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December 3, 2014
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STALEMATE
The biggest football game of the year had it all — except a score
Photo credit: Getty images
By Steve Richardson
On Nov. 9, 1946, more than 74,000 fans packed Yankee Stadium to witness perhaps the most talked about game in
college football’s first 78 years. It was a meeting of two teams with legendary coaches, star-studded lineups, unbeaten
records and rabid followings.
For several months leading up to the game, New York City was buzzing about the matchup between the Black Knights of
Army and the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame. The Irish were intent on avenging the 59-0 and 48-0 beatings Army inflicted
on them the previous two seasons while many of them had been overseas fighting in World War II.
Army coach Earl “Red” Blaik’s team was 7-0 and ranked No. 1 in the country. Notre Dame, ranked No. 2, had breezed
past its first five opponents by a combined score of 177-18. “Fifty-nine and forty-eight, this is the year we retaliate!” was
the battle cry of the Fighting Irish entering the showdown in The House That Ruth Built.
The star power on the field was incomparable. It is believed to be the only game in college football history in which four
past, present or future Heisman Trophy winners played in the same game: Army’s “Mr. Inside,” Doc Blanchard (1945),
and “Mr. Outside,” halfback Glenn Davis (1946); and Notre Dame’s quarterback, Johnny Lujack (1947), and end, Leon
Hart (1949). Despite the buildup, neither team could score in an epic 0-0 tie in which both defenses dominated.
Blanchard and Davis were held in check most of the game by an Irish defense that was tops in the nation. Army’s best
chance to score came in a sequence when Blanchard crossed into Notre Dame territory for the only time all game.
Blanchard looked like he might go all the way, but Notre Dame’s Lujack chased him down, dove and made an ankle
tackle at the Notre Dame 37-yard line. Army worked the ball down to the Notre Dame 12, but Davis threw an option pass
that future Notre Dame head coach Terry Brennan intercepted at the 8-yard line.
“They said Blanchard couldn’t be stopped one-on-one in the open field, yet I did it,” Lujack said after the game. “I don’t
know what all the fuss was about.”
“It was like two heavyweight boxers going 15 rounds,” Notre Dame lineman George Connor told the Chicago Sun-Times.
“[Notre Dame head coach] Frank Leahy and Red Blaik hated each other. They wouldn’t even exchange films.”
After the tie, both teams held their positions in The Associated Press rankings until the final week of the season when
Army barely beat unranked Navy — which Notre Dame had crushed, 28-0, back on Nov. 2 — while the Fighting Irish
overwhelmed 16th-ranked Southern California, 26-6. The victory over USC was enough to edge Notre Dame (8-0-1) past
Army (9-0-1) into the top spot, making the Irish national champions.
Although Notre Dame was No. 1 in perhaps the most important poll, both teams could claim they won the national
championship, as various polls differed in their opinions of which team was No. 1. For one day at Yankee Stadium, at
least, there was little to choose from in one of college football’s most intriguing games.
Steve Richardson is a freelance writer based in Dallas and is executive director of the Football Writers Association of
America. This article is excerpted from the 1940s edition of The Stadium magazine series produced by the New York
Yankees Publications department in 2008.
NEW ERA PINSTRIPE BOWL ALUMNI IN THE NFL
TAVON AUSTIN: WR, ST. LOUIS RAMS (WEST VIRGINIA, 2012)
STEDMAN BAILEY: WR, ST. LOUIS RAMS (WEST VIRGINIA, 2012)
JAY BROMLEY: DT, NEW YORK GIANTS (SYRACUSE, 2010, 2012)
WILL CLARKE: DE, CINCINNATI BENGALS (WEST VIRGINIA, 2012)
MARCUS COOPER: CB, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS (RUTGERS, 2011)
TERENCE GARVIN: LB, PITTSBURGH STEELERS (WEST VIRGINIA, 2012)
JEREMIAH GEORGE: LB, JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS (IOWA STATE, 2011)
KHASEEM GREENE: LB, CHICAGO BEARS (RUTGERS, 2011)
DURON HARMON: DB, NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (RUTGERS, 2011)
LEONARD JOHNSON: CB, TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS (IOWA STATE, 2011)
CHANDLER JONES (shown above): DE, NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (SYRACUSE, 2010)
A.J. KLEIN: LB, CAROLINA PANTHERS (IOWA STATE, 2011)
EMMANUEL LAMUR: LB, CINCINNATI BENGALS (KANSAS STATE, 2010)
CORNELIUS LUCAS: OT, DETROIT LIONS (KANSAS STATE, 2010)
DOUG MARRONE: HC, BUFFALO BILLS (SYRACUSE, 2010, 2012)
ZACK MARTIN: G, DALLAS COWBOYS (NOTRE DAME, 2013)
RYAN NASSIB: QB, NEW YORK GIANTS (SYRACUSE, 2010, 2012)
TROY NIKLAS: TE, ARIZONA CARDINALS (NOTRE DAME, 2013)
KELECHI OSEMELE: OL, BALTIMORE RAVENS (IOWA STATE, 2011)
JUSTIN PUGH: OT, NEW YORK GIANTS (SYRACUSE, 2010, 2012)
LOGAN RYAN: CB, NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (RUTGERS, 2011)
MOHAMED SANU: WR, CINCINNATI BENGALS (RUTGERS, 2011)
PRINCE SHEMBO: LB, ATLANTA FALCONS (NOTRE DAME, 2013)
GENO SMITH: QB, NEW YORK JETS (WEST VIRGINIA, 2012)
MARQUIS SPRUILL: LB, ATLANTA FALCONS (SYRACUSE, 2010, 2012)
DANIEL THOMAS: RB, MIAMI DOLPHINS (KANSAS STATE, 2010)
SHAMARKO THOMAS: S, PITTSBURGH STEELERS (SYRACUSE, 2010, 2012)
STEPHON TUITT: DE, PITTSBURGH STEELERS (NOTRE DAME, 2013)
TIM WRIGHT: TE, NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (RUTGERS, 2011)
* Alumni list as of Nov. 14, 2014
NEW ERA INTRODUCES REFLECTIVE COLLECTION
New Era, title sponsor of the Pinstripe Bowl and the official on field headwear provider of the NFL, recently introduced
the new On Field Reflective Collection. Look for NFL staff and players, including our New Era Pinstripe Bowl alums, to
wear the On Field Reflective Collection on sidelines through the rest of the regular season.
Reflective materials give each cap one look in normal light and a reflective look under the lights and when the cap meets
a camera flash. Each cap features a custom reflective applique on the front logo, a reflective undervisor and button, as
well as reflective treatment on the NFL Shield logo.
The New Era NFL On Field Reflective Collection consists of team 59FIFTYs, 39THIRTYs and Sport Knits and is available
at official New Era retailers, including neweracap.com. Shop the entire reflective
collection:http://shop.neweracap.com/Shop/NFL-Platinum-and-Reflective-Series?sort=new
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