The first Army-Navy game occurred in 1890 when Army Cadet Dennis Mahan Michie agreed to play the Naval Academy after the Midshipmen issued the challenge. The Army team was new and the game was played at West Point with Navy blanking Army 24-0. Three years later, Navy defeated Army at Annapolis and a post game argument between a Navy rear admiral and an Army brigadier general almost ended in a duel. President Grover Cleveland called a cabinet meeting that resulted in the Secretary of the Navy and the Secretary of War declaring that each team was restricted from playing one another at home and may not play each other. In fact a Navy Midshipman wore what is regarded by many as the first ever football helmet the same game that almost resulted in a duel. His name was Joseph Mason Reeves and he went on to become an admiral and a major lead of the Navys aircraft carrier fleet. He had been advised by a Navy doctor that any further trauma to his head would result in instant insanity or even death. He asked a local shoemaker to make him a helmet out of leather and the football helmet was born. The suspension of the game lasted five years, from 1894-1898. In 1899, both sides agreed to play in Philadelphia, which is about halfway between West Point and Annapolis. Other suspensions of the games were in 1909 when Army cancelled its season because of the death of one of their players during a game against Harvard. The game was put on hold in 1917-1918 for World War I and then again in 1928-1929 because of player eligibility reasons. However, the games have been played in continuity since 1930. The teams have played 114 times with the Navy leading the series 58-49-7 to include Navys most recent 12-game winning streak - the longest such streak in the rivalrys history.
Posted on: Sat, 13 Dec 2014 18:52:42 +0000
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