COLLEGE FOOTBALL RECORDS
Army vs Navy
First game: Nov. 29, 1890 At stake: When: First Saturday in December Where: neutral site, Lincoln Field, Philadelphia Misc.: The first Army-Navy game was played at West Point in 1890, the second at Annapolis one year later. It wasnít until 1899, on the occasion of the seriesí fifth game, that Philadelphiaís Franklin Field became the host. Since that 1899 meeting, itís been Philadelphia that has dominated as the host city. There have been 13 sites over the many years since the series was inaugurated, with nearly one-fourth of those located within Philadelphia city limits. The Army-Navy game of 1893, won by Navy 6-4, was so bloody--including several free-for-all fights in the stands--that President Grover Cleveland banned the contest for five years. The series was resumed in 1899. The service academies did not meet during World War I (1917-1918), as a sign of unity. The series was interrupted again in 1928-1929 after bad feelings had again flared up. No regular-season games were scheduled for 1930-1931, but the teams met in charity games at New York's Yankee Stadium following the two seasons, with proceeds going to the relief of the unemployed during the early years of the Great Depression. Army won both games, 6-0 in 1930 and 17-7 in 1931. The series has continued uninterrupted since. The first time a college football game drew a crowd of at least 100,000 was in 1926 when 9-0 Navy met 7-1 Army at Chicago's Soldier Field. The two battled to a 21-21 tie before an estimated 110,000 spectators. The largest crowds ever to attend a college football game, estimated at 120,000, also were at Soldier Field in the 1920s. Those crowds watched Notre Dame edge Southern California 7-6 in 1927 and saw the Irish beat Navy 7-0 in 1928. In 1929 the Fighting Irish edged Southern California 13-12 at Soldier Field before a crowd officially listed at 112,912. A 19-year-old Marine who had seen service in World War I got an appointment to the Naval Academy, and went out for the football team at Annapolis. He joked to teammates that Navy never would lose to Army as long as he played. Navy didn't lose many games during the three years that Swede Larson was on the varsity; its record was 18-4. Sure enough, the Midshipmen beat Army each year, 6-0 in 1919, 7-0 in 1920, and 7-0 again in 1921 when Larson was captain of the squad. Army, compiling a 19-9 record in the same period, was no slouch, either. Larson returned to the Naval Academy as head coach in 1939 and predicted that Army would never beat a Navy team that he coached. Navy was 16-8-3 under Larson over the next three years, beating inferior Army teams 10-0 in 1939 and 14-0 in 1940, then defeating a good Cadet team 14-6 in 1941. Thus, in six games in which Larson participated as either player or coach, Navy not only won each time but shut out the Black Knights five times. Following the 1941 season and the attack on Pearl Harbor, Larson returned to active duty and never coached again. Army's five-game winning streak over Navy (1992 through 1996) stands as only the fourth-such streak in series history. Each team has won five games twice. No school has won more than five battles in succession. Army first accomplished the feat from 1927 through 1933 while Navyís similar two streaks came from 1939 through 1943 and again from 1959 through 1963. The five Army-Navy tilts between 1992 and 1996 were decided by a total of 10 points. Fourth-quarter field goal attempts decided the opening three Army wins before a 99-yard, game-winning drive in the waning moments sparked the Cadets to a 14-13 win in 1995. In 1996, Army forged the largest comeback victory in the history of the series, overcoming an 18-point deficit en route to a 28-24 triumph. The series' two largest comeback victories (Army erased a 17-point deficit in 1992) occurred during Armyís most recent win streak. Eight of the last 11 meetings between the arch rivals have been decided by five points or less. Until winning in 1980 to break a 37-37-6 stalemate, Navy had not led in the series standing since the 1921 season, in just the 24th meeting between the two academies. The two service academies have maintained an uninterrupted annual rivalry since 1930. The rivalry is just one of a very few Division 1A series to have played over 100 times. In the 2002 meeting, Navy quarterback Craig Candeto rushed for a school-record six touchdowns and passed for another score as the Midshipmen rolled to a 58-12 victory at Giants Stadium in the 103rd meeting between the service academies.
