America’s Game, Salty Edition: Why Beating Army Tastes Better with Coffee
On December 13th, the country will tune in to the 126th meeting of Army–Navy, live from M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. Future Soldiers and Sailors will line up, the flyover will rattle your fillings, and somewhere in the stands a Cadet will hold a “BEAT NAVY” sign like it’s a religious document.
Meanwhile, every Sailor knows the truth: this isn’t just a football game. It’s a sanctioned grudge match inside one big dysfunctional joint-family… and the perfect excuse to hoist a mug of strong coffee and talk a little friendly trash.
If you want the straight historical version, start with the excellent overview here:
Military.com – “America’s Game: How Army and Navy Built One of the Most Legendary College Football Rivalries”
https://www.military.com/daily-news/investigations-and-features/2025/12/01/americas-game-how-army-and-navy-built-one-of-most-legendary-college-football-rivalries.html
If you want the salty version, keep reading.
Chapter I: Navy Invents the Problem, Army Shows Up Late
Navy started playing organized football in 1879, thanks to Midshipman William John Maxwell, who basically formed a rogue team and practiced before reveille and after drills—directly against the Superintendent’s orders. The first Navy team was literally a sanctioned violation.
By 1890, Navy wanted a worthy opponent and looked up the Hudson like, “Hey, you guys wanna play?” The problem: Army didn’t even have a football team yet. Cadet Dennis Mahan Michie had to convince West Point leadership to create one just so they could accept the challenge.
When Navy traveled to West Point for the first game on November 29, 1890, the 271 Cadets each kicked in 52 cents to help pay half of Navy’s travel bill. Legend has it the Midshipmen either “borrowed” a goat from an Army NCO’s quarters or brought along the USS New York’s ship’s goat—either way, that’s where Bill the Goat becomes part of the story.
Result: Navy 24, Army 0. First meeting, first shutout, first regret for the Cadets.
Army hired a coach, got serious, and won big the next year in Annapolis. Just like that, the fuse was lit, and “America’s Game” was underway.
For a good official series history, Navy keeps a running account here:
Navy Sports – Army Series History
https://navysports.com/sports/football/opponent-history/army/38
Chapter II: Brawls, Helmets, Presidents, and a Goat vs. Mule Situation
From the beginning, this rivalry had energy.
In 1893, Navy’s Joseph Mason Reeves showed up wearing what’s widely considered the first football helmet—a leather contraption from an Annapolis shoemaker after a doctor told him one more head shot might kill him.After that game, an argument between an Army general and a Navy admiral escalated into a full-on fan brawl. Not exactly a “sportsmanship” seminar.
It got so out of hand that President Grover Cleveland essentially shut the series down. No games from 1894–1898—proof that when admirals and generals start throwing hands, the Commander in Chief becomes the adult in the room. Well at least back then.
When the game resumed in 1899 in Philadelphia, Army rolled out the mule as its mascot to answer Bill the Goat. Thus began 125+ years of “our furry symbol of stubbornness can beat up your furry symbol of stubbornness.”
In 1906, Navy beat Army 10–0 in a game that became legendary: a long field goal, a clutch touchdown catch, and the debut of “Anchors Aweigh,” which went on to become the Navy’s official song.
So by the early 1900s we had:
-A stolen (or gifted) goat
- A mule
- The first football helmet
- One presidential suspension
- And a fight bad enough to require White House intervention
Textbook rivalry building.
Chapter III: Future Generals, Admirals, and Medal of Honor Heroes
One reason Army–Navy hits differently: a shocking number of legends have laced up for this game.
On the 1912 Army team, you had a halfback named Dwight D. Eisenhower and his classmate Omar Bradley—both future five-star leaders in World War II and beyond. That same squad produced multiple other future generals, including William Hoge, Geoffrey Keyes, Leland Hobbs, and others.
Over on the Navy side, future Fleet Admiral “Bull” Halsey played football at Annapolis before commanding carrier forces in the Pacific in World War II. Several other future admirals did time on the gridiron as well.
Then there are the Medal of Honor connections. Eleven academy football players—six from Navy, five from Army—later received the nation’s highest award for valor. The Navy side includes:
- Allen Buchanan, who served heroically at Veracruz in 1914.
- Jonas Ingram, fullback in the 1900s, who later earned the Medal at Veracruz and became an admiral.
- Carlton Hutchins, who stayed at the controls of a damaged seaplane so his crew could escape.
- Richard Antrim, who took a brutal beating in a POW camp to save another officer.
- Harold Bauer, a Marine aviator at Guadalcanal, who kept attacking enemy aircraft until his fuel was gone.
If you want to go down the citations rabbit hole, the Congressional Medal of Honor Society keeps detailed records here:
Congressional Medal of Honor Society – Recipients Database
https://www.cmohs.org/recipients
On the Army side you’ll find names like Robert Cole, who led a bayonet charge in Normandy, and Frank Reasoner, who died in Vietnam running through fire to save a wounded Marine.
So when people say “this game hits different,” that’s not marketing spin. Guys who once slugged it out on this field later led divisions, fleets, and air wings—and in some cases gave their lives doing it.
Chapter IV: When Army and Navy Ruled College Football
For the first half of the 20th century, this rivalry was the national title picture.
In 1926, Army and Navy met at Soldier Field in Chicago with more than 110,000 fans in the stands, both teams undefeated. The game ended 21–21, and Navy took a share of the national championship.
In the 1940s, Army fielded some of the most dominant teams ever. The 1944 and 1945 games were No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdowns, with Army powered by future Heisman winners Felix “Doc” Blanchard and Glenn Davis. Army won national titles in 1944, 1945, and 1946 and went years without a loss.
The 1944 game in particular was wild: 70,000 fans in Baltimore, a war bond push that raised tens of millions of dollars, and a 23–7 Army win over a tough Navy team.
Across the decades, five Heisman winners came out of this rivalry: Blanchard, Davis, Pete Dawkins (Army), Joe Bellino, and Roger Staubach (Navy).
Not bad for two schools that now recruit kids who willingly sign up for both differential equations and future deployments.
If you want a broader context on Army–Navy’s place in college football history, the National Football Foundation has good background here:
National Football Foundation – Army–Navy Distinguished American Award Announcement (2025)
Chapter V: Kennedy, Staubach, and a Game Played in Mourning
Few Army–Navy games carry as much emotional weight as 1963.
President John F. Kennedy, who loved the rivalry and had attended earlier games, was assassinated eight days before kickoff. There was real debate about canceling. Jacqueline Kennedy urged them to play, believing he would have wanted it. The game was moved to December 7, the anniversary of Pearl Harbor.
Navy came in 9–1 behind Heisman winner Roger Staubach; Army was the underdog. The broadcast included one of the earliest major uses of instant replay in American TV football. Navy won 21–15, Staubach went on to serve in the Navy and then star for the Cowboys, and Army quarterback Rollie Stichweh later did a combat tour with the 173rd Airborne in Vietnam.
College football doesn’t get more “real life” than that.
Chapter VI: Breaking Barriers and Modern Grudges
In 1964, Navy’s Calvin Huey became the first African American to play in the Army–Navy game and the first African American football player at the Naval Academy. He caught passes from Staubach and later served two tours in Vietnam.
And for a deeper narrative about his life and Army–Navy legacy:
Mississippi Today – “Calvin Huey made our state, Navy proud”
Through the ’80s and ’90s, momentum swung back and forth—Army grabbed seven of nine from 1984 to 1992, then Navy answered with six straight from 1993–1998.
Then came the era every Sailor remembers fondly and every Soldier tries not to talk about:
2002–2015: Navy wins 14 straight, the longest streak in series history, powered in the later years by QB Keenan Reynolds, who set the NCAA career rushing touchdown record and finished fifth in Heisman voting in 2015. That year Navy's slogan was "May the 14th be with you." The Force was strong with this team.
Army finally broke through in 2016, winning 21–17 and kicking off a new run where they’ve taken six of the last eight.
The 2022 game became the first ever to go to overtime, with Army winning 20–17 in double OT.
Then in 2024, Navy smacked Army 31–13, the 125th meeting between the academies, stretching the all-time series to Navy 63–55–7.
That sets the stage for December 13, 2025: the 126th meeting, in Baltimore, with both services celebrating their 250th anniversaries and the National Football Foundation honoring the Army–Navy Game as a national treasure.
For current season info and series stats, ESPN keeps a live page here:
https://www.espn.com/college-football/team/_/id/2426/navy-midshipmen
Chapter VII: March-Ons, Prisoners, and the Truth About “Singing Second”
Part of what makes this game different isn’t the score. It’s the ritual.
March-On: Every Cadet and every Midshipman marches into the stadium in formation. Whole Corps, whole Brigade. No stragglers, no “I’ll catch up in the second quarter.” The game timeline lists it as its own event—Corps marches, Brigade marches, then we get on with the business of beating Army.
Prisoner Exchange: The semester-exchange folks are marched out and “returned” to their home academy right before kickoff. Everyone smiles, but you can tell they’re relieved to get back to their own side.
Flyovers & Jumps: Jets overhead, parachute teams dropping in, the whole airpower-as-pre-game-show thing.
And then, there’s the part that looks simple on TV but hits different if you’ve stood there in uniform:
After the game, both teams move down in front of the Brigade and the Corps.
First, they face the losing academy’s stands. That school sings its alma mater. The team on the field stands and listens—you’re not out there joyfully harmonizing to “On, Brave Old Army Team.”
Then they move and face the winning academy’s side. The winners sing their alma mater, with their team in front of them.
You don’t want to sing first. You want one thing and one thing only:
Stand twice. Listen first. Sing second.
Ask anyone who ever stood in the Brigade at this game—including a certain Old Salt founder who spent his Saturdays at Annapolis—you’re locked up at attention, listening, waiting for your own song and your own turn. That’s why “sing second” isn’t just a catchphrase. It’s the whole deal: a year of bragging rights, sealed in one last verse.
Chapter VIII: Uniforms, Heritage, and 250 Years of Smack Talk
In recent years, the uniforms have become part of the story.
Since the late 2000s, both teams have rolled out elaborate alternates each year, honoring everything from airborne divisions and armor units to carriers, squadrons, and submarines.
For 2025, Army’s look uses a marble the enduring foundation of strength that the American people have provided for the Army, with purple accents nodding to the Purple Heart and details drawn from the Army seal.
Navy’s 2025 kit honors USS Constitution, with copper-toned helmets inspired by her copper-sheathed hull and design details pulled straight from the ship’s history.
You can see both sets in more detail here:
Army 2025 Army–Navy Uniform Reveal (Army West Point Athletics)
https://goarmywestpoint.com/news/2025/11/army-football-unveils-2025-army-navy-uniform
Navy 2025 Army–Navy “USS Constitution” Uniforms (Navy Sports)
https://navysports.com/news/2025/11/25/navy-football-reveals-uss-constitution-uniforms-for-2025-army-navy-game
Translation: even the uniforms are carrying more history than most college rivalries have in total.
Chapter IX: Friendly Fire on Our Army Brethren
Look, we love our Army shipmates. We just reserve the right to poke them with a boat hook.
On transportation:
Army: buses.
Navy: ships, aircraft, submarines, and the occasional liberty boat ride you absolutely shouldn’t tell Mom about.
On logistics:
Army tailgates: respectable, heavy on meat and rucksacks.
Navy tailgates: well-planned, properly supplied, at least one old Chief wandering around with a thermos of coffee strong enough to qualify as non-lethal ordnance.
On mascots:
Mule vs. goat is the perfect metaphor. The mule is stubborn, dependable, and built to haul heavy loads—very Army. The goat is scrappy, unpredictable, and occasionally chews on things it shouldn’t—very Navy.
But underneath the jokes, there’s this: when the game’s over, everybody on that field goes back to the same mission. The National Football Foundation didn’t call the Army–Navy Game a “national treasure” because of one fan base. They honored it for representing courage, commitment, and service across both academies.
We’ll still be loudly rooting for the team in blue, but we know exactly who we’re standing next to when the real work starts.
Chapter X: Why This Game Is Built for Coffee (Not Decaf)
If there were ever a game designed for coffee, it’s this one.
Deployed service members are watching from ships, FOBs, and bases around the world at every ugly hour on the clock.
Alumni are packed into living rooms and bars from Norfolk to San Diego, Yokosuka to Bahrain.
Families are split down the middle—one side Army, one side Navy, all united in the belief that decaf is unacceptable on game day.
At Old Salt Coffee, this is our natural habitat: strong coffee, salty stories, and the kind of rivalry you feel in your bones. Our blends are inspired by the same Sailors, ships, and squadrons that show up in the stories around Army–Navy—past, present, and future.
So on December 13th, here’s your basic game plan:
Pick a Side (or Inherit One):
If you married into this, we’re sorry. You now have in-laws and a service academy allegiance you didn’t choose.
Hoist a Mug Worthy of the Game:
Brew something strong enough that if you spilled it on the deck, it’d qualify as minor fuel spill. #DeathToDecaf
Set the Wager:
Loser buys the winner their next resupply of Old Salt Coffee.
Extra humiliation points if the loser has to say “GO NAVY, BEAT ARMY” out loud while they click “checkout.” Use discount code DECKLOG15 and get 15% off your purchase. Why not!?
Remember the Point:
After the trash talk, the jokes, and the memes, this game is about young men and women who volunteered to serve. Some of them will go on to command ships, lead Soldiers in combat, or stand the watch in places we’ll only read about later.
Your Turn: Tell Us Your Army–Navy Story
Rivalries like this live on in stories—told under red lights in a combat information center, over coffee in a ready room, or around a living room TV with three generations arguing over who had the better quarterback.
We want to hear yours.
- Did you watch Army–Navy from a ship at sea?
- From a tent or a hardened shelter downrange?
- From the stands, freezing, yelling until your voice gave out?
- From a house divided—one side in black and gold, the other in blue and gold?
👉 Share your sea story and upload a photo at:
https://oldsaltcoffee.com/pages/sea-story-submissions
Hoist a mug, laugh loud, talk salty, and on December 13th say it like you mean it:
GO NAVY! BEAT ARMY!
*Photo by: DVIDS