For What They Gave on Saturday Afternoon

The Plaque & Roster for the Thayer Hotel Room is at

http://forwhattheygaveonsaturdayafternoon.com/wp-1953/football-team-roster

After the Navy Game —- He ordered the door secured and as he turned to speak his eyes were misty. “I have never coached a team that give me more than you did. I never have coached a team that has given me as much satisfaction. Considering all the conditions since 1951, you have done more for football at West Point than any other team in the history of the Academy.”

If you play for Army, always remember what these Cadets did.

This is that Team – Winners of the Lambert Trophy

*Please note – Jerry Lodge – who wore #32 is missing from Photo as is Norm Stephen. 2d man 2d row next to Tommy Bell – Name is Zaborowski. Wynn #31 is actually in the 2d row not the 3d

The Cadets who played against Duke.

“Freddie Attaya” ’54 – FB & Punter; Tommy Bell ’55 – LHB; Ralph Chesnauskas ’56 – RG (played the entire game – 60 minutes, kicked the 2 extra points); Cockrell – LHB; Bob Farris ’56 – RT, “Howard Glock” ’56 – LT, Jerry Hagan ’55 – QB, Don Holleder ’56 – RE; Krause – RT; Lapchick – LE; Lasley – C; Jerry Lodge ’54 – FB, RHB; Def G & LB, “Leroy Lunn” – LG; Ordway- LE; Melnick – LT; Bob Mischak ’54 – LE, Lowell Sisson ’54 – RE, “Norm Stephen” ’54 – C, Pat Uebel ’56 – LHB, Peter Vann ’56 – QB, “Mike Zeigler” ’54 – RHB, “Dick Ziegler” ’54 – LG, Joe Franklin ’55 – RG (Tore up right knee when doubled teamed by Ralph Torrance & Eddie Meadows in 2d Quarter – Out for the Season)

Army Duke at the Polo Grounds — Army 14 Duke 13

Col Blaik called it “The Game never to be forgotten”

It was perhaps Army’s Greatest Game

Duke was ranked 7th in the Nation

The Corps’ preparation for the game had been more than unusual, including a “silence” imposed by the cheerleaders at the meal following Blaik’s talk. The “silence” which began after the traditional pregame sendoff of the team – proved potent. The cheerleaders had put a cork in the bottle of more than two years of pent up frustration. When the Corps completed its subdued, strangely silent, pregame march-on at the Polo Grounds, and the last man double-timed onto the first step of the stands, the men in gray exploded out. They shook that old stadium almost non-stop in the sunshine and shadows of that Indian summer afternoon.

The 2010 Nomination of the 1953 Team for the Army Sports Hall of Fame is at – –

http://forwhattheygaveonsaturdayafternoon.com/wp-53/nom-team

Nomination Letters by the Classes of 1954, 1955, 1957 and 1962 along with Nomination Letters by three members of the Class of 1956 who contributed to the Teams success and Bob Mischat’s Letter are at – –

http://forwhattheygaveonsaturdayafternoon.com/wp-letters/bob-class

Draft Nomination Material along with Video links of the Duke Game and the Navy Game are at – –

http://forwhattheygaveonsaturdayafternoon.com/wp-53/draft-nomination

For additional details of that season please go to —

1. Last Years Hall of Fame Nomination is at

http://forwhattheygaveonsaturdayafternoon.com/wp-nomination/1953-fb

2. The Reasons for The Class of 1962‘s Nomination of the 1953 Team for the Hall of Fame

http://forwhattheygaveonsaturdayafternoon.com/wp-1954/reasons-for-nomination

3. Bob Mishak’s Letter to the Hall of Fame Selection Committee

http://forwhattheygaveonsaturdayafternoon.com/wp-1954/mischak-letter

4. Bill McWilliams letter supporting ’62’s Nomination of the 1953 Football Team.

http://forwhattheygaveonsaturdayafternoon.com/wp-53/bill-nom-letter

5. Jim Morgan Remembers General James Van Fleet‘s Comments to the Corps

http://forwhattheygaveonsaturdayafternoon.com/wp-1954/van-fleet-15

6. Lowell Sisson remembers his 4 Years and his Teammates

http://forwhattheygaveonsaturdayafternoon.com/wp-1954/lowell-sisson

7. Joe Franklin Army Guard had his knee torn up in the 1st half of the Duke Game when Ralph Torrance and Eddie Meadows (Duke’s All American) double teamed him.

http://forwhattheygaveonsaturdayafternoon.com/wp-1955/joe-franklin

8. Peter Vann’s switching the ball to his left hand as Eddie Meadows grabbed his right — then the wobbly pass straight to Freddie Attaya to keep the drive alive

http://forwhattheygaveonsaturdayafternoon.com/wp-1956/peter-vann

9. Bob Farris played the entire 2d half of the Navy Game blind in one eye? (even though he was Captain – as a Cow – of the 1954 Team, he was never again to play another down of football)

http://forwhattheygaveonsaturdayafternoon.com/wp-1956/bob-farris

10. An Army Cheer Leader Remembers the preparation

http://forwhattheygaveonsaturdayafternoon.com/wp-1954/jay-gould

11. Bob Mischak’s 73 yard run down

http://forwhattheygaveonsaturdayafternoon.com/wp-1954/bob-mischak

12. Poor quality clips of that 73 yard play are at —

http://forwhattheygaveonsaturdayafternoon.com/armylore/50

Worth Lutz, Dukes quarterback said after the Game, “The savage cheering of Go!GO!GO! from the West Point stands placed our team in a nervous fright of tension and jitters.” (see page 9 of Army Lore)

There are two plays – three sentences from the New York Times of 18 October 1953 that exemplifies what this Team did —-

“He (Attaya) also took a 17-yard pass, amazingly thrown left-handed by Vann, immediately preceding the 43-yard scoring aerial.”

Peter Vann rolling to his right to throw, had been confronted by Duke’s All-American left tackle Ed Meadows. Peter had to slow and reverse direction, slanting to his left toward the line of scrimmage, to evade Meadows’ charge. As he lunged past, Meadows grabbed for Vann’s right arm, and Peter instinctively switched the ball to his left hand. Meadows then caught hold of Vann’s right arm, but Peter, still moving to his left, pulled free and threw a short, wobbly, but accurate left-handed strike.

“But from well back an Army figure set out in pursuit. With the place in an uproar, Bob Mischak cut down the gap between them, and finally leaped upon Smith and dragged him down on the 7 yard mark, 73 yards from the line of scrimmage.”

Bob had run down Duke’s All American Red Smith. For nearly 15 years afterward the story Army’s win and Bob Mischak’s tackle was part of West Point’s Military Psychology and Leadership Course – as an example of the power of motivation.

( 24 clips of Bob’s run down & the Team’s Goal Line Stand are at ( http://forwhattheygaveonsaturdayafternoon.com/armylore/50 )

Army held taking over an inch from the Goal Line. Attaya quick kicked out of the end zone and Army stopped Duke’s frantic passes in the closing seconds. The Cadet Corps poured onto the field lifting their heroes onto their shoulders. Army had returned to Glory.

“A Third was “Ralph Chesnauskas”, Yearling right guard who played the entire sixty minutes”

After the Game a number of the players who had played nearly the entire Game — both sides of the ball had to have their Triple A shirts cut off with sissors as they were stuck to the Skin.

Bob is number 87 on the left side of the line. Pat Uebel is number 34 coming out of the Backfield. It appears to be Melnick throwing the block in front of Bob and it probably is Attaya kicking.

The Team Went 7 – 1 – 1, Beating Navy for the First Time 3 Years

“Leroy Lunn” Army Team Captain 1953 Season

By Bill McWilliams

NCAA Rule Change — What made the rule change more difficult for Army was two prior years of rebuilding which had already caused turmoil on the team. Earl Blaik and his assistants constantly shifted players from one position to another, and promoted and demoted between the varsity and junior varsity, trying to strengthen the varsity. Now, just as things were beginning to settle down, the coaching staff had to determine who could perform best playing both ways. It was painful, because players who had just begun to feel they had secured starting positions on either offensive or defensive units found themselves tested again. And while the 1952 recruiting effort resulted in some talented new Yearling players in 1953, a few of the first and second classmen who had struggled through the two prior seasons found themselves shunted aside.

Lowell Sisson‘s experiences prior to the 1953 season typified the Army coaching staff’s scramble to find players best suited to go both ways and provide the team its best overall strength and balance.

In spring practice, Blaik and Vince Lombardi moved Lowell ’54 from end to offensive halfback. His high school senior year in Waterloo, IA, he had been a standout halfback on a state championship team. He was tall and fast, good material for Vince’s backfield.

Then, ten days before the season opener, Lowell received word to report to “The Colonel’s” office. Blaik and Lombardi wanted to see him. He was worried. “Why do they want to see me?” he wondered. Lombardi said, “Lowell, we want to switch you back to end. We wanted to ask you about it, if you would object.” Sisson was surprised, but relieved. “I have absolutely no objection. All I want to do is play football. However I can do it is great “at end or anywhere else.”

In a rather erratic first three games of the season, Army rolled over an out-manned Furman team 41-0, lost at Northwestern 33-20, and after a 0-0 first half, overcame a winless Dartmouth 27-0.

There were, however, interesting footnotes to the win over Dartmouth. Sports writer William J. Briordy, in a 10 Oct special to the New York Times, noted that Peter Vann completed 12 of 15 passes that day, three for touchdowns. Vann’s aerials that afternoon were uncharacteristically short, but that wasn’t important. Two touchdown throws were to Bob Mischak, the only player to receive any All-American recognition at season’s end. The other was to a Yearling named Don Holleder ’56, who in 1954 earned All-American honors at end, quarterbacked the 1955 Army team, and gave his life in Vietnam on 17 Oct 1967. Don’s name now is memorialized in the Holleder Center, adjacent to Michie Stadium.

The Times reporter couldn’t know that there were other matters buried in the history of the 1953 Dartmouth game. Earl Blaik wasn’t a coach who gave emotional, fire and brimstone speeches at halftime. Rather, he was analytical. He identified mistakes and taught his team how to correct them. Not so against Dartmouth. He was frustrated by a flat, lackluster first half and gave his team a tongue lashing.

Blaik’s offensive play routine required the Army center to be the first man out of the huddle after the quarterback called the play. As the center trotted up over the ball, the rest of the team would pause, then break from the huddle, and jog to the line of scrimmage. Not so the second half against Dartmouth, or against any other team the remainder of the 1953 season.

Center “Norm Stephen” ’54 was so energized by Blaik’s blistering remarks, that on the first offensive play of the second half he bolted from the huddle and raced to the ball – and the other ten men followed his lead. The Corps roared their approval, and that pattern continued the rest of the afternoon. A new method for calling up “the twelfth man” had been established. Perhaps it was the spark that lit next Saturday’s fire.

For then came The College Football Game of the Year, “the game never to be forgotten” as Earl Blaik called it – a heart-stopping 14-13 upset of No. 7 ranked Duke at the Polo Grounds.

Tuesday before the game, Peter Vann, who was a confident, pinpoint-accurate, long ball passer at quarterback – and had fast developed into a ball handling magician under Lombardi’s tutelage – sprained an ankle in practice. The injury was a severe blow, for Blaik and his staff knew the Duke contest was pivotal in Army’s attempts to recover from the honor scandal. Peter’s start was doubtful. He was unable to practice during the week. In spite of Blaik’s sixth football axiom, – Games are not won on the training table,- physical therapy became vital.

When the team went to New York on Friday for a final, light workout in the Polo Grounds, Vann was up to half speed. The practice plan included drop-back passes, the quarterback’s typical three steps back and throw, from the T-formation.

Blaik, ever sensitive to opposing teams’ and sports writers’ intelligence gathering, didn’t want anyone to know Pete might not be able to play against Duke. He and Lombardi also didn’t want Pete to aggravate his injury. Each time he took a practice snap from center “Norm Stephen”, Blaik and Lombardi were close beside him, one on each side, fading back with Peter, ready to catch him, to ensure he didn’t reinjure his ankle. They also were concealing the injury from prying eyes.

Their caution, and Peter’s determination and persistence, paid off. The next day, Peter Vann played perhaps the game of his life, along with a small band of cadets who had labored two and a third seasons learning how to consistently win. Vann’s game against Duke accelerated his rise to football glory at Army. Under Lombardi he sharpened his ball handling wizardry, which repeatedly confused and misled defenses. By the end of the season, his pass completion percentage climbed to 56. Lombardi was drawing Peter’s best from him, and when Lombardi left West Point, Peter continued along the path laid out for him. In 1954, Vann was eighth in the nation in total offense, named second team All-American, and ninth in Heisman Trophy voting.

Editors Note – For an explanation of Lombardi’s Royal “3Fs”; Peter’s comments about schooling by Vince Lombardi and a letter by Vince’s Son indicating that because of Peter’s success his Dad was able to climb the professional ranks – – see Peter Vann.

The 14-13 decision over Duke was the victory of a truly inspired team. Memories of the 1953 Duke game are vivid for those fortunate enough to have been in the disappointingly small crowd of 21,284, anticipating a Blue Devil walkover. Earl Blaik had spoken to the Corps during the noon meal on Thursday and stirred them as he never had before. Referring to what some had seen as a growing division between the Corps and the football team in the years preceding the cheating incident, Blaik intoned, “The Corps and the football team are one unit. You cannot separate them.”

Milton Caniff, Steve Canyon cartoonist, prepares the Corps for No. 7 Duke at the Thursday rally in Washington Hall.

The Corps’ preparation for the game had been more than unusual, including a “silence” imposed by the cheerleaders at the meal following Blaik’s talk. The “silence” which began after the traditional pregame sendoff of the team – proved potent. The cheerleaders had put a cork in the bottle of more than two years of pent up frustration. When the Corps completed its subdued, strangely silent, pregame march-on at the Polo Grounds, and the last man double-timed onto the first step of the stands, the men in gray exploded out.

The 1953 cheerleaders, standing, for the Army team, with tumblers in
the first row.
Cheerleaders, left to right: Ed Moses, ’54; John Clayton ’55, Al
Worden ’55, Billy McVeigh ’54, Jay Edwards ’54, Bill Robinson ’55;
Tumblers: Peter Jones ’54, Dan Ludwig ’55, Jack Charles ’54, Charles
Glenn ’56.

Corps March On, pre-game at the Polo Grounds, 17 October 1953.

They shook that old stadium almost non-stop in the sunshine and shadows of that Indian summer afternoon. This was also the game in which a band of enterprising 1954 and 1955 cheerleaders first rolled out and fired the now-traditional Army victory cannon. The first blast of the cannon culminated months of planning and scheming, in which the cheerleaders prevailed upon COL “Red” Reeder, the Graduate Manager of Athletics, to grant them Corps Squad status to obtain financial support for their spirit-inducing initiatives.

Memories of Duke 1953 are equally vivid for the men on Army’s small squad. Jerry Hagan ’55 quarterbacked the cadets 76 yards on the ground for their first touchdown, with the running of Tommy Bell, Pat Uebel ’56, “Fred Attaya”, and “Mike Zeigler” ’54. Bell, who hadn’t played since the season opener because of injuries, tore straight ahead through the Duke line nine yards for a first-quarter touchdown to put Army ahead 7-0.

He remembers at game’s end being lifted off his feet onto the shoulders of deliriously happy men in cadet gray, and being carried off the field, excited and exhausted. He also remembers that his little Irish mother attended the game and “after seeing the Corps carry him off the field” told Tommy she decided she, too, was a fan of his. Tom was off and running toward All-American recognition at the end of the 1954 season.

Deliriously happy Army players and cadets celebrate their stunning 14-13 upset of Duke University Blue Devils at the Polo Grounds in New York City’s Polo Grounds, 17 October 1953. Identified players are Lowell Sisson (83), right end; Bob Mischak (87), left end; Bill Cody (11), quarterback; Ed Zaborowski (58), center; Joe Franklin (facing Ed Zaborowski; Frank Burd (33),fullback; Peter Vann (10), quarterback.
(Photo courtesy of Associated Press.)

Big, handsome, fleet-footed Yearling “Patrick Uebel”, playing left halfback, remembers taking a 5-yard flare pass from Peter Vann, in the right flat, and weaving 38 yards down the sidelines for the second Army score, to put the cadets back in the lead to stay, 14-7. But his touchdown against Duke was only the beginning for Pat that year. Against Navy, he scored all three Army touchdowns in a magnificent win. Two of those touchdowns came on identical running plays from the Navy 5- and 3-yard lines, plays that bedeviled Army opponents nearly all season, and involved flawless ball handling and faking by Peter Vann, “Gerry Lodge” ’54, and Pat Uebel.

Ralph Chesnauskas ’56, a Yearling guard who played 60 grueling minutes, remembers the two extra points he kicked. The second one gave Army the margin of victory. Outwardly, he was icy calm.

Bob Farris was also one that stood out that day.(Editor’s Note – Bob played the entire 2d half totally blind in one eye. He never played another down of Football. As the Football Team Captain for the 1954 Season he dressed for every practice and Game.)

“Freddie Attaya” remembers Vince Lombardi’s shouted advice to him as he ran onto the field in a third and seven situation. “Run the gauntlet” yelled Lombardi.

Vince was reminding his fullback of a drill he put his backfield through in practice. Running backs, carrying the ball pressed against their gut, ran hard between two lines of eight players each. The ball carriers’ forearms protected the ball, and their hands tightly gripped opposite ends of the pigskin, every player in the gauntlet aggressively tried to “tackle the ball.” Freddie ripped the middle of Duke’s line for nine yards and a first down. When he came off the field, Lombardi rushed to hug him, telling him he had done a great job.

Peter Vann and “Freddie Attaya” both remembered a most unusual pass just before Pat Uebel rumbled 38 yards with another Vann pass to give Army the winning margin.

A right-handed passer, rolling eight yards deep, to his right to throw, Peter was confronted by Duke’s hard charging, All-American left tackle Ed Meadows. Peter cocked his arm to throw as Meadows closed in but had to slow and reverse direction, slanting to his left toward the line of scrimmage, to evade Meadows’ charge. As he lunged past, Meadows grabbed for Vann’s right arm, and Peter instinctively switched the ball to his left hand. Meadows then caught hold of Vann’s right arm, but Peter, still moving to his left, pulled free and threw a short, wobbly, but accurate left-handed strike to “Freddie Attaya”, good for 17 yards to the Duke 43. A left-handed throw by a right-handed passer kept the drive moving.

“Gerry Lodge”, converted from guard to fullback during spring practice, remembered the Duke game for a different reason. He played fullback on offense and guard on defense when Army was in a six-man line, and moved into linebacker when Army went to a five-man line. On defense, he played alongside the few linemen who were in the game nearly the entire 60 minutes and was in Army’s dramatic goal line stand following Bob Mischak’s game-saving tackle. With first and goal on Army’s 7-yard line, the cadets held Duke on a fourth down quarterback sneak from the two, with 40 seconds to play.

Throughout the final two minutes of play, especially during Duke’s four thrusts at the Army goal, it was almost impossible to hear or think because of the roar from the crowd. Cadets had come down out of the stands, were pressing around the Army bench and close to the sidelines, imploring their defense to hold.

Army’s always thorough scouting reports helped exploit Duke’s weaknesses and patterns.

Jerry Lodge remembered what Blaik had told the team. When the Blue Devils get inside an opponents’ 10-yard line, they run the ball between their own tackles on 95% of plays. And when they get close to the goal line, they run quarterback sneaks. Prior to the fourth down play, a Duke assistant threw a kicking tee onto the field, indicating a field goal attempt.

Lutz picked up the tee and threw it back, disdaining the field goal.

Jerry Lodge had seen his teammate, left guard “Dick Ziegler” ’54, playing magnificently all afternoon, often absorbing the energy of three Duke blockers because of his hard charges in the middle of their line. As Duke huddled for Lutz to call the fourth down play, Jerry Lodge said to Dick Ziegler, “Remember, he’s going to try to sneak.”

Lutz did, but he was met by a wall of white jerseys. Army took over on downs, inches from the goal line, while the Corps of Cadets shouted their frenzied approval. But the game wasn’t yet over. On first down, “Freddie Attaya”, on orders from Blaik, punted from deep in his end zone. Duke had 30 more seconds and four more plays from the Army 37-yard line – all passes – all knocked away. Peter Vann, Army’s quarterback, batted away the last pass in the end zone, a pass thrown by Gerry Barger, Duke’s quarterback, to starting quarterback Worth Lutz.

Army football fans had one other lasting memory to take with them -Bob Mischak’s incredible, game-saving tackle just prior to Army’s goal line stand.

With two and one half minutes left in a game that was already emotionally and physically exhausting, Duke took the ball on downs just inside their own 20-yard line with Army leading 14-13. Worth Lutz knew he needed a long gain. His team didn’t have the energy for a long, grinding drive, so he called a double reverse. Lutz handed the ball to halfback Bob Pascal, indicating a sweep around Army’s left side. Pascal then slipped the ball to “Red” Smith, Duke’s speedy All-American candidate, heading in the opposite direction. Army’s defense over commited, and Smith broke into the secondary. After sidestepping a linebacker, he was in the clear, ten yards beyond pursuing Army defenders, sprinting toward the southeast corner of the field.

Earl Blaik years later described reactions on the Army sidelines.

“We on the bench and the Corps of gray in the lower stands behind us shot to our feet in sudden silent, stunned consternation. Smith looked home free. I felt our heads were being pushed down once more into the ashes of 1951.”

Then, from out of the pack of pursuers, came left end Bob Mischak. He had an angle on Smith and rapidly began closing the gap at the 50-yard line. By the time Smith crossed the Army 20, Mischak had closed to 3 yards. The Army stands were coming alive, shouting encouragement to him, but it was important that he not commit too soon. Blaik held his breath, muttering to himself, – “Not yet! Not yet!” As Smith crossed the 12-yard line, Earl Blaik was saying “Now! Now!” Bob Mischak leaped far and high, caught Smith around the shoulders at the 10, and downed him on the 7-yard line.

Earl Blaik remembered Bob Mischak‘s game-saving tackle for the rest of his life.

“In somehow catching and collaring [Smith], Mischak displayed heart and a pursuit that for one single play I have never seen matched. Yet his feat, one of the great defensive plays of football, would have soon been forgotten, had it not been for the [goal line stand that] followed.”

In the locker room after the game, Earl “Red” Blaik, his eyes glistening with tears, presented Bob Mischak the game ball. As he handed the ball to Mischak, Blaik, a man of few but always impressive words, said simply, “Don’t ever give up.”

For nearly 15 years afterward the story of Bob Mischak’s tackle against Duke was part of West Point’s Military Psychology and Leadership Course – as an example of the power of motivation.

One day, at the end of the 1953 season, Bob Mischak was told to report to the office of the Athletic Director. Quietly, without ceremony, he was handed a certificate saying he had been named to the National Broadcasting Company’s All-American team.

The evening following the Duke game, Peter Vann entered the hotel elevator and headed out for a bite to eat. He was alone when the elevator stopped at the next floor. The door opened and in stepped Vince Lombardi – alone.

As the doors closed, Lombardi, still elated over the game’s outcome, once again complimented Peter on his play that afternoon. Then, after a brief exchange about where Pete was going, Vince reached for his billfold and handed Peter a $5 bill. “Here,” he said, “go buy yourself a beer – and don’t tell the Colonel.”

Army went on to their “football miracle” that year, winning four of their remaining five games, a record marred only by the 0-0 tie at Tulane. The sterling 20-7 win over Navy – a story in itself – capped an emotional season of inspired football, and put Vince Lombardi back on his mountain top.

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Jerry Lodge grinds out yardage against North Carolina State, in Michie Stadium. In the background is Bob Mishcak (87).

Peter Vann-10, “Moose Krause” – 79

Below against NC State Pat Uebel – 34 and Jerry Lodge 32

The Navy Game

General James Van Fleet speaking to the Corps prior to the Navy Game

Navy fumbles attempting to return the opening kickoff. The photo,
taken by a photographer for the Philadelphia Inquirer, incorrectly
identified the Army player recovering the ball, as Howard Glock, when
in fact it was Lowell Sisson (83) who is on his feet facing the
camera lens as the ball squirts past his thighs. Glock (71), Bell
(46), Mischak (87), Farris (55) and Uebel (34) are identifiable.
(Photo courtesy of Urban Archives, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA.)

But this was a special team, a team of heroes without individual stars, with different heroes each Saturday, all playing for the love of the game, a team about which the famed sports writer Grantland Rice said, “They came up the hard way, and there probably has never been a team with a finer spirit.”

In the locker room after the win over Navy, with no newspaper reporters present, players on the 1953 team heard marvelous, complimentary words from Earl Blaik.

“I never coached a team,” he told them, “that gave me more than you did. I never have coached a team that has given me as much satisfaction. Given all the conditions since 1951, you have done more for football at West Point than any other team in the history of the Academy . . .”

As the years went by, Earl Blaik frequently noted that coaching the 1951 – 53 Army teams brought him the greatest professional satisfaction in his career. Vince Lombardi‘s step to glory on the professional gridiron began in earnest during those three years. Under Earl Blaik he learned what was necessary to turn adversity to triumph, and he applied those lessons to great effect at Green Bay.

By observing Blaik, the irrepressible Lombardi also improved his ability to organize, discipline, and inspire a team. “My – football is your – football,” he later wrote Blaik. “My approach to a problem is the way I think you would approach it.”

Recalled Blaik, “He may have learned a few things during our years together, but he didn’t learn that magnetism at West Point. It was always in him. You don’t put magnetism into people.”

Jim Lee Howell, the New York Giants’ head coach who hired Lombardi after the 1953 season at Army, said, “If Lombardi can do that kind of job in three years at West Point – he could do a helluva job in the pros where he would have an experienced base to work with.”

For the men who played on those Army teams, and particularly in his last backfield, there would be memories of a complex, fiery man, who came to West Point as a “diamond in the rough.” They undoubtedly would agree with the words about Vince Lombardi, penned by one of his great players at Green Bay, Jerry Kramer. In his book, Instant Replay, Jerry wrote, “Lombardi was a cruel, kind, tough, gentle, miserable, wonderful man whom I often hate and often love and always respect.”

Dedication
In memory of Richard “George Inman” ’52, who was killed in action leading his platoon to safety on “Pork Chop Hill”, in Korea, on 7 Jul 1953, three weeks before the armistice was signed. Dick was a letterman on the 1951 Army football team.

This article is based on the author’s research for a forthcoming book — A Retum to Glory: The Untold Story of Honor, Dishonor, and Triumph at the United States Military Academy, 1950-53.

Years later Col Blaik was to say the’51,’52 culminating with the success of the 1953 Football Team brought him the – – – “greatest professional satifaction of his career”

Army 20 – Navy 7

Pointer Articles 53 Season

Army’s Year

Adjustments Required

Col Blaik

Yearlings of the 53 Team

53 Team

<a

B Squad

Col Reeder — to the Corps

Two of Army’s Greats

A Tough Schedule

Then Navy

Furman & Northwestern Games

Getting Ready for Duke

Army Duke — Perhaps Army’s Greatest Game

Army 40 – Columbia 7

A Tie – – – The Corps was not There

Army over Penn

The Last Game for the Class of 54

Army – Navy Rosters

Peter Vann — Pin Point Passing

Army will win

Great Army Navy Games

Navy in Review

Amen’s Report

Army Navy Series

It is More Than A Ball Game

Yes, Yes, Yes

Army 20 – Navy 7

Col Blaik Paid the Price Coach of the Year

It was the Team that Gave the Most

Winners of the Lambert Trophy

Various sports articles provided by Russ “Skip” Grimm – Class of ’76

ArmyFB_1953_forecast_NYT_Sep121953

ArmyFB_1953_vsDartmouth_BrooklynDailyEagle_Oct111953

ArmyFB_1953_vsNCState-Mischak_Nov81953

ArmyFB_1953_PeteVann_StJosephGazette_Nov261953

ArmyFB_1953_vsNavy-preview_NYT_Nov281953

ArmyFB_1953_PeteVann_byAlanMaver_TheDispatchNC_Nov281953

ArmyFB_1953_vsNavy-starters_NYT_Nov281953

ArmyFB_1953_vsNavy_Life_Dec71953

http://books.google.com/books?id=O0kEAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PP1&pg=PA49#v=onepage&q&f=false

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ArmyFB_1953_vsNavy_SpokaneDailyChronicle_Nov281953

ArmyFB_1953_vsNavy_StJosephNews-Press_Nov291953

ArmyFB_1953_vsNavy_MilwaukeeSentinel_Nov291953

ArmyFB_1953_vsNavy_StPetersbrugTimes_Nov291953

ArmyFB_1953_vsNavy_BrooklynDailyEagle_Nov301953

ArmyFB_1953_Uebel_3TDs_BrooklynDailyEagle_Nov301953

Photos

Complete

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1926 Army 7-1-1 #8*
1926/11/27 Army 21 – Navy 21 T (Soldier Field, Chicago Il)

Howitzer 1927
http://digital-library.usma.edu/cdm/compoundobject/collection/howitzers/id/17799

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read below – THE GREATEST ARMY–NAVY
By Ray Schmidt
“…No single game in college football history has ever so completely
combined the color, spectacle, national media coverage, public popularity,
and top-flight level of play as the Army-Navy battle of 1926 at Soldier Field.
Robert Kelley of the New York Times defined the game’s significance when he wrote
that day:
“Football had the greatest pageant, its high spot of color, and so did sport in the United States.”

http://www.la84.org/SportsLibrary/CFHSN/CFHSNv17/CFHSNv17n2e.pdf

*”The 1926 college football season was the first to attempt recognition of a national champion.
The Dickinson System was a mathematical point formula that awarded national championships in college football.
Devised by University of Illinois economics professor Frank G. Dickinson, the system crowned national champions from 1926 to 1940,
and included predated rankings for 1924 and 1925.”

Coach: Lawrence McCeney “Biff” Jones (October 8, 1895 – February 12, 1980)
Army 1926-1929 – 30-8-2
LSU 1932-1934 – 20-5-6
Oklahoma 1935-1936 – 9-6-3
Nebraska 1937-1941 – 28-14-4 (1940 Rose Bowl vs Stanford AP#7)

Total: 87-33-15

source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biff_Jones

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ArmyFB_1926_vsNavy_EveningIndependent_Nov271926

ArmyFB_1926_vsNavy_SarasotaHeraldTribune_Nov281926

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THE GREATEST ARMY–NAVY

By Ray Schmidt
PAGE 9

There was a time — more difficult to remember with each passing season — when the results of the annual gridiron showdown between the teams of West Point and Annapolis (that’s Army and Navy) were followed by football fans across the country, and often carried significance in the race for mythical national honors. Yet even more so, the game and its surrounding pageantry represented the best moments of college football. No other rivalry in college football consistently created such anticipation at the host cities, and then actually came through with the color, the excitement, and the spectacle that was unmatched — with even a good football game on occasion.

From this long-running series there is one game that stands above the others as the greatest Army-Navy clash ever, and one of the best in the annals of all college football history. In the early 1940s, Esquire magazine conducted a poll and named the game “the greatest in history” to that time, while the long-time prominent coach, Clark Shaughnessy, selected it as one of the 12 greatest games of all-time. Shaughnessy described it as one game “seldom matched for brilliant and courageous individual play, and for daring and spectacular team strategy.” It was of course the legendary 1926 Army-Navy showdown.
In those times the service academies alternated years in selecting the site for their annual game,and during the 1920s bids were frequently received from several cities — usually always along the Eastern Seaboard. In late 1924, a group from Chicago — supported by U.S. Representatives Fred Britten and Martin Madden of Illinois — entered the bidding to host the 1925 Army-Navy game. The other cities seeking the game included Washington D.C., Philadelphia, Baltimore, and two different groups from New York (one representing the Polo Grounds and the other the relatively new Yankee Stadium). Chicago was under a handicap because of its distance from the two schools, and West Point officials (who would be selecting the 1925 site) were on record as opposing any site that would keep the Corps of Cadets away from the school overnight — a position endorsed by War Secretary John W. Weeks.

The 1925 game was ultimately awarded to the Polo Grounds — despite Yankee Stadium’s larger seating capacity — but Chicago businessmen were soon preparing another bid for the 1926 game which would be selected by Naval Academy officials. Again the Midwest city was challenged by New York, Baltimore, and Philadelphia, but this time it was better prepared The Chicago group announced its willingness to raise $100,000 for each academies’ athletic fund, in addition
to the approximately $600,000 which would be required to cover the expenses of bringing the teams and students to the game. Yet the Eastern cities continued in the role of the favorites.

Political pressure upon the academies intensified, as Midwest congressmen and service men’s organizations turned up the heat. No stone was left unturned — in December 1925 the Chicago Herald-Examiner ran an editorial stating that an Army-Navy game in Chicago would “arouse in youthful civilian minds a new understanding of love of country and eager appreciation of what education at West Point and Annapolis means” — this at a time when many leaders of America were urging the need for much better preparedness and training for the nation’s youth, given the recent experiences of World War I. In case patriotism didn’t strike the right chord, the editorial declared that, “Those great schools are not the exclusive property of the East.”

In the end, political pressure and big money carried the day — along with a stadium that could seat in excess of 100,000 ticket-buying fans — and so Annapolis officials awarded the 1926 game to Chicago. The Midwest city had built mammoth Grant Park Stadium on the banks of Lake Michigan just south of the downtown area in 1925. Some football games had been played there that first season — including Northwestern’s famous 3-2 win over Michigan in the mud — yet for 1926 the stadium was being renamed as “Soldier Field” in memory of World War I military personnel, and the Army-Navy game was selected as the formal dedication event.

Soldier Field was a U-shaped arena with a seating capacity of nearly 100,000, with many of the seats at the north end well beyond the gridiron itself. In anticipation of a large ticket demand for the Army-Navy clash, the Chicago Park Board was having temporary bleachers installed to close the open north end of the stadium — with no concern that these seats would be 30-40 yards beyond the goal posts. After holding out the seats for the two visiting student bodies and numerous dignitaries, there remained 40,000 decent seats which were priced at either $15 or $10 each, with the binocular-type seats priced lower. A full house scaled at these prices would produce gate receipts of approximately $800,000.

To say the least, the demand for tickets was overwhelming, as over 600,000 ticket requests were received for the 100,000 seats available on sale. Placed in charge of the ticket sales was Colonel H.C. Carbaugh — a 65-year old Army veteran who normally served as supervisor of the Civil Service Department for Chicago’s South Park Board Members of the public seeking tickets at times became so aggressive that it was necessary for Carbaugh to have body guards while at work, and police were assigned to protect the entrances to the Park’s Administration Building.

Of course it wouldn’t be Chicago without some hint of corruption, and it came to light when U.S. Representative John J. Gorman from Chicago charged that the South Park Board was violating an earlier agreement with the Chicago-area congressmen by only providing them with a hundred tickets each. Gorman added that rumors abounded that each of the park commissioners was receiving 1200 tickets. E. J. Kelly, president of the South Park commissioners, replied that everything possible was being done to distribute the tickets fairly and no attention was being given to the complaints of the congressmen.
Two days before the game Navy’s traveling party arrived aboard a special train via the Pennsylvania Railroad Coach Bill Ingram spurned a practice session at Soldier Field, and instead took his Middies to a workout on a secluded grassy island in the Sherman Park lagoon while guards protected all the bridgeways leading over the water. The Army team arrived soon afterward on the Michigan Central line, and Coach Biff Jones then drilled his charges at Soldier Field before the team headed for its accommodations at the South Shore Country Club.

The day before the game the visiting student bodies from the two academies were treated to a luncheon at Marshall Field’s giant department store in downtown Chicago, after which the cadets and midshipmen staged a big parade south on Michigan Avenue as they marched to Soldier Field for the formal dedication ceremony. Meanwhile, there was also a full slate of luncheons and parties planned to entertain the service personnel throughout the weekend.
Helping to fuel the already overheated college football fans of Chicago was the fact that the two teams were among the nation’s elite for 1926 — Navy coming in with a record of 9-0-0 and Army at 7-1-0, with only a narrow 7-0 defeat to Notre Dame marring the Cadets record. The Army team was slightly favored, and its powerhouse included such great players as Chris Cagle, “Lighthorse” Harry Wilson, Chuck Born, Gar Davidson, and Red Murrell; while Navy countered with standouts such as Tom Hamilton, Frank Wickhorst, Tom Eddy, and Whitey Lloyd.

When time for the kickoff finally arrived on November 27, 1926 — amidst concerns over the many counterfeit tickets which had been found in circulation — Soldier Field was jammed with approximately 110,000 fans, with thousands more standing atop every nearby building, water tower, and bridge that afforded any hopes of a glimpse of the action. A New York Times writer surveyed the scene from the rim of Soldier Field and reported that, “Looking off over the top of the stadium, there was nothing to see but people.” It was later stated that over 18,000 automobiles had been parked around the stadium, while Chicago taxi companies reported that they had made approximately 20,000 separate trips out to the arena. The massive crush of people and cars required the city to assign 1,350 police officers to direct traffic and maintain order. James Bennett of the Chicago Tribune described it as “a multitude that was worthy of the game.”

It was a cold day along the Chicago lakefront, and, except for the sun breaking through on one occasion, the game was played under a gray and heavily clouded sky. Snow banks surrounded the field from an earlier storm that had required 300 men to work the entire night before the game shoveling off the seats of the stadium. Around the rim of the stadium were large American flags which rippled in the wintry breezes off Lake Michigan.

Army kicked off to open the game, and surprisingly, Coach Jones of the Cadets had a half dozen of his first string players on the sideline. After the teams exchanged punts, the offensive fireworks began. Starting from its 45 yard line, Navy began to mix an array of short passes with its running attack. After several plays moved the ball to Army’s 34, Jim Schuber of Navy faked an end sweep but instead rifled a long pass that Hank Hardwick plucked out of the air at the eight yard line before being dragged down at the one. Two plays later Howard Caldwell blasted in for the touchdown, and Tom Hamilton’s drop-kick made it 7-0, Navy.

Again the teams returned to an exchange of possessions although Navy clearly held the upper hand, and writer Walter Eckersall later declared that “the Middies appeared unbeatable in the first quarter.” Late in the period Navy began a drive from its 43 yard line and, after a penalty set them back to the 32, Hamilton connected on a pass to Schuber that was good for 23 yards. After a couple more plays, Coach Jones rushed the rest of his Army first string into the game just before the quarter ended with the Middies at the Army 22. Several plays later Schuber blasted in from one yard out for the TD, and Hamilton’s PAT made it 14-0.

Later in the second quarter Army finally got its offense on track behind the hard running of Chris Cagle and Harry Wilson. Starting from their 37 yard line after a punt, the Cadets got rolling as Wilson broke off a dazzling change of pace run of 23 yards to the Navy 40. Two playslater Cagle swept around right end on a 21-yard gallop, and on the next snap Wilson slashed through the left side of the line and sailed 17 yards to Army’s first touchdown. Wilson’s placekick made it 14-7.

The next time Army had the ball it was unable to move, and so Red Murrell dropped back to his 20, from where he boomed a towering punt that came down to the Middies’ Howard Ransford on the Navy 25. Attempting a running catch, Ransford fumbled the ball and the bouncing pigskin caromed off the foot of Army’s Skip Harbold and toward the Navy goal line. Catching up with the ball near the 15, Harbold picked it up and rumbled toward paydirt, and despite falling down at the one, the weary cadet managed to squirm into the end zone for the touchdown. Wilson’s PAT made it 14-14, and the wild first half soon came to a close.

After the gigantic throng had been entertained by a mock battle between students of the two schools, the second half got underway as Army started from its 26 after Cagle’s 20-yard runback of the kickoff. Several plays later Wilson swept around left end for a gain of 15 yards to the Navy 44, and on the next snap Cagle broke up the middle and dashed all the way for the touchdown that put Army ahead 21-14 after Wilson’s PAT.

Despite the stunning comeback by the Cadets, the Middies returned to the attack. Both of the high-powered offenses fought back and forth until late in the third quarter when Navy started from its 43 yard line after a punt. Slowly the Middies headed up the field as the action moved into the fourth quarter. Hamilton completed two key passes to Alan Shapley on the drive, and Ransford chipped in a critical gain of eight yards for a first down at Army’s 15. The 12-play drive was capped off in sensational fashion when Shapley swept around right end on a fourth down and three play for an eight-yard touchdown run. With the entire stadium holding its breath, Hamilton calmly drop-kicked the extra point to tie it at 21-21.

With just over seven minutes left to play, the surrounding gloom and darkness had gathered to the point where it was increasingly difficult for fans and writers in the press box to distinguish the players on the field. Still, Army mounted one last attempt at the win, starting from its 27 yard line after the following kickoff. On the second play of the series Wilson broke through left tackle for a 28 yard dash into Navy territory, and then he and Murrell alternated in pounding the Middies’ line. Finally, checked just inside the 20, Wilson dropped back to attempt a place-kick from the 26. The ball was spotted directly in front of the goal posts, but incredibly Wilson’s kick sailed just wide.

The final couple minutes were played in “almost total darkness,” as the electric lights over the stadium’s entrance tunnels and on the Scoreboard twinkled in the gloom. On the last play of the game Hamilton attempted a desperate pass for Navy, but the aerial was intercepted by (and here’s where the darkness contributed to the confusion) either Wilson, Cagle, or Chuck Harding — depending on which game account you choose to accept. The runback was finally halted deep in Navy territory, and so the monumental battle ended in a 21-21 tie.

Combined with Notre Dame’s shocking 19-0 loss to Carnegie Tech that same day, undefeated Navy’s hard-earned tie gave its supporters plenty of ammunition to debate Stanford for the mythical national championship. Yet more significant was the 1926 game’s place in football history. Walter Eckersall described it as “one of the greatest football games ever played,” and it remains so to his day. No single game in college football history has ever so completely combined the color, spectacle, national media coverage, public popularity, and top-flight level of play as the Army-Navy battle of 1926 at Soldier Field. Robert Kelley of the New York Times defined the game’s significance when he wrote that day: “Football had the greatest pageant, its high spot of color, and so did sport in the United States.”

http://www.la84.org/SportsLibrary/CFHSN/CFHSNv17/CFHSNv17n2e.pdf

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Army 1960 6-3-1
1960/11/26 Army 12 – Navy 17 L

Coach: Dale Stanley Hall (June 21, 1924 – August 23, 1996)
Army 1959-1961:
1959 Army 4-4-1
1960 Army 6-3-1
1961 Army 6-4
Army: 16-11-2
Total: 16-11-2

Schedule

Army 37 Buffalo 0
Army 20 Boston College 7
Army 28 California 10
Army 16 Penn State 28
Army 9 Nebraska 14
Army 54 Villanova 0
Army 30 Miami of Ohio 7
Army 9 Syracuse 6
Army 7 Pittsburg 7
Army 12 Navy 17

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Army – BC Game

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Army – California Game Oct 1

– – Blanda Passes for 2 Scores and Rushatz Runs Hard in 4-Touchdown 2d Half BERKELEY, Calif., Oct. 1 — Tom Blanda and Al Rushatz powered the Cadets of Army to a four-touchdown second-half rally and a 28-10 victory over California today. – – – NY Times Oct 2 1960
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Army – Nebraska Game Oct 14

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Army – Miami(OH) Game Oct 29

“Jim Sarn” 82, Barry Butzer 60, “Dick Eckert” 10

Bill Yost 75, “Bill Clark” 26, 84 “Bill Harkins”

“Glen Adams” 16, “Ed Pillings” AAA Trainer on left

Tom Blanda 18, Al Vanderbush 64, Al Rushatz 31 with ball, “Bob McCarthy” 77, #44 unknown, Bob Fuellhart 80

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Army – Syracuse Game Nov 6

This was one of the finest games of the 4 years for the Class of 62. In the 4th quarter, Syracuse (defending National Champions) trying to come from behind, would attempt 3 passes, then hand off to Ernie Davis who would pickup 10 or 11 yards before Army closed on him. As Syracuse drove closer to the goal, Army stopped the drive with an interception and then drove to the Syracuse one-yard line, when time expired. It was a night on the town in New York City after that game.

One of our Fullbacks (probably Ray) is going to Bust Somebody – Al Rushatz & “Ray Paske” ran this play several times with success. There is a clear image in my mind of Al, right in front of the Corps, getting tripped up at the line of scrimmage, dropping his free hand as he is nearly horizontal, regaining his balance and rumbling for more yardage.

Tom Blanda gives us 3 More

John Ellerson puts him in the Dirt

Army has broken free, headed for a Score

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‘on, Brave Old Army Team’
Backed by a legion of cheering cadets, the Army football team stormed into Yankee Stadium and beat favored Syracuse 9-6
Roger Williams, Sports Illustrated – November 14, 1960

For a disappointing, twice-beaten team, Army got a rousing send-off when it left West Point last week for its game with Syracuse. The corps of cadets disclosed and expended emotional reserves usually saved for the Navy game-signs, stunts, parades, a crackling determination all over the Point. Army, shouted 2,500 cadets, would beat Syracuse.

But Army was a 7-point underdog, and sportswriters noted that under Ben Schwartzwalder the Orange – in two varsity games, numerous freshman games and several preseason scrimmages – had never lost to Army in football. Still cadet spirit soared. At Yankee Stadium dedicated gray-coats plastered “Slash Syracuse” signs on sideline barriers and scattered oranges around a symbolic cross planted at midfield.

Army stole the on-field show as well. Playing their most inspired game in years, the Cadets forced Syracuse into costly mistakes. One penalty helped Army reach the Syracuse 12, where Tom Blanda kicked a field goal. A fumble on the Army 20 cost Syracuse its one real threat to score in the first half.

At half time, the Orange band marched and the “national champion” baton twirler performed. But the corps roared back with choruses of On, Brave Old Army Team. Then, in the third quarter, with Fullback Al Rushatz doing most of the carrying, Army moved swiftly and scored when sub Quarterback Dick Eckert faked two handoffs and cut inside end from the two. Army led 9-0.

Then Syracuse came to life. Ernie Davis ate up 37 yards on two runs and, when Army braced, Dick Easterly passed to Ken Ericson for a touchdown. Syracuse grabbed the ball again but Army stopped the Orange. With fourth and 10 on the Syracuse 39, Tom Gilburg dropped back in punt formation. Army scouts had seen the Orange fake a kick in similar situations and had alerted Coach Dale Hall. Hall played for the fake and, when Gilburg threw a pathetically wobbly pass, Army was ready. Roger Zailskas intercepted and that was all. The game ended 9-6 with Army on the Syracuse one and a mob of cadets jumping up and down on the sideline. They swept Hall and their team right off the field and on toward Annapolis.

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Army vs Pittsburgh Nov 12

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There were several reasons we lost to Navy that year.

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ArmyFB_1960_AlVandebush-JoeBellino_byMurrayOlderman_PortsmouthTimes_Nov231960

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By Rabble
Mar 11, 2003

1960: Army vs Navy – A look back at the 1960 Army-Navy game.  go to – https://forwhattheygave.wordpress.com/2007/11/02/1960-army-navy/

to see story with  pictures

The following article was written the day after the Army team took the Navy down to the wire in a most thrilling Army Navy games of that era. Navy prevailed that year, 17-12. Described by the Dean of New York sports writers, Red Smith (1905-1982), he aptly describes the exciting action in his exclusive column.

RED SMITH

The Slasher

Philadelphia, November, 26, 1960—–The first time they gave Joe Bellino the ball, Armys John Ellerson leaped upon his sternum and spread him out like apple butter 14pon the painted meadow of Philadelphias Municipal Stadium The second tim, he faked a quick-kick, spun to run to his left, and was hit from behind by a runaway beer truck named Bob McCarthy.

On his third try he did no better, and up in the press box aan said, “Army’ll beat this team.” Just then Bellino took the ball again. He shot through a gap near the middle of Army’s line, veered to the left on a long slant through the secondary, and raced 58 yards before George Kirschenbauer hauled him down on the Army 42-yard line. Navy was off and rolling in the 61st engagement of its Seventy Years’ War with the football paladins of West Point.

That first daring dash by the swift and stumpy marauder from the Severn didn’t lead directly to a score, but in one stroke it changed the complexion of the struggle from Gray to Navy Blue. Taking the opening kickoff, Navy was smashed flat by the same clamoring Cadets who had smeared the dangerous runners of Syracuse and Pitt earlier this season. Then a punt by Army’s Paul Stanley pinned the Sailors down a yard from their own goal line.

There was Navy staring glumly down the throat of a howitzer, and then Bellino busted loose. Before the first quarter was over, Navy was in front, 6-0. At intermission the score was 17-0, and 98,616 witnesses had a premonition that this might degenerate into another rabbit-hunt like Navy’s 43-12 gambol last year.

Early Errors Nobody could foresee the heroics which the second half would produce, the wild excursions and alarums, the mounting tension as Army came clawing back in a frantic struggle against the stubborn foe on the field and the coldly impartial clock hung up against a bright blue sky.

At halftime it seemed a shabby show, in spite of the mildest, loveliest weather this production had enjoyed in years, in spite of all the elegant trappings of traditional pageantry, in spite of the exciting presence of the admirable Bellino.

Army had messed it up early through mental and mechanical error. After the Cadets smothered Navy’s first action and forced a punt, Joe Blackgrove unwisely tried to field the bouncing kick with his back to an advancing horde. Smashed from behind, he fumbled away Army’s first chance to attack.

Stanley’s fine punt, repaired that damage, and after Bellino’s long run took the ball into Army territory, the military braced and Navy tried a fourth-down field goal which Greg Mather missed. So it was still a scoreless game, but on the very next play Al Rushatz, the West Point fullback, fumbled the ball back to Navy, Needing 23 yards for a touchdown, Navy got ’em fast, Bellino slanting over for the last four wearing Kirschenbauer like a stole across his shoulders.

Up off the Rug

THERE never was another one-piece play like Bellino’s big run, but in the second quarter he was a constant menace, butting the middle for short yardage and slipping outside the tackles to wriggle like a brook trout through congested traffic. With Joe running and Hal Spooner passing handsomely, Navy pushed down into scoring range again and Mather made the score 9-0 with a 26-yard field goal.

As the first half sifted away, the Midshipmen put on still another foray, once more with Spooner passing and Bellino carrying. With 17 seconds remaining, the quarterback threw to Jim Luper, who fell across the goal line with Bill Sipos hanging on. Trapped trying to pass for two extra points, Bellino flipped the ball back to Spooner, who ran for the 16th and 17th points.

Navy seemed In complete control. The Army attack, such as it had been, offered little to cheer the 2,400 Cadets in the stands. West Point backs couldn’t seem to get traction on tile dyed green grass, kept falling before they reached the line of scrimmage. Even the fire of the Army defense seemed damped after Navy’s first touchdown.

Something happened between halves, though. The third quarter opened, and it was a different game. With Tom Blanda’s passes complementing the rushes of Rushatz, Glen Adams and Kirschenbauer, Army drove for one touchdown and almost immediately set out after another. Again misfortune balked the Cadets; a penalty for having an inengible receiver downfield on a pass play slowed one drive, and the score was still 17-6 when the last period began.

Last Curtain

The jubilant Midshipmen on the stadium’s west slope had just about had it. Now and then they whooped and brandished white caps aloft, but mostly they sat transfixed, watching and praying, Dick Eckert, Army’s second quarterback, engineered a solid advance that Rushatz consummated with a dive into the end zone. Now it was 17-12 with nine minutes remaining for Army to chew at a five-point lead. Navy stopped a drive, then fumbled, Rushatz recovered for Army, 17 yards from victory. Yard by yard, cudgelling the line for short gains, Army ground ahead to the 6-yard line. There a hasty lateral got loose, rolled back to the Navy 20. Blanda passed and missed, passed and missed again. The clock showed 1:55 remaining when his last throw fell incomplete and Navy took the ball.

The contest was over, needing only a final theatrical flourish. There was a guy on hand to furnish just that. Guy named Bellino. Unable to run out the clock, Navy punted to midfield. Blanda wound up for the last prayerful shot, took aim on Blackgrove and fired. Bellino got in front of the receiver, picked off the ball on the goal line and went swirling 45 yards back to safety as the curtain came down.
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Army 1959 4-4-1 1959/11/28 Army 12 – Navy 43 L 1960 USMA Howitzer: no longer available at archive.org Coach: Dale Stanley Hall (June 21, 1924 – August 23, 1996) Army 1959-1961: 1959 Army 4-4-1 1960 Army 6-3-1 1961 Army 6-4 Army: 16-11-2 Total: 16-11-2 source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dale_Hall Captain Bill Carpenter 87, Bob Anderson is 21, Ozzie Oswandel 56, Joe Caldwell 12, “Don Usry” 89, “Mike Jesor” 68, “Steve Waldrop”42, “Russ Walters” 83, “George Everbach” 82, “Scotty Brown”71, Coach Dale Hall is center.

The Class of 1960 had 2 Football All Americans – –

Bill Carpenter &Bob Anderson

– ArmyFB_1959_DaleHall-newcoach_ChicagoTribune_Feb11959 – ArmyFB_1959_HallandLeaders_TheTelegraph_Sep141959 – ArmyFB_1959_vsBC-pre_TheHeights_Sep251959 ArmyFB_1959_vsBC-pre_TheHeights_Sep251959 – –– – –

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