Rule Dispute May Pre- vent Annual Games. Charles Daly, Famous Quarter Back and Former Harvard Captain, Will Not Play Again. – Mar 25 1903

http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=FA0910FF385D16738DDDAC0A94DB405B838CF1D3
Army Versus Navy Football At Philadelphia
Newburgh Daily Journal – Nov 28, 1903
… looked upon as a football society function rather than as a spectacular gridiron, battle, and ‘or that reason the demand for tickets has been enormous…
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=6rpgAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ZXMNAAAAIBAJ&dq=football%20philadelphia&pg=4401%2C4337637
Army Against Navy Rival Cadets Meet…- Boston Evening Transcript – Nov 28, 1903
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Ux00AAAAIBAJ&sjid=xOAIAAAAIBAJ&dq=football%20philadelphia&pg=4866%2C3766033
Douglas MacArthur Class of 1903 was injured playing football.

Army Rifle Team Coach 1953 to 1963
Earned 11 President’s Hundred Medals
Retired as a Sergeant Major at West Point in 1963. Fought with the 2d Armored Division in World War II. “Hell on Wheel” patch on shoulder.
Army 1935 6-2-1 UP#18t
1935/11/30 Army 28 – Navy 6 W
Team Captain William Shuler
Garrison Holt Davidson (April 24, 1904 – December 25, 1992) USMA ’27
Army 1933-1937
1933 9-1
1934 7-3
1935 6-2-1
1936 6-3
1937 7-2
Overall: 35-11-1
source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garrison_H._Davidson
Howitzer 1936
http://digital-library.usma.edu/cdm/compoundobject/collection/howitzers/id/8654/
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News Articles

ArmyFB_1935_AirAttack_HeraldJournal_Sep61935
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ArmyFB_1935_Team-pre-view_PittsburghPress_Sep101935

ArmyFB_1935_JoeNazzaro_MilwaukeeJournal_Sep191935
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ArmyFB_1935_Army-Team_GettysburgTimes_Oct121935.jpg
ArmyFB_1935_SchenectadyGazette_Oct161935

ArmyFB_1935_vsPitt_Stadium-CorpsofCadets_PittsburghPress_Oct161935

ArmyFB_1935_All-Time-Stars_PittsburghPress_Oct261935
ArmyFB_1935_BillShuler_byArtKrenz_TuscaloosaNews_Oct251935
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ArmyFB_1935_BillShuler-MonkMeyer_TelegraphNashuaNH_byPap_Nov21935

ArmyFB_1935_BillShuler-MonkMeyer_SpokaneDailyChronicle_byPap_Nov81935
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ArmyFB_1935_BillShuler_byJackSords_LongIslandDailyPress_Nov301935
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ArmyFB_1935_MonkMeyer_byAlanMaver_SundayMorningStar_Nov31935
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ArmyFB_1935_vsNotreDame_byAlanMaver_SundayMorningStar_Nov101935
ArmyFB_1935_vsNavy_TheTelegraph_Nov301935

ArmyFB_1935_vsNavy_ReadingEagle_Nov301935
ArmyFB_1935_vsNavy_MilwaukeeSentinel_Dec11935

ArmyFB_1935_vsNavy-
EdGrovesTD_MilwaukeeSentinel_Dec11935

ArmyFB_1935_vsNavy_ReadingEagle_Dec11935
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