Trophy back in time for Army-Navy game

THE WASHINGTON TIMES

Chet Gladchuk said the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy would be there for the taking by a confident Army team when it faces Navy on Saturday in Philadelphia.

For about 48 hours, the Naval Academy's athletic director wasn't so sure.

The trophy, awarded each season to the winner of the football competition among the three major service academies, was stolen from the team's locker room Monday and recovered last night. It was found in a storage room inside Bancroft Hall, the campus dormitory at the Naval Academy.

The trophy had been on display the past two years in Bancroft. It was moved to the locker room in Ricketts Hall at the request of the coaches, who wanted their players to see what they are competing for in their 106th meeting with Army.

In place of the 170-pound trophy, officials found a note that read, "Before we win the football game on Saturday, we thought we would take the trophy. By the time you read this, it will be halfway to West Point."

"If it was West Point, it probably took three or four of them to carry it," Navy coach Paul Johnson said jokingly.

When asked how it was moved from Bancroft to Ricketts, Johnson replied, "I think one Marine took it in there."

-- Corey Masisak