1957 Navy Midshipmen football team

The 1957 Navy Midshipmen football team represented the United States Naval Academy (USNA) during the 1957 NCAA University Division football season and competed as an independent. Led by eighth-year head coach Eddie Erdelatz,[1][2] the Midshipmen shut out #10 Army 14–0 to end the regular season at 8–1–1;[3] they were ranked fifth in the final polls, released in early December.[4]

1957 Navy Midshipmen football
Lambert Trophy Cotton Bowl champion
Cotton Bowl Classic, W 20–7 vs. Rice
Conference	Independent
Ranking
Coaches	No. 6
AP	No. 5
1957 record	9–1–1
Head coach	Eddie Erdelatz (8th season)
Captain	Ned Oldham
Home stadium	Thompson Stadium

1957 NCAA University Division independents football records
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 5 Navy			–					9	–	1	–	1
No. 10 Notre Dame			–					7	–	3	–	0
No. 18 Army			–					7	–	2	–	0
Drake			–					7	–	2	–	0
Penn State			–					6	–	3	–	0
Detroit			–					6	–	3	–	0
Dayton			–					6	–	3	–	1
Oklahoma State			–					6	–	3	–	1
Boston University			–					5	–	3	–	0
Holy Cross			–					5	–	3	–	1
Syracuse			–					5	–	3	–	1
Pacific (CA)			–					5	–	3	–	2
Rutgers			–					5	–	4	–	0
Miami (FL)			–					5	–	4	–	1
Florida State			–					4	–	6	–	0
Pittsburgh			–					4	–	6	–	0
Air Force			–					3	–	6	–	1
Colgate			–					3	–	6	–	0
Villanova			–					3	–	6	–	0
San Jose State			–					3	–	7	–	0
Texas Tech			–					2	–	8	–	0
Marquette			–					0	–	10	–	0
Rankings from AP Poll

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.[5]

Favored by a point,[6] Navy won the Cotton Bowl 20–7 over eighth-ranked Rice on New Year's Day.[7][8]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance
September 21	at Boston College	No. 12	Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA	W 46–6
September 28	William & Mary	No. 5	Thompson Stadium Annapolis, MD	W 33–6
October 5	at North Carolina	No. 6	Kenan Memorial Stadium Chapel Hill, NC	L 7–13
October 12	at California		California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA	W 21–6	57,000
October 19	vs. Georgia	No. 15	Foreman Field Norfolk, Virginia (Oyster Bowl)	W 27–14	30,000
October 26	at Penn	No. 16	Franklin Field Philadelphia, PA	W 35–7
November 2	at No. 5 Notre Dame	No. 16	Notre Dame Stadium South Bend, IN (rivalry)	W 20–6	58,922
November 9	No. 16 Duke	No. 7	Memorial Stadium Baltimore, MD	T 6–6	31,000
November 16	George Washington	No. 9	Memorial Stadium Baltimore, MD	W 52–0
November 30	vs. No. 10 Army	No. 8	Municipal Stadium Philadelphia, PA (Army–Navy Game)	W 14–0	101,000
January 1, 1958	vs. No. 8 Rice	No. 5	Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX (Cotton Bowl)	W 20–7	75,504
Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

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 Pos. # Name Class	Special teams Pos. # Name Class PK 27 Ned Oldham Sr	Head coach Eddie Erdelatz (8th year) Coordinators/assistant coaches Steve Belichick Wayne Hardin Ernie Jorge Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Source:[9][10]

References

1. "Football History" (PDF). United States Naval Academy. p. 192. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
2. "Navy Yearly Results (1955-1959)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Retrieved July 14, 2015.
3. Hand, Jack (December 1, 1957). "Middies blank Army, 14-0, accept Cotton Bowl invitation". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. p. 1B.
4. "Auburn voted national grid champs by AP". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. December 3, 1957. p. 2B.
5. Trimble, Joe (December 9, 1957). "Big Navy, L'il Lehigh Win Lambert Awards". Sunday News. New York, N.Y. p. 68 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Sooners, Navy favored today". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. January 1, 1958. p. 10.
7. "Tom Forrestal leads Navy to 20-7 victory over Rice". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. January 2, 1958. p. 18.
8. Ratliff, Harold (January 2, 1958). "Forrestal pilots Navy in 20-7 rout of Rice". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. p. 17.
9. "Cotton Bowl on TV". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. January 1, 1958. p. 52.
10. "2019 Football Media Guide" (PDF). U.S. Naval Academy Athletics. 2019.