Each year, the midshipmen of 13th Company run the Army-Navy Game ball from T-Court to the stadium in time for the game. MIDN 1/C Eliud Martinez, a member of 13th Company, writes about how this tradition came about.
Retired Marine Lt. Col. Clay Noto suggested to the
13th Company stripers of the Class of 1982 that a relay would be a great way to
build company spirit and change the perception of “unlucky” 13.
He told these stripers that a run had occurred when
he was a midshipman, sometime between 1968 and 1972, but had been thrown away
as something too difficult to plan. It used to be organized by the Brigade Activities
Committee, which was in charge of spirit-related events, and the event was
meant to include runners from every company.
The event fell by the wayside until it was attempted
again in 1981, when Noto became the 13th Company Officer. He realized that one
company had enough manpower to run the ball, as long as all four classes
supported the idea.
Noto said the credit truly belongs to Tim Thomas, Class
of 1982, who did most of the planning for the run. The relay itself however,
was the brainchild of Bernie Mimms, Class of 1985, a Marine Corps Captain who
succumbed to cancer in 1995.
Tim still has the ’81 game ball, which was signed by
the Secretary of Defense, Secretary of the Navy, and the Chief of Naval
Operations at the time.
“We did it to show spirit and teamwork, and it was
successful because we had strong buy-in from each of the classes in 13th
Company,” said Tim. “During my four years in 13th Company, the only year we
didn’t run the ball to the game – understandably enough – was in 1983, when the
Army-Navy game was played in Pasadena (California). I assume that was the only
break in the annual event since ’81.”
In 2011, we overhauled the Ball Run and had the
opportunity to change things up and run a new route to FedEx Field in
Washington, D.C. It took a lot of work, but being in our nation’s capital
afforded Lucky 13 the opportunity to integrate some collaboration with alumni
from the USNA Classes of 1981 and 1984 and even some sightseeing in conjunction
with the 10-year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
This year, the game will be played at M&T
Stadium in Baltimore. We are going to run through our nation’s capital. We plan
to meet with congressmen as we run the ball around D.C. before heading to
Baltimore.
30 years and still going strong on the 13th Company
Army-Navy Ball Run!
DC is in the wrong direction, in more ways than one. Don't stay too long.
ReplyDeleteSomeone needs to teach the Midshipmen that the NWU Type I is a horrible uniform and should be avoided at all costs
ReplyDeleteBernie Mimms was class of 1985 not 1982.
ReplyDeleteThe article doesn't say Mimms was Class of 1982. It says Tim Thomas was Class of 1982, and refers to Mimms as a "classmate," meaning fellow midshipman. But we'll add Mimms class to help eliminate confusion. Thanks for the feedback.
Delete