The only thing harder than nailing a potential game-winning, last-minute field goal from 40-plus yards is doing it twice, one right after another.
Such was the challenge facing Army placekicker Patmon Malcom in his team’s 1992 rivalry game against Navy at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. The Black Knights had come back from a 24–7 deficit to make it 24–22 in the final minute. Malcom’s kick from 44 yards out sailed through the uprights and sent the attending cadets into hysterics.
But there was one problem: Army was whistled for a delay of game on the play, backing the ball up five yards and forcing Malcom to try again from 49. With ice water in his veins, the senior from Roswell, GA, knocked it through again — establishing a career long in his final college game — and Army had itself a dramatic, 25–24 win.
The victory was the first of five straight Army enjoyed over its service academy rival, by a combined 10 points. Malcom would spend seven years as an Army helicopter pilot before returning to Georgia to earn his MBA from Emory University. Since 2005, he has worked at EARNEST Partners in Atlanta, where he’s currently a partner.
Twenty years after Malcom’s memorable kicks, Army and Navy are back in Philadelphia to battle for the Thompson Cup once again as the Black Knights look for their first win in the rivalry since 2001.
