Fans of any struggling sports franchise often pine for the team's "glory days" — a time, real or imagined, when all the breaks went their way, all the players performed to perfection and all the opponents cowered in the face of greatness.
But few teams have glory days as glorious as Army football, a point that veteran sportswriter Jack Cavanaugh drives home in "Mr. Inside and Mr. Outside," a book chronicling a three-year stretch in the mid-1940s during which West Point compiled a 27-0-1 record, claimed at least a share of three straight national championships and saw two legendary players earn Heisman Trophies.
Cavanaugh first introduces Glenn "Mr. Outside" Davis, high school super-athlete from Southern California who began rewriting the Army offensive record book in 1943. The next year, Felix "Doc" Blanchard, or "Mr. Inside," left the University of North Carolina after being rejected for a Navy officer program and headed to West Point, becoming part of possibly the greatest backfield tandem in college football history.
Glenn Davis, left, and Felix "Doc" Blanchard are all smiles after the 1946 Army-Navy Game in Philadelphia, Pa.,
Photo Credit: AP file photo
Army regularly played to massive crowds at Yankee Stadium, outdrawing NFL games with ease. The 9-0 1945 team ranked first in the nation in most points scored and least points allowed. Cavanaugh gives a game-by-game recap of Army's three-year run, weaving in jaw-dropping stats and gems of college football knowledge that have been ignored or forgotten:
- Army frequently squared off in officially sanctioned contests with teams made up of service members during World War II, some of which included players with previous NFL experience.
- While college teams of the era lost many players to the military draft, Army opponents after the war often included decorated veterans, such as the University of Pennsylvania's Chuck Bednarik, later a Hall of Fame member of the Philadelphia Eagles, and Michigan icon Bob Chappuis, who left the Wolverines to join the Army, got shot down over Italy in 1945, then returned to school.
- In an era before extensive game tape, Army head coach Earl "Red" Blaik would sometimes leave the game-day sideline duties to his West Point assistants and hit the road to scout future opponents.
- In a move that predated the death of the Bowl Championship Series by nearly 70 years, Army lost a chance to play in its first-ever postseason bowl game when the Big Nine Conference (which is now the Big Ten, and has 14 teams) refused to give up its spot in the 1947 Rose Bowl. Illinois ended up thumping UCLA.
Army never lost from 1944 to 1946, but the Black Knights did have a famous 0-0 tie with Notre Dame on Nov. 9, 1946, in Yankee Stadium in what was billed as "The Game of the Century." Both offense faltered in a mistake-filled contest; here, Blanchard (35) has just fumbled the ball,in air at center, during the first half. Davis, front, would recover it.
Photo Credit: AP file photo
The book serves as well-sourced historical reference, but it's not without its faults: Some anecdotes and factoids are repeated multiple times, even on facing pages, and the level of detail entered into for some of Army's lopsided victories may be too much for even the most die-hard Black Knights fan (or Cadets fan; Cavanaugh points out a 1945 nickname change that added "Black Knights" to the official Army lexicon, though that's subject to change).
Blanchard, who took home the 1945 Heisman, and Davis, who won in 1946, are the main characters, but the book branches out to profile many of their teammates and coaches, and covers the top news events of the day, everything from World War II's final acts to post-war rationing and labor strife.
The final few pages do as thorough a job as possible of condensing the next 70 years of Army football history. A 1947 loss to Columbia ended the unbeaten streak at 32 games, but the Black Knights again were unbeaten in 1948, 1949 and nearly all of 1950 before Navy pulled a 14-2 upset. Blaik retired after the 1958 season, with the Black Knights going 8-0-1 behind Heisman winner Pete Dawkins, who wrote the book's forewordforward. And while successful seasons came and went through the ensuing decades, the team faded from national prominence outside of one weekend in December.
As that weekend nears, Army fans may find perspective – or, if the current trend continues, solace – in reading about the glory days.
Kevin Lilley is the features editor of Military Times.
