. Read this article if you care to know about why they haven't played in 40 years. Navy says it's because a Maryland linebacker gave the Midshipmen a middle-finger salute, but the guy who did it is saying that Navy is just using that as an excuse because they always got their asses whipped. People are still asking him to appologize and he refuses. 
The UM salute Navy didn't forget
40 years later, Jerry Fishman is still being fingered for halting the Maryland-Navy football rivalry.
By Kevin Van Valkenburg
Sun Staff
August 29, 2005
Right from the start, Jerry Fishman wants to be clear. He's not sorry.
In fact, if you came looking for apologies or for him to show remorse, then you're out of luck.
And to be honest, when you get right down to it, Fishman still finds the whole thing, well, kind of funny.
"It's nice to be remembered," Fishman says. "Most people get their 15 minutes of fame. Me, I got 40 years."
Infamy is probably a more accurate description of the way people most remember Fishman, a hard-hitting, hot-tempered linebacker for the University of Maryland in 1963 and 1964. Though he was clearly one of the Terps' best players during his career, that's hardly the reason his phone has been ringing practically nonstop for the past few weeks.
Instead, with Maryland and Navy scheduled to play each other this week for the first time in four decades, all anyone wants to talk about is the one-fingered salute Fishman gave the Midshipmen during the game on Nov. 7, 1964, after a sideline tackle in Byrd Stadium.
Many within the academy were so offended by the gesture, it has been repeatedly cited as one of the reasons, if not the main one, that Navy refused to schedule the Terps until this season. And though nearly all the parties involved agree the significance of the incident has been overblown, there is no denying it played a factor in killing off regular meetings between the schools.
Several Maryland athletic directors over the years, including Debbie Yow, have spoken with Fishman, urging him to reach out to Navy and apologize. But Fishman, now 61 and a retired lawyer living in Boca Raton, Fla., isn't interested.
"What do I need to apologize for?" Fishman says. "It's a rivalry. When we played, the Maryland fans hated Navy, and the Navy fans hated Maryland. That's what made it exciting."
In fact, Fishman, who has never been shy about sharing his opinion, doesn't mind fanning the flames a bit. In an interview last week with The Capital of Annapolis, he suggested Navy change its mascot from a goat to a chicken. While posing for a photograph to accompany this article, Fishman, wearing a Terps shirt and leaning against his Harley-Davidson motorcycle, gave Navy fans the bird once again. With both hands.
When his friend and ex-teammate Darryl Hill -- who works in the Maryland athletic department as the director of major gifts -- asked Fishman if he would consider traveling to Baltimore to attend this year's game, Fishman joked he would only do it on one condition: He wanted to be an honorary captain.
"Darryl told me he would think about it, but only if I promised I wouldn't give Navy the finger again," Fishman says. "I told him, 'I'll make no such guarantees.'"
Maryland, for its part, would love to muzzle Fishman, but since it clearly cannot, the school has tried to distance itself from him and his comments. Yow hasn't been available to the media leading up to the game, but after some initial interviews with Fishman were published, she issued a statement condemning his behavior.
"Each of us in positions of leadership at Maryland has on multiple occasions indicated a disdain for the actions of Jerry Fishman 40 years ago during the Maryland-Navy football game," Yow wrote. "The inappropriate behavior of Mr. Fishman is ancient history. He is a single individual who does not represent the University of Maryland Department of Athletics or our institution. While we have no control over his statements, we are clear in our expectation that all of our athletes compete with honor and integrity, including good sportsmanship."
Navy athletic director Chet Gladchuk said he had "absolutely nothing to say" about Fishman's comments or any role he may have played in keeping Maryland off Navy's schedule.
Fishman wasn't alone
To be fair, Fishman's finger-waving wasn't the only reason things got heated during the 1964 game, a 27-22 Maryland victory. Several fights broke out in the stands during the game, and some Maryland students allegedly threw powder on the uniforms of midshipmen in the stands. On the field, personal fouls were being handed out right and left, and according to newspaper accounts, ankles were getting twisted at the bottom of every pile. But a third-quarter punt return involving Fishman, teammate Ron Nalewak and Navy's Skip Orr caused emotions to finally boil over.
"Skip was returning the punt, and I put a great hit on him," Fishman says. "I just creamed him out of bounds."
On his way down, however, someone twisted Orr's face mask. Game films would show later that it was Nalewak, but Fishman was called for a personal foul, and Orr, one of Navy's best players, left the game with a knee injury.
"It was right there on the press box side of Byrd Stadium, right in front of all the Navy people," Fishman says. "When I got up, they were booing and yelling at me, so I just flipped them the finger."
Fishman wasn't done yet, though. Four plays later, he was flagged for a late hit on Navy quarterback Roger Staubach. In the game's final minutes, when Maryland's Ken Ambrusko returned a kickoff 101 yards to give the Terps a stunning victory, Fishman ran past the Navy sideline and extended his middle finger once again.
"Just to add a little insult to injury," Fishman says. "That stuff always made me play better. The more someone was on me, the better I played."
After the game, Navy coach Wayne Hardin told reporters that Fishman was "a disgrace" and said he should never be allowed to play football again. Maryland coach Tom Nugent had his player issue an apology, though Fishman now says it wasn't exactly sincere.
To blame? 'That's a joke'
One thing Fishman does resent is the belief he's the reason Maryland and Navy stopped playing one another. Starting in 1950, the two faced off eight times in 16 seasons -- with each team winning four times -- but they played only once after the Fishman finger game, in 1965 because of contractual reasons.
"That's a joke. It's really a joke," Fishman says. "The reason Maryland doesn't play Navy anymore is that, at the time the incident happened, Navy's program was going downhill. They were already getting beat up by Notre Dame, and they didn't need the embarrassment of getting beat by the school down the road. After a while, people just said, 'Oh, it was Jerry Fishman.' I laugh it off whenever someone asks me that question."
Fishman spends most of his time these days playing with his 5-year-old son, and says he doesn't run into many people anymore, especially in Florida, who hear his name and think about the 1964 game, but that certainly wasn't the case during the 16 years he lived and practiced law in Annapolis.
"One time, I was in court in Annapolis, waiting for a trial," Fishman says. "And this judge kept calling all these other trials first. All these lawyers were coming in and leaving and I still hadn't been called. Finally, at the end of the day, I'm just fuming. The judge looks around and says, 'That's all for today.' I approach the bench and I say, 'Excuse me, but my trial didn't get called.'
"He looks down at me and says, 'What's your name?' and I said, 'Jerry Fishman,'" Fishman says. "And the judge smiled at me and said, 'Go Navy.'"
Copyright © 2005, The Baltimore Sun
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