(CNN) -- The Army-Navy game this Saturday marks the 120th anniversary of the great football rivalry. Their first game, played on a gridiron laid out on southeast corner of the West Point Parade Ground, was so sparsely attended that spectators could move up and down the field as the line of scrimmage shifted. We have come a long way from that first encounter, but as Army and Navy get ready to play again, the legacy of that 1890 game is worth recalling. In 1890 Army had only one player with any real football experience -- Dennis Michie, in whose honor today's West Point's football stadium is named. As a result Army was trounced 24-0 by a Navy team that had been playing football since 1886. The next year Army hired a part-time coach, played a series of early-season games, and with Michie (who would die tragically in the Spanish-American War) once again leading the way, Army avenged its earlier loss by a 32-16 score.
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The Army-Navy game on Saturday marks the 120th anniversary of the football rivalry
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Nicolaus Mills: Both academies made sure the rivalry was consistent with military values
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The game has become tradition for Americans and an antidote to dark times, Mills writes
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Mills: Army-Navy players don't go directly to NFL or a lucrative job, but to active service
The president became so excited about the play, which featured a 105-yard kickoff return by @placeholder's star quarterback, that at one point he left his seat and moved to the sidelines to get closer to the action.