Army-Navy: New CBS Sports Network documentary on importance of ’63 game following Kennedy’s death

Several new and compelling sports documentaries will be coming your way in the next week. Always at your service, I will be providing sneak previews.

Tomorrow at 8 p.m. ET, CBS Sports Network has Marching On: 1963 Army-Navy Remembered. 

Occurring just 15 days after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, it obviously wasn’t just any game. It’s a strong film, telling the role sports played in Kennedy’s life and how he as a former Navy man felt about the rivalry. You understand why the game had to be played.

This extended clip provides a taste of the emotions that took place on that day.

Here’s the rundown from CBS Sports Network:

 

CBS Sports Network presents MARCHING ON: 1963 ARMY-NAVY REMEMBERED, a documentary about the monumental football game played between Army and Navy on Dec. 7, 1963, 15 days after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The one-hour documentary airs on Thursday, Nov. 14 (8:00 PM, ET), 50 years to the week after Kennedy’s death. Actor Josh Charles of THE GOOD WIFE narrates the program.

Through the lens of this historic game, the documentary explores the impact Kennedy’s death had on the nation, and the game’s role in the country’s healing process. Interviews include Senator John McCain; New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, whose father was a Navy assistant coach at the time; former Navy coach Wayne Hardin and former Army coach Paul Dietzel; Navy players Roger Staubach, Skip Orr and Tom Lynch; and Army players Rollie Stichweh, Dick Nowak and John Seymour; as well as Tony Verna, the game’s television producer, a number of Kennedy historians, including Robert Dallek, and many others associated with the game.

The game, which was played in front of 102,000 fans at Municipal Stadium in Philadelphia, Pa., also had important implications on the field, as a win would put No. 2-ranked Navy into the National Championship.