Two Democrats yesterday. And in the interest of equal time, two Republicans today (we’re not counting Gen. Eisenhower, if you’re scoring at home):
(Associated Press photo by Ron Edmonds)
Here, President Bush poses with Navy’s Reggie Campbell, left, and Irv Spencer during an April 14, 2008, ceremony in the Rose Garden. Skipping the traditional personalized jersey, the pair presented the president with a cowboy hat. The ceremony, celebrating Navy’s 2007 Commander in Chief’s Trophy win, came in the midst of a seven-year CINC streak for the Mids, which Air Force ended in 2010.
The yearly trophy presentation wasn’t always as lavish or as reliably recorded for posterity. If you’ve got other presidents posing with other winners, leave a note in the comments field below.
For now, we go out with the Gipper:
(Getty Images photo via Agence France-Presse/Jerome Delay)
That’s the star (well, a star) of “Knute Rockne, All American,” showing his form from Air Force One in January 1988 as he prepares to launch a football toward the press corps. President Reagan played George Gipp in the 1940 classic, earning a nickname for life and possibly his most notable non-chimp-related screen credit.
As for Gipp, he went 3-0 in his career against Army and played so long ago (1917-1920) that Navy wasn’t on the Fighting Irish’s schedule.
