The Strangest Army-Navy Game Ever Played? (Spring 2018 | Volume: 63, Issue: 1)

The Strangest Army-Navy Game Ever Played?

AH article image

Authors: Sally Mott Freeman

Historic Era: Era 8: The Great Depression and World War II (1929-1945)

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Spring 2018 | Volume 63, Issue 1

In the weeks after Pearl Harbor, the Japanese conquered most of the areas of Southeast Asia that produced rubber and cut off supply to the U.S. By the following year, the situation became so dire that the government formed 7500 tire ration boards each staffed by three volunteers to manage the allocation of scarce tires around the country.

A gas ration card from WWII
The government strictly rationed gasoline during World War II to curtail travel, conserve gas, and reduce wear on rubber tires. 

To help conserve gasoline and especially rubber tires, the government ordered gas rationing in 17 eastern states beginning in May and then nationally in December, and a speed limit of 35 miles per hour enforced nationwide. Drivers who used their cars for work essential to the war effort received additional gas ration stamps.

What should be done about the Army-Navy game, traditionally played in the “neutral ground” of Philadelphia, since neither West Point cadets nor Navy midshipmen could travel to the game?

Once President Roosevelt decided that the Army-Navy game would be played after all, public interest became intense. An estimated 40 million Americans listened to the game on the radio.

Congress and the Cabinet debated cancelling the time-honored match. At the time, my father, Navy Commander Bill Mott, worked in the White House Map Room and often brought messages to President Roosevelt. Both men were avid fans of Navy football and discussed it on many occasions. Later, Naval Academy coach John “Billick” Whelchel and assistant coach Edgar “Rip” Miller generously credited Commander Mott with nudging the President’s decision, but he always insisted their gratitude was undeserved since Roosevelt had already made up his mind to order the game to be played. The Army-Navy face-off was key to morale at both academies, he declared, and good for the country, too.

The Army-Navy game was played in Annapolis.
The 1942 Army-Navy game was played in Annapolis, rather than Philadelphia, due to the travel restrictions. Third- and fourth-year Navy midshipmen were ordered to sit behind the Army bench and cheer for the opposing team, in place of West Point cadets who couldn't attend. Nimitz Library Digital Collections

The game was relocated from Philadelphia to Thompson Stadium at Annapolis, but wartime travel restrictions would limit attendance to mostly local spectators. Since West Point’s Corps of Cadets, Army’s traditional cheering section, was not allowed to make the trip, another novel accommodation was made. The Naval Academy’s third- and fourth-year midshipmen were ordered to sit behind the Army bench and cheer for the visiting team. The 1942 match grew more unusual by the hour.

Newsmen in attendance wrote enthusiastically about Army’s Navy-populated cheering section. Midshipmen braying the Corps cheer was living proof of inter-service comity, they reported. Even the touchdown-starved Army players expressed gratitude to the cheerleaders, despite their 14-0 loss in a match they had been heavily favored to win. The 1942 game would be Navy’s