1951 Army Cadets football team

1951 Army Cadets football
Conference	Independent
1951 record	2–7
Head coach	Earl Blaik (11th year)
Offensive scheme	T formation
Home stadium	Michie Stadium

The 1951 Army Cadets football team represented the United States Military Academy in the 1951 college football season. Led by head coach Earl Blaik, the team finished with a record of 2–7. The Cadets offense scored 116 points, while the defense allowed 183 points.

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. Sam Galiffa, who was part of the 1949 team, was now a decorated aide to General Matthew Ridgway. Galiffa arranged for members of the Army coaching staff to come to Japan and visit the troops.^[1] 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.^[2]

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.^[3] This was reported to Colonel Paul Harkins on April 2. It was later revealed that Red Blaik's son, Bob, was part of the honor code violation.^[4] On August 3, the violations were announced and several athletes were implicated in the scandal.^[5]

Joseph P. Kennedy spoke to assistant coach Doug Kenna, and he helped pay the way for several discharged players to attend Notre Dame.^[6] Bob Blaik left Army for Colorado College.^[7] Of the players that were discharged, three went on to careers in the National Football League: Al Pollard, Gene Filipski and Ray Malavasi. Malavasi also become head coach of the Los Angeles Rams.^[8]

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 Columbia for its first win. The team received a congratulatory note from General Douglas MacArthur.^[9]

In week 6 of the season, the Cadets played Frank Gifford and his USC Trojans squad. The game was played at Yankee Stadium.^[10] Before the Army–Navy game, the Cadets had a record of 2 wins and 6 losses. This was Blaik's only losing season at Army.^[11] In the Army–Navy game, Navy scored two touchdowns before Army even ran an offensive series.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result
September 29	Villanova	Michie Stadium • West Point, NY	L 7–21
October 6	at Northwestern	Dyche Stadium • Evanston, IL	L 14–20
October 13	Dartmouth	Michie Stadium • West Point, NY	L 14–28
October 20	at Harvard	Harvard Stadium • Boston, MA	L 21–22
October 27	Columbia	Michie Stadium • West Point, NY	W 14–9
November 3	vs. USC	Yankee Stadium • Bronx, NY	L 6–28
November 10	The Citadel	Michie Stadium • West Point, NY	W 27–6
November 17	at Penn	Franklin Field • Philadelphia, PA	L 6–7
December 1	vs. Navy	Municipal Stadium • Philadelphia, PA (Army–Navy Game)	L 7–42

References

↑ When Pride Still Mattered, David Maraniss, p.118, Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, New York, 1999, ISBN 978-0-684-84418-3
↑ When Pride Still Mattered, David Maraniss, p.131, Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, New York, 1999, ISBN 978-0-684-84418-3
↑ When Pride Still Mattered, David Maraniss, p.120, Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, New York, 1999, ISBN 978-0-684-84418-3
↑ When Pride Still Mattered, David Maraniss, p.123, Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, New York, 1999, ISBN 978-0-684-84418-3
↑ When Pride Still Mattered, David Maraniss, p.130, Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, New York, 1999, ISBN 978-0-684-84418-3
↑ When Pride Still Mattered, David Maraniss, p.131, Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, New York, 1999, ISBN 978-0-684-84418-3
↑ When Pride Still Mattered, David Maraniss, p.131, Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, New York, 1999, ISBN 978-0-684-84418-3
↑ When Pride Still Mattered, David Maraniss, p.132, Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, New York, 1999, ISBN 978-0-684-84418-3
↑ When Pride Still Mattered, David Maraniss, p.138, Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, New York, 1999, ISBN 978-0-684-84418-3
↑ When Pride Still Mattered, David Maraniss, p.139, Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, New York, 1999, ISBN 978-0-684-84418-3
↑ When Pride Still Mattered, David Maraniss, p.139, Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, New York, 1999, ISBN 978-0-684-84418-3

Army Black Knights football

Venues	The Plain (1890–1923) Michie Stadium (1924–present)

Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Air Force (Commander-in-Chief's Trophy) Navy: Army–Navy Game (Commander-in-Chief's Trophy; Thompson Cup) Notre Dame

Culture & lore	Army Mule Black Death Award "On, Brave Old Army Team" "The Army Goes Rolling Along" 1946 "Game of the Century"

People	Head coaches Statistical leaders

Seasons	1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

National championship seasons in bold

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