Columnist Ron Kantowski: McCallum: Nothing beats Army-Navy game

Friday, Dec. 5, 2003 | 10:15 a.m.

Ron Kantowski is a Las Vegas Sun sports writer. Reach him at ron@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4088.

Having spent four years playing football for the Navy -- or the Naval Academy, as he proudly refers to it on every reference -- and parts of six more with the Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders, Napoleon McCallum has been directly involved in what arguably are the two greatest rivalries in football.

Those, of course, would be Army-Navy, and the professional equivalent, only without all the saluting and respect for one another, Chiefs vs. Raiders.

But when you ask McCallum which was more intense, he responds with a belly laugh that could be heard from Green Valley, where he now resides, all the way to Annapolis and probably on up to West Point, where it would resound off the Banks of the Hudson.

It is his way, a nice way, of saying "You can't be serious."

"Army-Navy," McCallum says, after using one of his timeouts to regain his composure.

"Army-Navy is worldwide. Troops all across the USA and overseas are watching the game. And they all remember that game."

That's what makes Army-Navy so special.

Most Chiefs and Raiders fans forget about who won as soon as they hop aboard their tractors and choppers on Monday morning.

Those who have played in an Army-Navy game can recite the scores as if they were the Pledge of Allegiance.

In McCallum's case, they were 3-3 in 1981, 24-7 in 1982, 42-13 in 1983 and 17-7 in 1985. "Three wins and tie," he says, puffing out his chest in a pose that would pop the buttons off his dress blues.

McCallum also remembers the 1984 game, which he missed after breaking his ankle in the second game of the season. But he doesn't talk about that one as much. Why should he? Army won, 28-11.

On Saturday, the Cadets and the Midshipmen will meet for the 104th time. Although McCallum won't be going back to Philly for this one, on Wednesday he already was getting his game face on.

"When I go back to the game and stand on the field, yes, I definitely get butterflies," said McCallum, who moved to Henderson in 1995. He is CEO and president of Digital Pro Graphics, a business specializing in the production of large full-color images such as billboards, banners and promotional signs.

"But, yeah, I do get excited. We have a group of Naval Academy alumni and West Point alumni and we get together every year and watch the Army-Navy game. It moves around, and this year it's up at Anthem (Country Club)."

Unless Glenn Davis or Roger Staubach drop in unannounced, or a couple of lieutenant generals or rear admirals crash the party and tell everybody to drop and give them 20, McCallum figures to the center of attention at the annual shindig. Then again, he'll be only the member of the College Football Hall of Fame attending. He was inducted in August.

McCallum is considered one of the greatest players in Navy history, the last of only three Midshipmen to have his jersey number (30) retired. And the other two, Staubach (No. 12) and Joe Bellino (No. 27), were Heisman Trophy winners.

While Doc Blanchard was known as "Mr. Inside" and Glenn Davis as "Mr. Outside" during their Heisman Trophy campaigns at Army during the 1940s, McCallum was Navy's Mr. Inside and Outside, all rolled into one. An excellent pass receiver and punt and kickoff returner in addition to being a powerful running back, McCallum racked up 7,172 all-purpose yards at Navy, the second-highest total in NCAA history.

He just might be the most famous Napoleon since Solo. McCallum wasn't the Man From U.N.C.L.E., but he sure made opponents cry "uncle."

In two of his four seasons, he led the nation in all-purpose running. He set 26 Navy records, including career rushing, single-season rushing yardage, career kickoff return yardage, career punt return yardage and most 100-yard games in a career.

He also was a member of the last Navy team (1981) to beat both Air Force and Army in the same season to win the Commander-In-Chief's Trophy, which makes the 37-pound Waterford Crystal awarded to the BCS champion look like a Cracker Jack prize, at least in the eyes of the guys who play for the service academies.

Maybe it's because the man for whom it is named might be the one person who has more power than Roy Kramer and all his money-grubbing descendants from the power-broker conferences.

Having already beaten Air Force, whose fingerprints have smudged the finish on the Commander's trophy for most of the past 20 years, it's get a 'W' to meet 'W' for 7-4 Navy. The Midshipmen, who would win a trip to the White House Rose Garden and an audience with President Bush by beating winless Army, are three-touchdown favorites.

Both teams, however, will be huge underdogs to the pomp and pageantry that was, is and always will be Army-Navy.

If you're like me, it's something that gets your goat every time.