Oct. 5, 2005

On the final Friday of September of 1959, America was on edge.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower and his Soviet counterpart, Premier Nikita S. Krushchev - leaders of rival nations in the midst of The Cold War - were just beginning a round of weekend meetings at Camp David.

At the time, any Annapolitan who'd dropped a nickel to purchase The Evening Capital might have escaped momentarily from the hard news of the day by chuckling over the Bugs Bunny comic strip.

Or - long before chains like Starbucks shaped the way we live and spend - he or she could have instead scanned the ads for specials. Like those at Eddie's Super Market, where a two-pound can of Luzienne Coffee cost just $1.23.

If a sports fan, with no internet or 24-hour cable channels, one likely caught the brief out of Boston, reporting Ted Williams' intention to return for at least one more season.

But whatever the page, one particular event - centering around, of all things, a football game - seemed unavoidable.

The next day the Navy Midshipmen would host the College of William and Mary in the christening of brand-new Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.

So, paragraph after paragraph in the local daily were devoted to what was billed as "A Living Memorial" to the sailors and soldiers who'd sacrificed to protect a nation and preserve its way of life.

When the afternoon of the 26th arrived, a dedication ceremony was presided over by Naval Academy Superintendent Rear Admiral Charles L. Melson, who was joined by five of his predecessors, including Rear Admiral William Smedberg.

For years, Academy officials sought to replace outdated Thompson Field, which opened in 1912. But after purchasing land in 1939, plans for a new stadium were set aside.

As America entered World War II, every ounce of steel and yard of concrete were needed to help defeat Fascism. Building bleachers was out of the question.

Then in January 1957, Smedberg launched an effort to raise nearly $3 million to build a new home for Navy football - strictly from private donations, mostly from military personnel.

Money poured in from all points, in some cases from the most unlikely of sources. Reportedly, West Point's Corps of Cadets pitched in more than $1,100, while alumni and friends of Notre Dame gave in excess of $10,000.

And by the fall of '59, the Mids finally had a facility fit for a program that won the Cotton Bowl just two months before construction commenced in March 1958.

"It was exciting. We waited a long time for a new stadium," remembers Dick Pariseau, who shared a talented backfield with halfbacks Joe Bellino and Joe Matalavage. "There were no comparisons. Thompson featured bleachers on steel stills.

"Finally, we had a stadium that compared to places we'd go. We felt proud to have a stadium that mimicked the ones we were playing at."

Like in Ann Arbor or South Bend.

Or Chestnut Hill, where Pariseau opened the 1959 campaign by returning a punt 80 yards to help the Mids beat Boston College, 24-8. A week later, he wore number 47 before the roughly 25,000 fans forming the first crowd at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.

Not only was theirs an introduction to the new facility - let alone a new mascot, Billy XV - for the vast majority, this was the first opportunity to see the Mids under a new head coach.

Wayne Hardin played under the legendary Amos Alonzo Stagg at the College of the Pacific, before moving to Annapolis to fill the coaching vacancy created when Navy assistant Ben Martin was lured away by Air Force in 1955.

For four seasons, he served under Eddie Erdelatz. Until, at the age of 32, Hardin was hired as Erdelatz's successor.

During Hardin's debut at Boston College, Navy employed, in essence, three teams in one. Playing with platoons - instead of first, second or third strings - the Mids beat the Eagles and climbed to 13th in the Associated Press rankings.

Hardin would later refer to his waves of players as Torpedoes, Missiles and Rockets. They were led on offense by quarterbacks Joe Tranchini, Jim Maxfield and Hal Spooner, respectively.

William and Mary was also known by three nicknames. Though, by any - Tribe, Indians or Big Green - it was a familiar foe.

The Midshipmen were 21-3 in the all-time series, most recently winning by a 14-0 final in 1958. Still, led by halfback Roger Hale, the Tribe was coming off a 37-0 rout of Virginia in which it rushed for 348 yards.

"That's a lot of yards even if you are playing the Little Sisters of the Poor," then Navy assistant Steve Belichick told The Evening Capital. "(Hale) is just like our Bellino."

Nonetheless, as the newspaper declared, the Mids were "a solid two touchdown favorite."

With WBAL and WRC broadcasting the radio play-by-play to Baltimore, Washington and neighboring states, the Mids easily overcame an early safety, resulting from one of two punts blocked by W&M.

They did so by out-rushing the Tribe by some 239 yards in a 29-2 victory.

Operating out of the Wing-T, Bellino gained 82 yards on 10 carries - 54 on a single touchdown dash. Matalavage scored on an 85-yard run and a one-yard dive, amassing 116 yards overall on only eight attempts.

Meanwhile, 230-pound tackle Ron Erchul was named ECAC All-East in the week that followed.

Surprisingly, despite such a one-sided affair, the Mids slipped two spots in the AP poll. And soon thereafter, following a loss at SMU, they fell from the rankings altogether.

Only one other game was staged that autumn in Annapolis, a 16-8 win over George Washington in mid-November en route to a 5-4-1 record overall.

Pariseau, however would return to that same turf the following spring and shine as an All-America lacrosse player. He continues to come back, a proud alumnus with fond memories of that special Saturday in September 1959.

Forty-six years later - when a buck and a quarter can't even get you a tall decaf - fans are left with only the legacy of the late great Williams.

Bugs Bunny's been retired from print, relegated to classic re-runs on The Cartoon Network.

And Soviet Premier is no longer a job title, The Cold War a subject covered by history books.

Thanks in great part to the very spirit honored at this very site since September 1959.