Navy


Midshipmen 1964
(Authentic Reproduction)
 

 

 

 

3-6-1 with Heisman winner Roger Staubach at quarterback? An injured ankle and Achilles tendon in the opener against Penn State slowed Staubach and had him out of a number of games. For the season's first five games, Navy wore a very distinctive helmet. Taking the field in the opener against Penn State and wearing the same style for the games against William And Mary, Michigan, Georgia Tech, and Cal, the Middies had a dark navy blue with gold trimmed goat logo on each side of their gold helmets. Perhaps it was the 2-3 sputtering start and further injuries that moved Hardin to remove the logo after the October 17 game at Cal and play the remainder of the season in the plain gold shells. A knee injury to FB Pat Donnelly and a leg problem that stymied flanker Skip Orr almost sunk the offense completely. HB Calvin Huey, the first African-American to play at the Academy, filled in. The defense broke down only against a Parseghian-revitalized Notre Dame team, giving up forty points but otherwise was reasonable. Staubach returned for the next to last game against Duke to pass for 308 yards, showing he still had his stuff. They lost their finale to Army 11-8 and it was as good a time as any to confront the issues with Coach Hardin. He had infuriated the staff by purposely scheduling film sessions during a specially-arranged guest speaker series that was sponsored and considered to be mandatory by the Navy brass, and when those in charge changed the speakers' dates to suit Hardin, he changed the film sessions to the nights of the re-scheduled talks. He had tried to remove the team from the Brigade during the season, was generally abrasive, and "treated the Navy brass with disdain." His flair for decorating the Navy uniforms for the Army games was seen as "ungentlemanly" and not in keeping with the bearing of military officers. Hardin was released and became the winningest coach in Temple University history.   

If interested in any of these Navy helmets please click on the photos below.