2009 ARMY FOOTBALL GRIDIRON DATELINE 1920—The Cadets beat Lebanon Valley 53-0 one week before drubbing Bowdoin 90-0 and setting an Academy record for points in a game that still stands today.
1930—Army’s era of “defensive football” begins as the Cadets blank their first four opponents. Army, en route to a 9-1-1 record, will shut out seven opponents this season and 19 in the next three years under head coach Ralph Sasse.
Point’s first football national championship. The Cadets average 56.0 points per game and outscore opponents 504-35, including a 48-0 thrashing of Notre Dame that ends a 13-year winless streak against the Irish.
1921—Army travels to New Haven to play Yale, marking the first opponent other than Navy that the Cadets play on the road. Yale wins 14-7.
1931—A
NATIONAL CHAMPIONS 1945—Felix “Doc” Blanchard, nicknamed “Mr. In-
1922—The Cadets snap a three-year scoreless streak against Navy with a 17-14 win. Charles Daly retires at the conclusion of the season with a career record of 58-13-3 (.804). He coached Army during two different four-year stints. Army and Notre Dame tie 0-0 in the last meeting between these two teams on “The Plain.” 1924—Michie
Stadium is dedicated on Nov. 15 before Army and Columbia play to a 14-14 deadlock. Earlier in the year, following a 13-7 Notre Dame win over Army, famed sportswriter Grantland Rice dubs the Irish backfield “The Four Horsemen.”
1926—Plebe
halfback Christian “Red” Cagle scores on a 43-yard fourth-quarter touchdown run to help Army forge a 21-21 tie with Navy in front of 110,000 spectators at Chicago’s Soldier Field.
1927—Christian “Red” Cagle scores on a 53-yard scoring run and catches a touchdown pass as the Cadets down Notre Dame 18-0 in New York City. The loss will be the only one for the Irish this season. Earlier in the year, Army beats Davis & Elkins 27-6 for the Academy’s 200th football win. 1928—Eight years after former Notre Dame back George Gipp dies, Irish head coach Knute Rockne delivers his legendary “Win One for the Gipper” speech at halftime of the Army-Notre Dame game at Yankee Stadium. The Irish, who trail 6-0 at intermission to the heavily-favored Cadets, rally for 12 second-half points to win 12-6. 1929—Christian
“Red” Cagle is named a first team All-American for the third straight year, becoming the first Cadet to do so.
difficult year for Ralph Sasse, who mourns the March death of close friend Knute Rockne in a plane crash and then must overcome the death of cadet Richard Sheridan following a neck injury in the Yale game. His desire for the game sapped, Sasse requests a transfer from West Point. He remains through 1932 at the request of Army officials.
1932—Army goes 8-2, losing to Pittsburgh and Notre Dame. All eight wins are by shutout. 1933—One of the truly great Army teams wins its first nine games, allowing only two scores in that span. With nearly 10 minutes to play in the final game, Notre Dame rallies from a 12-point deficit to edge the Cadets 13-12. 1936—Charles “Monk” Meyer completes 11 of 15 passes for 172 yards as he outduels Columbia quarterback Sid Luckman. The Cadets win 27-16. Army later loses 7-0 to Navy in the first Army-Navy game played in Philadelphia’s Municipal Stadium. 1938—Bill Wood replaces highly successful Gar Davidson as Army’s head coach and guides his charges to an 8-2 finish. It is the last in a 32-year run of winning seasons for the Cadets. 1941—Earl “Red” Blaik replaces Bill Wood as Army’s head coach following a 1-7-1 performance in 1940. The Cadets win their first four games and tie Notre Dame (0-0) in the fifth contest.
1942—On Oct. 24, Army thrashes Coe College 34-0 to register West Point’s 300th football victory. NATIONAL CHAMPIONS 1944—Army wins all nine of its games, surrenders just five touchdowns all season and earns West
side” by New York Sun writer George Trevor, becomes the first Army player to win the Heisman Trophy and helps lead the Cadets to their second straight unbeaten season and national championship.
NATIONAL CHAMPIONS 1946—After finishing second in the Heisman balloting the previous season, Army’s “Mr. Outside,” Glenn Davis, wins the Heisman Trophy. Earl “Red” Blaik is tabbed “Coach of the Year” by the Football Coaches’ Association of America. A scoreless tie with top-ranked Notre Dame—the teams enter play ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the country—snaps Army’s 25-game winning streak.
1947—Columbia
halfback Lou Kusserow scores his second touchdown of the day on a 2-yard run midway through the fourth quarter, propelling the Lions to a 21-20 upset of Army. That loss snaps the Cadets’ 32-game unbeaten string that spans four seasons. Army guard Joe Steffy wins the Outland Trophy.
1948—The Cadets, ranked third in the nation and favored by three touchdowns, stop a late Navy drive to preserve a 21-21 tie. The Mids have lost 13 straight games entering this season’s service-academy clash, but still manage to put the lone blemish on Army’s 8-0-1 season. 1949—Quarterback Arnold Galiffa is named to five different postseason All-America teams after guiding the Cadets to a 9-0 mark and Army’s fifth Lambert Trophy in the decade of the 1940s. 1950—The Cadets open the year with eight straight wins, including five shutouts, before Navy upsets Army 14-2 in the finale. The loss snaps a 17-game win streak and ends a 28-game unbeaten string. It is only the third Army loss in 64 games. Glenn Davis wins the Heisman Trophy. A 0-0 tie with Notre Dame ends a 25-game winning streak, but the Cadets still claim a share of their third national title.
“Lighthorse” Harry Wilson completes a standout career that included an All-America selection in 1926. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1973.
1927
1926 Plebe Christian “Red” Cagle scores a fourth-quarter touchdown to help Army to a 21-21 tie with Navy at Chicago’s Soldier Field.
134
1946
1945 Felix “Doc” Blanchard becomes Army’s first Heisman Trophy winner and leads the Cadets to their second straight national championship.
2009 ARMY FOOTBALL MEDIA GUIDE