Army and Navy played football against one another for the first time in 1890 on The Plain at West Point. Navy first played football in 1879, generally playing only teams from Maryland and Washington, D.C., over the next decade. However, Navy agreed to play at West Point in 1890 for Army's first intercollegiate football game and the first athletic match with Annapolis.
The Army captain that day was Dennis Michie, seen in the center of the Army portraits. Michie, at 143 pounds, helped start the Army team and was later killed in Cuba during the Spanish-American War. Michie Stadium, Army's home field, is named in his honor.
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