NAUTICAL NOTES

The Naval Academy began its life as the Naval School, founded by Secretary of the Navy George Bancroft in 1845 on 10 acres of land. Since then, the campus has expanded to 338 acres, and the original student body of 60 has grown to 4000. For many years, the Naval Academy was a male-only institution. All that changed when women were admitted in 1976. Fifteen percent of the class of 2002 are women.

At one time, graduates of the Naval Academy served two years in the fleet as Midshipmen before being commissioned as officers and therefore had to keep their Midshipman hats. The class of 1912, however, received officer caps and, in a spontaneous gesture, tossed their Midshipman hats into the air, the start of a tradition that symbolizes graduation from the Academy.

The Yard, as the Naval Academy campus is called, features tree-lined brick walks, French Renaissance and contemporary architecture, and scenic vistas of Chesapeake Bay. The Bancroft Hall complex, which includes the dormitory that houses the entire Brigade, the Cathedral of the Navy, and other buildings older than 80 years old make the Academy a National Historic Site.

In 1906, Lt. Charles Zimmerman, who was musical director of the Naval Academy, wrote the tune for Anchors Aweigh. Lyrics were written by Alfred H. Miles (class of 1906). It was a fight song for the 1907 graduating class instead of the usual class march Zimmerman had composed for previous classes. The song made its debut at the 1906 Army-Navy game, and when the Midshipmen won the game, the song became traditional at the annual reprise of the game. It gained national exposure in the 1920s and 1930s when it was heard on the radio and was in a number of popular movies. In 1998, Anchors Aweigh was ranked the fifth best fight song in the nation by William Studwell in his book entitled College Fight Songs: An Annotated Anthology.

The first Army-Navy game was played in 1890 at the instigation of West Point Cadet Dennis Michie ('92). It seems that West Point had never fielded a football team before, but Cadet Michie was sure that if Navy challenged Army to a game, the Military Academy would come up with a team. So Cadet Michie got some friends at the Naval Academy to issue the challenge, and a tradition was born. Played on a frozen field at West Point, the inaugural game was won by Navy 24-0.

The first Bill the Goat made his debut at that game, having been "drafted" from the noncommissioned officers' quarters at West Point. In 1893, an animal named "El Cid" (The Chief) was turned over to the Brigade by young officers of the U.S.S. York. El Cid helped Navy to a 6-4 triumph over Army that year. Other animals and birds who have enjoyed brief reigns as Navy mascots include two cats, a dog, and a carrier pigeon. Goats have served without interruption since 1904.

In 1893, the superintendent at West Point, Col. Oswald Ernst, deemed the Army-Navy game disruptive of discipline, and the teams were prohibited from playing each other. The teams from each academy went on to play other teams but did not meet again on a football field until 1899.

No games were played in 1909, 1917, 1918, 1928, or 1929. The overall record going into the 1999 game is Army 48, Navy 43, Tied 7. Nine of the last 10 games of the series have been decided by five points or less. Five of the last nine have been won by two points or less, and six of the last nine have been decided in the game's final minute. A recent nonscientific online survey ranked the Army-Navy game the third-best college rivalry (6113 votes) behind Texas-Texas A&M (9057) and Virginia- Virginia Tech (8972) and just ahead of Michigan-Ohio State (5096).

The Commander-in-Chief's Trophy is presented annually to the winner of the football competition among the three major service academies (Army, Navy, and Air Force). The trophy is named in honor of the President of the United States. Air Force has dominated the winning of the trophy in recent years. When there is no clear-cut winner, the trophy remains with the previous year's winner. This occurred in 1974, '76, '80, and '93. The three-sided trophy stands two-and-a-half feet tall and is engraved with the academy seals. Reproductions of the three mascots Army Mule, Navy Goat, and Air Force Falcon are ensconced on the respective sides of the trophy. The Trophy is sponsored by the West Point Association of Graduates, the Naval Academy Alumni Association, and the Air Force Association of Graduates. The year in which the Trophy is won is engraved on a plate gracing the respective academy's side of the Trophy. excerpted from The Trident, October 11, 1996.

The Alumni Trophy is awarded annually to the winner of one of two regular-season basketball pairings between Army and Navy. The trophy consists of two silver plates, one with the U.S. Military Academy seal and the other with the U.S. Naval Academy seal. It is the gift of Capt. Victor Delano, USN (Ret.), a 1941 graduate of the Naval Academy. In any sport, members of varsity teams who qualify for their varsity letter receive an N-Star if they participate in a victory over Army. In a 1998 poll conducted by the Princeton Review, the Naval Academy was ranked as follows: #1 in schools where town-gown relations are good; #1 in schools that produce future rotarians and Daughters of the American Revolution; #2 in students happy with financial aid; #2 in schools where students from different backgrounds interact; #2 in schools where everyone plays intramural sports; #3 in stone-cold sober schools; #6 in schools with great libraries; #6 in schools where students never stop studying; #7 in toughest to get into; #8 in students most nostalgic for Reagan; #10 in least happy students; #10 in schools where students pack the stadiums; #13 in non-party schools; #14 for having dorms like dungeons; #15 for professors who make themselves accessible.