Blaik made changes in the Army uniform, maintaining the old gold helmet
with the black one-inch center stripe while adding two-inch black thin
"NCAA-style" numbers to each side of the shell. By 1957 all of the players'
Riddell helmets were outfitted with one and two-bar masks. The line, other
than C-LB Kernan needed retooling as promising end Bill Carpenter was injured
in a summer jeep accident and lost for all but a brief late-season appearance
and did not letter. Converted QB Pete Dawkins, teamed with soph HB Bob
Anderson and FB Vince Barta made for a potent rush attack. Anderson was a big
surprise, sweeping for an Army record 983 yards, fourteen TD's, and All
American notice. Dawkins added 665 yards and another eleven touchdowns. Don
Usry and Bill Carpenter manned the ends in superior fashion. A tough 23-21
loss to Notre Dame was the only blemish on the surprising record against a
tough schedule, going into the Navy contest. The rain and muddy conditions
helped Navy secure a 14-0 score and the Eastern championship as Army finished
7-2. Entering his twenty-fifth year as a head coach, Blaik knew his 1958 squad
was long on talent but short on depth. A 14-2 defeat of Notre Dame highlighted
the campaign and a 14-all tie with Pitt was the downer. Going into the Navy
game, it had by all measure, been a great season. QB Joe Caldwell proved to be
an excellent signal-caller, using Blaik's "Lonely End" Offense that was
designed to spread out the defense. The Lonely End Bill Carpenter never
entered the huddle but seemingly knew where to be in order to most effectively
block or catch. Opponents had to keep a man split wide to stay with him at all
times, opening up the rushing lanes for Anderson and Dawkins. It was only
later revealed that Carpenter received foot signals from Caldwell as he was
setting the huddle. Anderson played on par with his '57 season, made a number
of All American teams, but was overshadowed by Dawkins though he also led the
squad with interceptions for the second consecutive year. Guard Bob Novogratz
earned All America honors clearing the way for the talented backfield and
Dawkins, a weight-trained product that built himself up from a 185-pound "down
on the depth chart" QB to a 220-pound Heisman and Maxwell Trophy winner, led
Army to the number three rank in the nation, a 22-6 victory over Navy, and an
undefeated 8-0-1 record. On January 13, 1959 after eighteen years as Army's
head coach, Colonel Blaik offered his resignation, retiring with a fantastic
121-33-10 record, two National Coach Of The Year awards, entry to the College
Football Hall Of Fame, and a legacy that was carried on by fifteen assistant
coaches who eventually became collegiate or professional head coaches,
including Sid Gillman, Murray Warmath, and Vince Lombardi.
SPOTLIGHT ON PETE DAWKINS:
No one could have imagined that the youngster who was crippled by polio
would grow to be a true-to-life American hero and legend but Pete Dawkins
was, and remains that hero. He recovered from the disease that attacked so
many children in the pre-1950's era prior to an effective vaccine and became
a good high school athlete and student. He was a quarterback with little
future at West Point but used a barbell set that remained hidden in his room
to perform a rigorous program of resistance exercises after lights-out until
he became a 220-pound speedster who gained the respect of the entire
Academy. Teaming with Bob Anderson as twin rushing threats, he blossomed his
junior season and swept through the Army schedule as a senior to win both
the Heisman and Maxwell Trophies for the nation's third-best squad. Dawkins
didn't stop there, becoming an Academy legend with a long list of
accomplishments: Brigade Commander (the highest military rank in the Corps),
academic star Cadet for achievement in the top five percent of the
class, football captain, an All East selection and star of the hockey team,
and class president. A Rhodes Scholar winner, he proved himself an
outstanding rubgy player after quickly mastering the game and he went on to
a military career that garnered two Bronze Stars For Valor, The Legion Of
Merit, The Air Medal, The Meritorious Service Medal, and The Vietnamese
Cross Of Gallantry. After becoming the Army's youngest general at the age of
forty-five and retiring as a Brigadier General, Dawkins took his multiple
graduate degrees into the business world and was highly successful on Wall
Street. He eventually made an unsuccessful bid for the Senate, representing
the State Of New Jersey, yet remains one of college football's and certainly
one of West Point's legendary figures.
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