The 1960 Air Force vs Navy game kicked off at 1:30 p.m. at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore, Md. Credit: Pictorem

Saturday’s gridiron matchup between the U.S. Air Force Academy and the U.S. Naval Academy was the 57th between the two teams. During the six decade-plus era that began before John F. Kennedy was president of the United States, Air Force has dominated the series. 

One Estes Park resident remembers the first meeting between the Falcons and the Midshipmen.

Retired Capt. Richard “Dick” Life, a local denizen since 2013, was in the stands in Baltimore’s Memorial Stadium on Oct. 15, 1960.

“We were excited to know that [it was] going to be the first time to beat Air Force,” he said. 

When halftime came, Life continued, Navy perpetrated a prank on the visiting airmen.

 “You know they like to fly the falcon,” Life explained. “The two guys are out there on the 50-yard line, flying the falcon, doing acrobatics and all that kind of stuff. It is impressive, for crying out loud. But all of a sudden it landed on the scoreboard. And of course that’s not in the program. It just sat up there.”

Three times the falcon was diverted to that spot. “The poor two guys were probably going to have to change their skivvies since they did not know what was happening,” Life said. “After the game we learned why the bird went out of control. About six of our seniors who were real aces when it came to electronics, they researched and figured out and learned the frequency that these birds fly on. And so they built a jammer. Nobody was aware of it, except the six of them, and they were jamming the falcon.”

The administrators did not know about the trick in advance. “Absolutely not,” Life said. 

Air Force took an early lead in the game, but the tide soon turned as senior halfback Joe Bellino took charge.

 “He was the most incredible running back that I think I’ve ever seen,” Life said. “He was so fast and so quick. So, in the second half Joe turned on.”

The midshipmen also had help in that game, which they won, 35-3, from quarterback Hal Spooner. He completed 15 of 21 passes for 178 yards and went on to be the named most valuable player of that first pigskin clash between Air Force and Navy. 

Mayo, by contrast, was intercepted twice. Bellino, a two-way player, grabbed one of those throws.

“In those years, it was only males going to the academies. So, our cheeleaders came up with this chant: ‘We got Richie’s apple pie.’ We were doing that the rest of the game.”

“In fact, that year Bellino is the one who received that national award. He was the Heisman guy, not Richie Mayo or anybody from any of the big schools. First Heisman ever from the Naval Academy until a guy who was a freshman at that time, Roger Staubach.”

“Roger was a plebe, a freshman, at that time.”

At the time, Life said, sports commentators thought that Falcons quarterback Rich Mayo was the favorite for college football’s highest honor.

 “A couple days before the game, the Washington Post . . . said that Air Force had a star player, Richie Mayo, and that Richie is as American as apple pie.”

Life was a junior at the Annapolis-based academy that fall. He graduated from USNA and was commissioned as an ensign in 1962. He served 29 years on active duty, including as a submariner and intelligence officer.

Yesterday’s game at Falcon Stadium in Air Force Academy ended with Navy beating Air Force 34 -7, the Midshipman’s first win against the Falcons since 2012.

Hank Lacey is a lawyer and senior journalist with the Estes Valley Voice. He covers legal affairs, the courts, housing, and the environment for the Estes Valley Voice. His writings have appeared in the...