The History of the Army-Navy Football & Water Polo Games
BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — In Landover, Md., the United States Naval Academy and the United States Military Academy will meet for the 125th time in the Army-Navy football game today in Landover, Md.
The first game between Army and Navy was on November 29, 1890. Since then, the two academies have played annually in all but 10 years, and have played in consecutive annual games every season since 1930. Throughout its history, the game has been played in several neutral locations, including New York City and Baltimore, but it is most commonly played in Philadelphia, which is roughly equidistant from the two academies. Historically played on the Saturday after Thanksgiving (a date on which most other major college football teams end their regular seasons), the game is now played on the second Saturday in December and is traditionally the last regular-season game played in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I football.
A long-standing tradition at the Army–Navy football game is to conduct a formal “prisoner exchange” as part of the pre-game activities. The prisoners are the cadets and midshipmen currently spending the semester studying at the sister academy. After the exchange, students have a brief reprieve to enjoy the game with their comrades. During the pre-game ceremony, the invocation is followed by the American national anthem sung by members of the USMA and USNA choirs. At the end of the game, both teams’ alma maters are performed. The winning team stands alongside the losing team and faces the losing academy’s students; then the losing team accompanies the winning team, facing their students. This is done in a show of mutual respect and solidarity. Since the winning team’s alma mater is always played last, the phrase “sing second” has become synonymous with winning the rivalry game.
But what about the history of Army-Navy water polo?
Per Navy records, the Midshipmen went 24-1 all-time against Army during a 10-year span when both teams were varsity programs from 1983-to-1993:
- 10/07/83 W, 19-11
- 11/06/83 W, 13-7
- 09/29/84 W, 19-12
- 10/06/84 W, 20-6
- 11/02/84 W, 13-5
- 10/12/85 W, 19-6
- 10/20/85 W, 13-8
- 11/01/85 W, 16-2
- 10/03/86 W, 15-6
- 10/18/86 W, 13-6
- 11/01/86 W, 6-2
- 10/09/87 W, 15-5
- 10/30/87 W, 15-5
- 09/17/88 W, 8-7
- 10/07/88 W, 10-6
- 11/05/88 W, 8-7
- 10/14/89 W, 7-6
- 10/14/89 W, 10-6
- 11/04/89 L, 9-10
- 10/05/90 W, 13-7
- 11/04/90 W, 9-5
- 10/04/91 W, 10-4
- 11/01/91 W, 16-2
- 10/02/92 W, 11-6
- 10/22/93 W, 15-11
However, that does not include the time prior to 1983 when the teams played each other. Records for those games and meetings between the collegiate club programs of both institutions are not available.
