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Army to Play 3 More Football Games at Yankee Stadium
August 12, 2013
After initiating the new Yankee Stadium as a football field in 2010 and 2011, Army will be back in the Bronx for three more games in 2014-2016.
According to Sal Interdonato of the Times Herald-Record:
Army will play three more games at Yankee Stadium to fulfill its five-game contract with the Yankees, athletic director Boo Corrigan told the Times Herald-Record.
The Black Knights will play Connecticut in 2014 and Rutgers on Nov. 21, 2015.
Corrigan said Army and Notre Dame are still working on a game in 2016.
Connecticut replaces a game originally scheduled against Boston College on Nov. 8, 2014.
If Notre Dame does indeed sign on for the 2016 game, two of the Black Knights' three opponents will be repeats. They lost 27-3 to Notre Dame in the first game at Yankee Stadium in 2010 and 27-12 to Rutgers the following year.
But the Notre Dame game is special for many other reasons.
Army football hasn't been relevant in most fans' lifetimes, but its rivalry with the Irish is one of the best and most historic in sports. Its relationship to Yankee Stadium is a big part of that mythos.
Between 1925 and 1946, Notre Dame and Army played 22 times. All but one of those games, a 1930 tilt in Chicago, took place at the old Yankee stadium.
Here's how Notre Dame's official website described the rivalry's heyday:
Over four straight seasons from 1943 through 1946, both Notre Dame and Army came into their Yankee Stadium matchup ranked fifth or higher in that week's Associated Press poll. The Irish came into the '43 game ranked number one, then Army brought the top ranking into the contest in '44, '45 and '46. Top-ranked Notre Dame defeated #3 Army 26-0 in '43. Top-rated Army vanquished #5 Notre Dame 59-0 in '44 and #2 Notre Dame 48-0 in '45. Then, in '46, came the famous 0-0 tie between #1 Army and #2 Notre Dame - made legendary by John Lujack's well-chronicled saving tackle of Cadet star running back Doc Blanchard late in the game.
After '46, the only time they played at old Yankee Stadium was a 45-0 Irish win in 1969. That made it exceedingly special when Notre Dame and Army christened the new stadium in 2010—and would make it just as outstanding if they played again in three years.
Even if "The Game," as it formerly came to be known, isn't as competitive, annual or relevant as it once was, at least it would still exist.
Army football has left a lot to be desired in recent campaigns. It finished 2-10 last season and this year loses do-everything quarterback Trent Steelman, one of the best players in school history. The Black Knights have not adapted well to the modern world and struggled to find an identity.
It's nice to see them get back to their roots.