The 1963 Army-Navy game holds an established place in rivalry lore: Delayed a week following the assassination of President Kennedy, Roger Staubach led the No. 2-ranked Midshipmen to a 21-7 fourth-quarter lead, and the Navy defense fended off a late Army rally to secure a 21-15 victory. Despite that history, the game’s true place in the sports-viewing pantheon has almost nothing to do with the on-field participants and everything to do with Tony Verna, who died Sunday at age 81. Verna, then a 29-year-old director with CBS, had developed what was a then-unheard of bit of video genius, which he used late in…
Browsing: Roger Staubach
If you’re only going to read one Army-Navy preview this year … read this one, from our good friends at USA Today. But if you’ve got the bandwidth for a second preview, or you prefer your service-academy football with a side of spirit spots, read on for a few things you need to know as kickoff comes ever closer. The basics: 114th Army-Navy game, Saturday, 3 p.m. Eastern, Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia. TV: CBS (Verne Lundquist and Gary Danielson have the call). Pregame: Live pregame fare begins at 11 a.m. on CBS Sports Network (Do you get it? Find out here)…
Two Heisman Trophy winners in a four-year span. A No. 2 national ranking by a service academy. A 10-win season with the Temple Owls, capped off by a postseason victory. It is, without question, a resume that could belong to only one person. And now, after years on the ballot, it’s earned Navy (and Temple) coaching legend Wayne Hardin a spot in the College Football Hall of Fame. Wayne Hardin joins a 2013 class that includes Heisman-winning Miami quarterback Vinny Testaverde, two-time national-championship QB Tommie Frazier of Nebraska, all-world offensive lineman Orlando Pace of Ohio State and fellow unheralded head…
Can you post an Army Heisman photo and not follow it up with a Navy Heisman photo? We’d rather not find out. After Action’s second pic in our monthlong countdown features Roger Staubach running for daylight, and offensive lineman Thomas Holden looking to clear space, during Navy’s 35-14 win over Notre Dame on Nov. 2, 1963. Have a memory of the game or of Staubach, either your own or passed down through the years? Post it below.
While discussing former sailor Kyle Eckel’s return appearance to the Super Bowl, a co-worker asked me: How many guys who’ve played in the Super Bowl have also served in the military? All I could think of the top of my head were legendary Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach, Rocky Bleier, the Steelers running back who returned to play after being wounded in Vietnam, Chad Hennings, the Cowboys defensive lineman who flew A-1os in the Air Force, and Paul Hornung, the Green Bay Packers Hall of Famer who almost missed the 1961 NFL championship game because of his duty in the Army…
