This sailor fought the Japanese at Pearl Harbor—with football pads on

The sailors of the USS Pennsylvania football team were suited up. Although partially cloudy, the temperatures hovered around a balmy 71 degrees Fahrenheit, promising decent weather for what was dubbed the “Super Bowl” of the Navy.

Their opponents from the USS Arizona were donning similar gear and readying for a scrimmage, before the 1:00 p.m. fleet championship, when the first Japanese bomb struck the USS Oklahoma in Battleship Row, Oahu, Hawaii.

The date was Dec. 7, 1941, and unbeknownst to the Americans on the ground and at sea, they were at war.
Among those men suited up to face off with the crew of the USS Arizona was Michael “Mickey” Ganitch, the USS Pennsylvania’s quartermaster.