PICATINNY ARSENAL, N.J. - The Army-Navy game is one of the most revered rivalries in all of sports. This year’s contest will take place on Dec. 14 at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland, as the Army’s Black Knights meet the Navy’s Midshipmen in the annual National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) final football game of the 2024 regular season with bragging rights on the line.
This year, 125 years of tradition will be on display as one of the oldest college football rivalries in the nation, with a rich history and pageantry, pairs the U.S. Military Academy at West Point against the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis.
For one employee of the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) Armaments Center, the annual ritual brings cherished memories that will forever hold a special place in his heart.
Timothy Jordan, Mission Support Manager in the Armaments Center’s Operations Center, earned a commission in the U.S. Navy through the United States Naval Academy in 1982. While at the Academy, he was the Captain of the Varsity Football Team and earned All-American honors as a defensive lineman, wearing number 56.
“Playing in the Army-Navy game is one of the greatest honors of a lifetime,” Jordan said. “Thousands of fans in the stands as well as a worldwide TV audience, make it unlike other college football rivalries. Almost everyone can relate because of the military connection. Many families have at least someone who has served.
“My oldest brother was in the Army in 1969, so he does like to see Army win, but not this particular game because of me,” Jordan added.
The football rivalry between the two services dates back to 1890, when Cadet Dennis Michie (for whom West Point’s stadium is named) accepted a challenge by a group of midshipmen to a pickup football game between Navy and the newly formed West Point team.
The two teams met on Nov. 29, 1890, with the much more experienced Navy team defeating the Army team. The following year, the Army would avenge the defeat with a 32-16 victory, and a rivalry was born.
The game highlights service comradery of the U.S. Armed Forces, embodies service to the nation; and exemplifies the commitment, character and competence of the Army ethos and values.
Over the past decade, the Army Black Knights have tallied the most wins. The team has won six out of their last eight contests against Navy and, if once again victorious this year, would match its longest winning streak (three games from 2016-18) since 1996.
Before that, though, it was all Navy dominance. Notably, the Midshipmen won 14 straight games from 2002-15, the longest such streak in this rivalry's history. Navy also holds the all-time series advantage with a 62-55-7 record, has won at least five games in a row on three separate occasions.
Neither team has won by more than six points in the past three years.
“This year, with both teams having winning records it will be, as always, a special hard-fought contest,” Jordan said of the upcoming Dec. 14 game.
“The Army-Navy game is special because regardless of the records, anything can happen,” Jordan said. “My senior year we were heavy favorites to win, but the game ended in a tie 3 – 3.”
Throughout the course of history, the two teams have tied each other seven times.
“My most memorable moment was towards the end of the tie game in 1981,” Jordan said. “Army was lining up to kick a 57-yard winning field goal. As a defensive player I was trying to block it, and laying on the ground and watching the kick, it was true and I thought we lost the game, however it came up short.
“It’s not my best memory, but one that still to this day gives me a knot in my stomach. It was the last Army-Navy game tie, and will be because of the rule changes,” Jordan said.
While it has been more than 40 years since Jordan played for the Midshipmen, the excitement of the competitive rivalry that surges within him is personally unmatched.
“The game is in my blood,” Jordan said. “Having such a close connection to the game and having such a successful football career, even with the tie, I can always say ‘I never lost to Army.’ You can ask anyone who has ever stepped on this field of glory. It’s a special life altering event.”
Jordan earned two varsity letters (1980 and '81) and was co-captain of the 1981 squad that went 7-4-1 and lost to Ohio State (31-28) in the Liberty Bowl. In his junior year, the Midshipmen posted an 8-4 mark and played Houston in the Garden State Bowl. Jordan was also on the 1978 Liberty Bowl team. He recorded 16 tackles for a loss in both 1980 and `81, which is tied for the fourth most in school history. As a senior, he was named First-Team All-East, an Honorable Mention All-American and played in the Hula Bowl All-Star Game.
Upon graduation from the Academy in 1982, Jordan attended the Navy Supply Corps School in Athens, Georgia, and was subsequently selected to serve as a Supply Officer onboard USS Midway (CV-41) forward deployed in Yokosuka, Japan. He then served as the Assistant Food Service Officer at the Academy in Annapolis, where he came off active duty and received a Reserve Commission in 1990.
Over his 30-year career, in a variety of duty assignments in the Reserves and active duty, Jordan was provided extensive experience in operational logistics and supply chain management. During his deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan in 2006, 2008 and 2009, Jordan served with two separate Army Commands, and the Navy Seabees, working with theater operations and logistical support.
He would eventually retire from service as a Captain and later served as a firefighter for the city of Hackensack, where he trained in numerous firefighting strategies, Emergency Management Operations, and Weapons of Mass Destruction procedures. He also worked as a substitute teacher in the Hillsborough School District for more than 15 years.
Jordan started working at Picatinny Arsenal in May 2014.
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