1963 Navy Midshipmen football team

American college football season

The 1963 Navy Midshipmen football team represented the United States Naval Academy as an independent in the 1963 NCAA University Division football season. Led by fifth-year head coach Wayne Hardin, the Midshipmen finished the year with an overall record of 9–2 and a loss against Texas in the Cotton Bowl Classic.

Quarterback Roger Staubach won the Heisman Trophy and the Maxwell Award while leading the Midshipmen to a 9–1 regular season record and a final ranking of No. 2 in the nation. He led Navy to victory over their annual rivalry with Notre Dame, which would be the Midshipmen's last win over Notre Dame until 2007. In the Crab Bowl Classic, Navy defeated Maryland by a score of 42–7. There was talk of cancelling the 1963 Army-Navy game in the aftermath of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, but his widow, Jacqueline, insisted that the game should be played. No. 2 Navy accepted an invitation to play in the 1964 Cotton Bowl Classic versus No. 1 Texas, the second No. 1 versus No. 2 bowl game in college football history.

Schedule

Roster

Team players in the NFL

• 1964 NFL draft

^[9]

Awards and honors

• Roger Staubach – Heisman Trophy,^[10] Walter Camp Memorial Trophy^[11]

References

1. "Middies riddle West Virginia". The Huntsville Times. September 22, 1963. Retrieved January 20, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
2. "Navy clouts William & Mary, 28–0". Chattanooga Daily Times. September 29, 1963. Retrieved October 24, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
3. Bob Pille. "Staubach At Helm, 26-13: Navy Torpedoes U-M". Detroit Free Press. pp. 1D, 3D – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Navy edges V.M.I., 21–12". The Baltimore Sun. October 20, 1963. Retrieved January 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Navy hands Pitt first grid loss". Reading Eagle. (Pennsylvania). UPI. October 27, 1963. p. 31.
6. "Staubach leads Navy over Terps 42–7". The Chattanooga Times. November 10, 1963. Retrieved January 20, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Navy defeats Duke, 38–25". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. November 17, 1963. Retrieved January 20, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Texas tops Navy, 28–6, in bowl tilt". The Baltimore Sun. January 2, 1964. Retrieved April 30, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "1964 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on December 23, 2007.
10. "Heisman.com - Heisman Trophy". Archived from the original on September 16, 2009. Retrieved November 23, 2007.
11. "Football". Archived from the original on July 7, 2011. Retrieved December 20, 2008.