The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-11-25
ARMY MULE AND NAVY GOAT BATTLE TO SCORELESS TIE
Annual Game Is Bitterly Con- tested By Ancient Foes At Polo Grounds

NEW YORK, Nov. 24-(By Asso- ciated Press and Navy fought each other to 8 standstill to- day in the mire of the Polo Grounds before the greatest crowd that ever witnessed the annual service strug- gle for gridiron laurels. Neither goal | line was crossed in one of the most bitterly contested battles these time 1 honored rivals have ever waged, and out of the tangled having, mud spat- 1 tered mass, they emerged at the tinaI whistle with honors evenly divided
 Begged by the heavy going and in ! the face of defensive bulwarks that were well nigh impregnable when threatened, neither attack was able to penetrate inside its opponents 25-yard ] line. Thus baked, each team tried to 1 break the deadlock with dropkieks ] but these attempts, too, failed. l Garbisch. husky Army center, booted wide of the uprights, from l the 34-yard line in the second guar ter. and in the third period. Barchet. l Middle halfback, failed to come even close to the mark from the 35-yard line after he had put the Navy in position to score with a 40-yard run on an intercepted Cadet pass.
 throng of 66,OO0 that included Secretaries Weeks and Denby among it's host of notables. witnessed the first score.ess tie sincse the Army i Navy classic was inaugur3ted in lS9V. j It was the second no-victory strugg e i nthe 26 games staged so far and left unhroken the deadlock in the series. which stands at T. triumph 7 i apiece. The other tie game Ct affair, was played in 1905.
 No BiG Thrills.
 Today'a battle was lacking in the thrills that so often attend the clash of service elevens There were but occasional flashes ot spectacular play in game that for the most part was fought out an old fashioned, ortho- doX limos.
 But from the time the Blue Brigade fof mfdshipmen and the gray host of Cadets tramped sturdiIy into the field to martial music and later took op- posite places in the sands. there was no want of picturesque display or vocal activity,
 Between halves the Army mule, in affigy. was pulled to pieces. an Army "airplane" sank q Navy "destroyer, but these tokens of defiance were in yain The result was something of an upset for Army had ruled favorite among critics. but as they fought iC out today there was little to choose between the two teams. Both played brilliant defensive power can be given than the fact that the Navy gained exarflv one more yard at rushing than did the Army. Though making one less first down. four to a total of five for their rivals, the Middies gained no yards to 09 for West Point in rushing plays.
 From start to finish the tide of battle ebbed and flowed around mid field. neither eleven being able to get inside it's opponents 25-yard mark. Twice the Cadets got as far as the Middle 25-yard line, once in the second period, when Gardisch' E Ield goal attempt failed. and again in ths third quarter, when. after huckinc a stone wall in the Navy line. Quarterback Snythe tossed 2 forward pass. only to have it inter ccDted by Shapley Navy fullback Navy's Big Chance.
 Navy's only real chance 10 score came in the third quarter when Bar chet's Interrogation of another pass by Smythe and spectacular 40-yard { run gave the Middies the ball on the Army 25-yard mark. But here the Cadet forward wall held. and when Barchet and Shapley failed to gain an inch through the line the former dropped back for field goal attempt from the S0-yard line. His kick was badly askew and rolled across the goal line in a far corner.
 Twice in the first half Navy start ed threatening drives, but a 15-yard penalty for holding checked one rally when the Middies were on the Cadet SG-yard line while, a little later after Fullback Shapley had made a first down on Army's 32-yard line in three off-tacklc smashes, the West Point defense stiffened and forced a punt.
 Army's defense was the more alert and spectacular, though the Navy especially when in danger, had hab- it of sitting through and mailing Cadet runners for loss, But the breaks" went against the Army Three times the Cadets blocked Mid die punts, twice in the final period when the Army held the ball in the shadow of it's goal posts, but on each occa sion Annapolis recovered and averted possible disaster.
 The lineup and summary:
 Army (0)-Baxter, left end; Good man, left tackle; Ellinger, left guard; Gsrbisch. center; Farwick, right guard; Henney right tackle; Doyle, right end; Smythe quarterback Hewitt. left halfback; Gilmore, right halfback; Wood. fullback.
 Navy (0)-TaNlOr. left end; Clyde, I left tackle; Carnegie. left guard Matthews, center; LevenslSy rghi