The 1951 Army Cadets football team represented the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

in the 1951 college football season. Led by head coach

Earl Blaik Earl Henry "Red" Blaik (February 15, 1897 – May 6, 1989) was an American football player, coach, college athletics administrator, and United States Army officer. He served as the head football coach at Dartmouth College from 1934 to 1940 and at ...

, the team finished with a record of 2–7. The Cadets offense scored 116 points, while the defense allowed 183 points. Army was ranked at No. 89 in the 1951 Litkenhous Ratings.

Offseason

In the offseason, Blaik was still agitated by the loss Army suffered to Navy in 1950. In addition, he was upset over the dismissal of

General Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American military leader who served as General of the Army for the United States, as well as a field marshal to the Philippine Army. He had served with distinction in World War I, was ...

. Sam Galiffa, who was part of the 1949 team, was now a decorated aide to General

Matthew Ridgway General Matthew Bunker Ridgway (March 3, 1895 – July 26, 1993) was a senior officer in the United States Army, who served as Supreme Allied Commander Europe (1952–1953) and the 19th Chief of Staff of the United States Army (1953–1955). Altho ...

. Galiffa arranged for members of the Army coaching staff to come to Japan and visit the troops. Vince Lombardi and Doug Kenna first visited Tokyo and conducted several football clinics for the troops stationed there. Although defensive coordinator Murray Warmath helped the discharged players relocate to other schools, it was his last year at Army. He left at the end of the season to become the head coach for Mississippi State.''When Pride Still Mattered'', David Maraniss, p.131, Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, New York, 1999,

Honor code violation

A massive honor code academic violation was revealed in the spring of 1951. There were accusations that football players were distributing unauthorized academic information. This was reported to Colonel

Paul Harkins Paul Donal Harkins (May 15, 1904 – August 21, 1984) was a career officer in the United States Army and attained the rank of general. He is most notable for having served during World War II as deputy chief of staff for operations in George S. ...

on April 2. It was later revealed that Red Blaik's son, Bob, was part of the honor code violation. On August 3, the violations were announced and several athletes were implicated in the scandal.

Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. Joseph Patrick Kennedy (September 6, 1888 – November 18, 1969) was an American businessman, investor, and politician. He is known for his own political prominence as well as that of his children and was the patriarch of the Irish-American Ke ...

spoke to assistant coach Doug Kenna and he helped pay the way for several discharged players to attend the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic university, Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend, Indiana, South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin fo ...

. Bob Blaik left Army for

Colorado College Colorado College is a private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It was founded in 1874 by Thomas Nelson Haskell in his daughter's memory. The college enrolls approxi ...

. Of the players that were discharged, three went on to careers in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

: Al Pollard,

Gene Filipski Eugene C. Filipski (June 14, 1931 – August 23, 1994) was an American football halfback who played two seasons with the New York Giants of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the seventh round of the 1953 NFL ...

and

Ray Malavasi Ray Malavasi ( ; November 8, 1930 – December 15, 1987) was an American football coach who served as head coach of two professional teams: the 1966 Denver Broncos season, Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Rams. Early years Born in Passaic, New Jer ...

. Malavasi also become head coach of the Los Angeles Rams. The event was dramatized in the 2005 ESPN film ''Code Breakers (film), Code Breakers''.

Regular season

The makeshift team that was assembled had no involvement in the honor violation, but they were still a reminder of it. After losing several games to Ivy League schools, Army defeated 1951 Columbia Lions football team, Columbia for its first win. The team received a congratulatory note from General Douglas MacArthur.''When Pride Still Mattered'', David Maraniss, p.138, Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, New York, 1999, In sixth week of the season, the Cadets played Frank Gifford and his 1951 USC Trojans football team, USC Trojans squad at Yankee Stadium (1923), Yankee Stadium. Before the Army–Navy Game, the Cadets had a record of 2–6. This was Blaik's only losing season at Army.When Pride Still Mattered, David Maraniss, p.139, Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, New York, 1999, In the Army–Navy game, Navy scored two touchdowns before Army even ran an offensive series.

Schedule

Personnel

References