1914 Army Cadets football team

1914 Army Cadets football
National champion (Helms, Houlgate, NCF) Co-national champion (Davis)
Conference	Independent
1914 record	9–0
Head coach	Charles Dudley Daly (2nd year)
Home stadium	The Plain

The 1914 Army Cadets football team represented the United States Military Academy in the 1914 college football season. In their second season under head coach Charles Dudley Daly, the Cadets compiled a 9–0 record, shut out six of their nine opponents, and outscored all opponents by a combined total of 219 to 20 – an average of 24.3 points scored and 2.2 points allowed.^[1][2] In the annual Army–Navy Game, the Cadets defeated the Midshipmen 20 to 0.^[3] The Cadets also defeated Notre Dame by a 20 to 7 score.^[4] The 1914 Army team was recognized as the 1914 national champion by the Helms Athletic Foundation, the Houlgate System, and the National Championship Foundation, and a co-national champion by Parke H. Davis.^[5]

Three Army players were recognized as first-team players on the 1914 College Football All-America Team: end Louis A. Merrilat; center John McEwan; and quarterback Vernon Prichard. Tackle Alex Weyand was selected as a third-team All-American by Walter Camp. Four players from the 1914 team were later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame: McEwan; Weyand; Robert Neyland (later coach at Tennessee); and Elmer Oliphant.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance
October 3		Stevens Tech	The Plain • West Point, NY	W 49–0	-
October 10		Rutgers	The Plain • West Point, NY	W 13–0	-
October 17		Colgate	The Plain • West Point, NY	W 21–7	-
October 24		Holy Cross	The Plain • West Point, NY	W 14–0	-
October 31		Villanova	The Plain • West Point, NY	W 41–0	-
November 7		Notre Dame	The Plain • West Point, NY	W 20–7	-
November 14		Maine	The Plain • West Point, NY	W 28–0	-
November 21		Springfield	The Plain • West Point, NY	W 13–6	-
November 28		Navy	Franklin Field • Philadelphia, PA (Army-Navy Game)	W 20–0	-
Homecoming. All times are in Eastern Time.

Players

• Charles Benedict, fullback
• Omar Bradley (later Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army)
• William Butler, left tackle
• William Coffin, fullback
• John F. Goodman, center
• Charles Herrick, left guard
• Paul A. Hodgson, left halfback
• William M. Hoge, right halfback and fullback
• James P. Kelly, right end
• John McEwan, center (College Football Hall of Fame)
• Laurence Meacham, left guard and right guard
• Louis A. Merrilat, left end and right end
• Robert Neyland, left end (College Football Hall of Fame)
• Joseph O'Hare, right guard
• Elmer Oliphant,^[6] halfback (College Football Hall of Fame)
• Vernon Prichard, quarterback
• James Van Fleet, right halfback
• Alex Weyand, right tackle (College Football Hall of Fame)

References

1. "Army Yearly Results (1910-1914)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Retrieved July 29, 2015.
2. "1914 Army Black Knights Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 29, 2015.
3. "Well-Balanced Army Machine Overwhelms Navy, 20-0". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. November 29, 1914.
4. "Cadets Avenge Defeat by Irish: Strong Army Team Downs Notre Dame, 20 to 7, in Contest at West Point Featured by Forward Pass". The Indianapolis Star. November 8, 1914.
5. National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) (2015). "National Poll Rankings" (PDF). NCAA Division I Football Records. NCAA. p. 108. Retrieved January 8, 2016.
6. "Oliphant Has Big Part in Army-Maine Battle". The Topeka Daily Capital. November 15, 1914.