Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1913-11-29
HISTORY OF ARMY-NAvY
FOOTBALL STRUGGLES
Began in 1890 as Result Of Chal-
lange BY Middies.
TEAMS WERE THEN GREEN
Annapolis Has Wen 9, West Point Z
aud One Was Tie-Coming Cen
Test Is Eighteenth.


When the Annapolis midshipmen
and the West Point cadets meet on
the Polo Grounds, New York, on Sat
urday in their Struggle for football
supre macy for 1918. it will be the
eighteenth game of the series be-
tween Uncle Sam naval and military
| academies.
Not only is the game attracting
| widespread interest from a football
standpoint, but the elevens and the
ntudent bodies are keyed to the high
est piech for the fray because Of the
natural intense rivalry that has al
ways existed between the service IN
stitutions.
Annapolis is ahead in the series
5y q margin Of two games OF the
| Sc. enteen previous games, the miyi
dies grabbed the laurels of victory nj
nine occasions, against seven for ted
soldiers, and one game re suited no
a tie. The sailor lads are extremely
anxious to increase this lesd1 and the
cadets, on the other hand, are equa
ly eager 10 reduce the margin.
1t was back ia 1890 when the TOO
football rivalry cropped out betwet-
the two institutions, and the tact
that only eighteen games have been
played in the lapse of twenty-three
years, was due to the Intervention OF
the authorities, as a result OF which
there were NJ games between the
years of 1898 and 1899, and there
was no game in, 1909 because of a
fatality at West Point.
The beginning Of the series was
due to a challenge sent from Annapo-
lis to West Point in the fall Of 1890,
which the latter promptly accepted.
Football was then in its crude stages
ut both institutions. although the
midshipmen were much further ad-
vauced than their rivals up the Hud-
son. The Army cade IS. ia fact, had
not even organized n team until the
receipt of the challenge from the
middies.
The result was that Armv was
| overwhelmed by Navy in the initial
struggle "a to 0. The game con-
stantly increased in favor at both in
stitutions, and with each succeeding
year, stronger and stronger teams
were developed until now, the elevens
of the service schools rank with the
big te Ams OF the country. 1t was
arranged, at first, to play the annual
games alternately at West Point and
Annap Ills, and such conditions pre-
vailed for four years after the be-
ginning of the series.
Though the soldier lads were hu-
inflated in their initial bow, they
came back strong the following year
and got sweet revenge, trimming the
middies to the tune Of 80 TO rs. But
the sailors copied the games Of 1892
and 1893 Then there came a break,
and no games were played until 1899.
In the early part of that year, repre-
sentatives Of the two institutions got
together and agreed upon a resump-
tion OF the series Of contests. 1t
was also agreed at the same time that
the games should be staged on some
neutral ground
The result was that Franklin Field,
the grounds of the University of
Pennsylvania. was chosen, the Quaker
Navy won in the following year, but
the Army then tJok five games in a
row.
BY this time the interest in the
games, both in the service a. we'll as
among the general public, had in
crease d to such an extent that the
athle tic authorities of the academies
we're unable to meet the demands Of
their friends for admission tickets,
because OF the limited seating capac-
ity of the Fran kiln FIELD stands, de-
spite the willing action of the Penn
sylvania officials in erecting a number
Of temporary bleachers for the occa-
sion. SO the Army and Navy officials
began TO lock around for another
place to stage the game, where great
er accommodations could be secure d,
and the scene in 1905 shifted to
Princeton.
That game resulted in tie, TO 6.
But the experience in transportation
facilities to and from the Jersey
town proved too much. Princeton
was eliminated from further consii-
GRAFTON. In the Princeton game the
Navy team was captaihed by Lieut..
Douglas L. Howard. who for the last
three years has been head coach of
the MILDLY elevens, and he has ACHE we'd
much success. Relsti ms With Penn
sylvanis, which while not unfriendly,
during the interim, were again re-
newed for the purposes of the big
service classic, and it was arranged
that each Academy should receive q
greater allotment of tickets than be-