The Boardwalk Bowl and Little Army-Navy Game

In 1932 the PMC football team traveled to Atlantic City to play Delaware in the Convention Hall for the first time. This was one of the earliest indoor football games played. The game itself was well attended, but, despite outplaying Delaware, PMC was unable to carry “the ball across the goal stripe.” The final score was Delaware 7 PMC 6. These yearly match-ups continued until 1940.

PMC first played the United States Merchant Marine Academy (Kings Point) at Homecoming in 1960. In 1961, the game was moved to the Atlantic City Convention Hall and became known as the “Little Army-Navy Game. This post-season game became an annual matchup lasting 8 years between PMC and Kings Point. The series in Atlantic City ended in 1967. In fall 1968, PMC played the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in the Boardwalk Bowl. In the fall of 1969 and 1970, PMC played Lebanon Valley in Convention Hall and the event was renamed the Atlantic City Classic.
From its beginning, area newspapers, as well as those from New Mexico, Michigan, West Virginia, Oklahoma, Texas, Ohio, Massachusetts and Florida, along with Philadelphia TV stations carried stories about the “Little Army-Navy” game. For PMC, the importance of a victory in this game instilled pride and strengthened the loyalty of everyone involved with the school. These games put PMC on the national stage.