Navy Football: Gridiron Legends and Fighting Heroes - Tapa dura

Heisman Trophy winners Joe Bellino and Roger Staubach and other Hall of Famers such as Dick Scott and Don Whitmire are just a few of Navy's football players whose illustrious careers on the gridiron earned their teams fame. In this history of the sport at the U.S. Naval Academy, noted sports journalist Jack Clary captures the excitement of their efforts along with the hundreds of other players who contributed to the legends of the game and its unique academy traditions. From 1879, the year of Navy's first game, through the banner years of the 1960s, to the resurgence of the sport's success in 1996, Clary chronicles more than eleven decades of the program. Football fans will delight in the almost play-by-play examination of the ten greatest Army-Navy games, beginning with the first game in 1890 and including the classic tie in 1926 that secured Navy's only national championship, and the three most exciting finishes ever in 1946, 1963, and 1989. Another important part of the book is the profiles of significant players (Jack Dalton, Slade Cutter, Bill Busik, Napoleon McCallum, and others) and outstanding coaches (Paul Dashiell, Bill Ingram, Swede Larson, Eddie Erdelatz, Wayne Hardin, George Welsh, and Charlie Weatherbie). The book also describes the wartime experiences of some of the players, including Medal of Honor recipients. Readers learn the origins of Navy's famed fight song "Anchors Aweigh, " the academy's colors, and its mascot. Illustrated with more than two hundred photographs, this book will provide hours of enjoyment to everyone interested in football, the Navy, and midshipmen athletes.