Army Football: A Brief History

Army Black Knights:

First Season: 1890

Head Coach: Rich Ellerson (4 seasons, 17-30)

All-Time Record: 642-454-51

Bowl Record: 3-2 (Cherry Bowl, Peach Bowl, Sun Bowl, Independence Bowl, Armed Forces Bowl)

Playing Field: Michie Stadium (Capacity of 40,000)

Conference Affiliations:

• Independent (1890-1997, 2006-Current)
• Conference USA (1998-2005)

Attendance: 30,588 (5-year average)

Claimed National Titles: Three

• 1944 I-A National Champions (AP)
• 1945 I-A National Champions (AP)
• 1946 I-A National Champions (Helms Athletic Foundation)

Conference Titles: (0) Independent Program except for 1998-2005. 

• Eight AP Top 10 Finishes: 1944, 1945, 1946, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1954, 1958.

Trophy Games

• Army-Navy Game: 49-57-7 (113 Meetings).
• Commander-in-Chief Trophy: (6). 1972, 1977, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1996.

Record Versus Rivals (20+ meetings):

• Air Force: 14-32-1
• Boston College: 13-24
• Duke: 10-11-1
• Navy: 49-57-7
• Notre Dame: 8-38-4
• Penn State: 10-13-2
• Pittsburgh: 6-19-2
• Rutgers: 18-21
• Syracuse: 10-11

Year-By-Year Record (Since 2001, Division I FBS Era, Joining the Sun Belt)

1890s: 38-27-5

1900s: 53-23-10

1910s: 62-14-2

1920s: 69-19-7

1930s: 71-22-5

1940s: 68-17-7

1950s: 58-27-5

1960s: 60-37-3

1970: 1-9-1

1971: 6-4

1972: 6-4

1973: 0-10

1974: 3-8

1975: 2-9

1976: 5-6

1977: 7-4

1978: 4-6-1

1979: 2-8-1

1980: 3-7-1

1981: 3-7-1

1982: 4-7

1983: 2-9

1984: 8-3-1 Cherry Bowl, Beat Michigan State 10-6.

1985: 9-3 Peach Bowl, Beat Illinois 31-29.

1986: 6-5

1987: 5-6

1988: 9-3 Sun Bowl, Lost to Alabama 29-28.

1989: 6-5

1990: 6-5

1991: 4-7

1992: 5-6

1993: 6-5

1994: 4-7

1995: 5-5-1

1996: 10-2 Independence Bowl, Lost to Auburn 32-29.

1997: 4-7

1998: 3-8

1999: 3-8

2000: 1-10

2001: 3-8

2002: 1-11

2003: 0-13

2004: 2-9

2005: 4-7

2006: 3-9

2007: 3-9

2008: 3-9

2009: 5-7

2010: 7-6 Armed Forces Bowl, Beat SMU 16-14.

2011: 3-9

2012: 2-10

Coaching/Team History:

Starting in 1891 Henry L. "Doc" Williams was the inaugural head coach of Army going 4-1-1 in his only year with the program. From 1891-1911, Army saw 14 coaches oversee the program with only Herman J. Koehler (4 seasons, 19-11-3) and Harry M. Nelly (3 seasons, 15-5-2) staying any longer than two seasons for the Black Knights.

The first long term coach for Army was Charles D. Daly who recorded a 58-13-3 overall record with three undefeated seasons (1914, 1916, 1922) as coach. Daly is still second all-time for the Black Knights in career games won.

Trying to replace Daly, the Black Knights had trouble getting anyone to stay long as Army saw seven more coaches make their way through the program with a sterling 128-43-11 record while only Coach William H. Wood (3 seasons, 12-13-3) left Army with a losing record among the bunch.

After the travesty of Wood's final season with the Black Knights, Army hired Dartmouth head coach Earl H. "Red" Blaik as a replacement. Blaik seemed like a solid hire with a 45-15-4 record in seven years at Dartmouth. Blaik not only retained his previous success but ended up coaching the Black Knights for 18 seasons going 121-33-10 with undefeated teams in 1944, 1945, 1946, 1948, 1949, and 1958. The Black Knights claim national championships in the 1944, 1945, and 1946 seasons under Blaik. Blaik was inducted into the college football hall of fame in 1964.

Off of the success of Blaik, Army hired Dale S. Hall (3 seasons, 16-11-2) who made it through three seasons as head coach but never breaking through like Blaik. Hall left the program after the 1961 season handing the reigns over to LSU head coach Paul Dietzel (4 seasons, 21-18-1) who left an LSU program he had led to a top 5 national ranking in three of the previous four seasons. Dietzel struggled at Army only amassing a 21-18-1 record before taking off for the South Carolina head coaching job.

Army stayed in house with Dietzel's replacement tabbing Army freshman coach Tom Cahill (8 seasons, 40-39-2)  as the new head coach. Cahill was very successful in his first three seasons going a combined 23-7 before slipping as the years went by and finally released after an 0-10 season in 1973.

Hoping to get back to the glory years of the past, Army hired Homer Smith (5 seasons, 21-33-1), Lou Saban (1 season, 2-8-1), and Ed Cavanaugh (3 seasons, 10-21-2) in succession giving the Black Knights the worst 9-year period in school history to that point.

The Black Knights finally saw success with the hire of Jim Young (8 seasons, 51-39-1) who has seen previous success at Arizona and Purdue. Young led Army to 6 winning seasons and trips to the Cherry (1984), Peach (1985), and Sun (1988) Bowls during his tenure.

After Young stepped down following the 1990 season, Army was able to hire Bob Sutton who had been coaching the Black Knight defense since the 1983 season. Sutton was largely disappointing during his 9 years as head coach but had one magical season in 1996 that ended with a 10-2 record and top 25 ranking in both major polls. Sutton left the Black Knights after the 1999 season to coach in the NFL as an assistant.

Following Sutton, the Black Knights hired Illinois State head coach Todd Berry. Berry (4 seasons, 5-35) was a disaster for the Black Knights with Army cutting ties with Berry five games into the 2003 season. Assistant John Mumford took over the interim job and promptly lost the last seven games of the season putting to end the Berry era at 5-42 overall.

Following the disaster of the previous 4 seasons, Army decided to make a splash hiring former Georgia Tech and San Diego Chargers head coach Bobby Ross (9-25) for the 2004 season. Ross struggled adapting back to the college ranks after not coaching a college team since 1991. Ross retired after the 2006 season.

With Ross retired, the Black Knights hired the offensive coordinator Stan Brock (6-18) who led Army to consecutive 3-9 seasons before quickly being let go after the 2008 season.

Needing yet another coach quickly, Army went after Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo head coach Rich Ellerson to replace Brock. Ellerson (4 seasons, 17-32) started out with a 5-7 record which was leaps and bounds above the previous few seasons and followed that up with a 7-6 campaign that ended with a win over SMU in the Armed Forces bowl. The honeymoon ended in 2011 with a 3-9 record followed by a 2-10 season last fall. Ellerson must show the Black Knights can be more competitive in 2013 to keep his job going forward.

All-Americans:

• 1898 Charles Romeyn (B)
• 1900 Walter Smith (E)
• 1901 Paul Bunker (T)
• 1901 Charles Daly (QB)
• 1902 Paul Bunker (HB)
• 1902 Robert Boyers (C)
• 1904 Arthur Tipton (C)
• 1904, 1905 Henry Torney (B)
• 1907 William Erwin (G)
• 1911 Leland Devore (T)
• 1913 Louis Merillat (E)
• 1914 John McEwan (C)
• 1916, 1917 Elmer Oliphant (HB)
• 1922, 1924 Edgar Garbisch (C)
• 1924 Gus Farwick (G)
• 1925 Charles Born (E)
• 1926, 1927 Bud Sprague (T)
• 1926 Harry Wilson (HB)
• 1927, 1928, 1929 Chris Cagle (HB)
• 1930, 1931 Jack Price (T)
• 1932 Milt Summerfelt (G)
• 1933 Jack Buckler (B)
• 1935 Bill Shuler (E)
• 1939 Harry Stella (T)
• 1942 Robin Olds (T)
• 1942 Frank Merritt (T)
• 1943 Casimir Myslinski (C)
• 1943 Frank Merritt (T)
• 1944, 1945, 1946 Felix “Doc” Blanchard (FB)
• 1944, 1945, 1946 Glenn Davis (HB)
• 1944 Joe Stanowicz (G)
• 1944, 1945 John Green (G)
• 1944 Doug Kenna (QB)
• 1944 Barney Poole (E)
• 1945 DeWitt Coulter (T)
• 1945, 1946 Hank Foldberg (E)
• 1945 Albert Nemetz (T)
• 1946  Arnold Tucker (QB)
• 1947 Joe Steffy (G)
• 1948 Joe Henry (G)
• 1948  Bobby Jack Stuart (HB)
• 1949 Arnold Galiffa (QB)
• 1950 Dan Foldberg (E)
• 1950 Elmer Stout (LB)
• 1950 Charles Shira (DT)
• 1950 J.D. Kimmel (DT)
• 1954 Don Holleder (E)
• 1954 Tommy Bell (HB)
• 1954 Ralph Chesnauskas (G)
• 1957, 1958 Bob Anderson (HB)
• 1958 Pete Dawkins (HB)
• 1958 Bob Novogratz (G)
• 1959 Bill Carpenter (E)
• 1966 Townsend Clarke (LB)
• 1968 Ken Johnson (LB)
• 1985 Don Smith (OG)
• 1990 Mike Mayweather (HB)

Award Winners:

• Doc Blanchard – 1945 Heisman Trophy
• Glenn Davis – 1946 Heisman Trophy
• Pete Dawkins – 1958 Heisman Trophy
• Earl Blaik – 1946   AFCA Coach of the Year
• Tom Cahill – 1966 AFCA Coach of the Year
• Tom Cahill – 1966 Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year
• Bob Sutton – 1996 Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award
• Glenn Davis – 1944 Maxwell Award
• Doc Blanchard – 1945 Maxwell Award
• Pete Dawkins – 1958 Maxwell Award
• Joe Steffy – 1947 Outland Trophy
• Andrew Rodriguez – 2011 William V. Campbell Trophy
• Andrew Rodriguez – 2011 James E. Sullivan Award

College Hall of Fame Members:

• Bob Anderson
• Doc Blanchard
• Paul Bunker
• Chris Cagle
• Bill Carpenter
• Charlie Daly
• Glenn Davis
• Pete Dawkins
• Arnold Galiffa
• Ed Garbisch
• John Green
• Don Holleder
• Harvey Jablonsky
• Doug Kenna
• John McEwan
• Frank Merritt
• Robin Olds
• Elmer Oliphant
• Barney Poole
• Bud Sprague
• Joe Steffy
• Alex Weyand
• Harry Wilson