American college football season
The 1957 Navy Midshipmen football team represented the United States Naval Academy (USNA) as an independent during the 1957 NCAA University Division football season . Led by eighth-year head coach Eddie Erdelatz ,[1] [2] the Midshipmen shut out No. 10 Army , 14–0, to end the regular season at 8–1–1; they were ranked fifth in the final polls , released in early December.[3]
In December, Navy won its third Lambert Trophy , an award for the season's best college football team in the East . The Middies had previously won the award in 1943 and 1954 . Navy and the small-college winner of the Lambert Cup, Lehigh , were lauded as proof that a university could field a competitive football team without compromising its academic standards.[4]
Favored by a point,[5] Navy won the Cotton Bowl 20–7 over eighth-ranked Rice on New Year's Day .
Schedule
Date Time Opponent Rank Site TV Result Attendance Source September 21 at Boston College No. 12 W 46–628,000 [6]
September 28 William & Mary No. 5 W 33–615,000 [7]
October 5 at North Carolina No. 6 L 7–1325,000 [8]
October 12 at California W 21–647,000
October 19 vs. Georgia No. 15 W 27–1431,160 [9]
October 26 at Penn No. 16 W 35–726,495 [10]
November 2 at No. 5 Notre Dame No. 16 W 20–658,922
November 9 vs. No. 16 Duke No. 7 NBC T 6–631,000 [11]
November 16 vs. George Washington No. 9 Memorial Stadium Baltimore, MD W 52–010,000 [12]
November 30 1:15 p.m. vs. No. 10 Army No. 8 NBC W 14–0101,000 [13]
January 1, 1958 vs. No. 8 Rice No. 5 CBS W 20–775,504 [14] [15]
Personnel
1957 Navy Midshipmen football team roster
Players
Coaches
Offense
Pos.
#
Name
Class
HB
49
Roland Brandquist
So
HB
48
Ronnie Brence
Sr
QB
18
Tom Forrestal
Sr
HB
34
Harry Hurst
Sr
HB
27
Ned Oldham (C)
Sr
E
89
John Ruth
Sr
G
61
Tony Stremic
Sr
FB
21
Al Swanson
Sr
QB
16
Joe Tranchini
So
FB
33
Ray Wellborn
Jr
C
56
John Witzmann
Sr
Defense
Special teams
Pos.
#
Name
Class
PK
27
Ned Oldham
Sr
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
Injured
Redshirt
Source: [16] [17]
References
^ "Football History" (PDF) . United States Naval Academy. p. 192. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved July 12, 2015 .
^ "Navy Yearly Results (1955-1959)" . College Football Data Warehouse . David DeLassus. Archived from the original on July 15, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2015 .
^ "Auburn voted national grid champs by AP" . Eugene Register-Guard . (Oregon). Associated Press. December 3, 1957. p. 2B.
^ Trimble, Joe (December 9, 1957). "Big Navy, L'il Lehigh Win Lambert Awards" . Sunday News . New York, N.Y. p. 68 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Sooners, Navy favored today" . Spokesman-Review . (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. January 1, 1958. p. 10.
^ "Navy Romps Over Boston College, 46–6" . Chicago Tribune . September 22, 1957. pp. 2–5 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Middie halfbacks rip Indians, 33–6" . Fort Worth Star-Telegram . September 29, 1957. Retrieved January 16, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "North Carolina upsets Navy stopping Forrestal, 13–7" . The Daily News Leader . October 6, 1957. Retrieved January 16, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Middies down aroused Bulldogs in Oyster Bowl, 27–14" . The Virginian-Pilot . October 20, 1957. Retrieved October 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
^ Danzig, Allison (October 27, 1957). "Navy Sinks Penn, 35-7; Forrestal Stars". The New York Times . New York, N.Y. p. S1.
^ "Navy, Duke in 6–6 tie" . The Nashville Tennessean . November 10, 1957. Retrieved January 16, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Navy rips G.W., 52–0" . The Baltimore Sun . November 17, 1957. Retrieved February 8, 2021 – via Newspapers.com .
^ Hand, Jack (December 1, 1957). "Middies blank Army, 14-0, accept Cotton Bowl invitation" . Eugene Register-Guard . (Oregon). Associated Press. p. 1B.
^ "Tom Forrestal leads Navy to 20-7 victory over Rice" . Pittsburgh Post-Gazette . Associated Press. January 2, 1958. p. 18.
^ Ratliff, Harold (January 2, 1958). "Forrestal pilots Navy in 20-7 rout of Rice" . Spokesman-Review . (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. p. 17.
^ "Cotton Bowl on TV" . Pittsburgh Post-Gazette . January 1, 1958. p. 52.
^ "2019 Football Media Guide" (PDF) . U.S. Naval Academy Athletics. 2019.
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