Cribbage is one of the fondest traditions in the submarine force.
Most wardrooms enjoy a "quick game of cribbage" at the conclusion of every meal. It serves as a bonding activity and helps unite the officers and members of the crew, especially at the close of an arduous day or watch. It is a quick game, which is good because we always have something to do on a submarine. It has some strategy but can be easily learned. Finally it readily lends itself to deception, bluffing, and good-natured teasing. This tradition dates back at least to World War II, when some of our greatest heroes holding the line in the Pacific theater would always relax with a game of cribbage with the Captain at the end of every meal.
Bkr1c Gene Bock (left) and SC1c Leroy Earnest engaged in a game of cribbage in late April 1944
This story comes to us from the USS Nautilus Submarine Force Library and Museum Association:
Cribbage is an honored tradition that has deep ties to the Navy and to one of the Submarine Force’s greatest commanders.
In April of 1943, the USS Wahoo (SS-283) was headed out on its fourth war patrol. However, unlike her previous missions, Wahoo would be tested by being sent to the shallow waters of the farthest reaches of the Yellow Sea. This would be the first time a submarine would patrol the area. Tensions ran high as the crew headed to the area.
Commanding Officer, USS Wahoo (SS-238), Commander Dudley “Mush” Morton and his Executive Officer, Richard “Dick” O’Kane on Wahoo's open bridge at Pearl Harbor, following a very successful third patrol, circa 7 February 1943.
To make them feel more at ease, Commander Dudley “Mush” Morton and his Executive officer Richard “Dick” O’Kane broke out a cribbage board and began to play. As submarine lore goes, Morton dealt O’Kane a perfect 29, the highest possible hand one can get in the game. It has been said that the crew calculated the odds to be one in 216,000. The crew felt like the hand was a lucky omen. That night, the Wahoo sank two Japanese freighters. Three days later, in another game, Morton dealt a 28-point hand. The following day, they sunk two freighters and a third the next day. O’Kane would leave the Wahoo and the cribbage board to command the USS Tang (SS-306) – which went on to break the record for most ships sunk in a patrol.
Sponsor and official party at USS Tang (SS-563) launching ceremonies, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, Maine, 19 June 1951. Present in the front row are (left to right): Miss Marsha G. O'Kane, Maid of Honor; Mrs. Richard H. O'Kane, Sponsor; and Commander Richard H. O'Kane, USN, former Commanding Officer of the first USS Tang (SS-306)
O’Kane would be captured by the Japanese and held until the end of the war. Sixty years later, the lucky cribbage board would find a home once again on the second submarine named USS Tang (SS-563). Ernestine O’Kane sponsored the second Tang.
O’Kane’s lucky cribbage board has become an important submariner tradition; since World War II it has been passed along to the oldest active submarine in the United States Pacific Fleet. Once the sub is decommissioned, it is given to the next oldest submarine, where it is placed in the wardroom.
The O'Kane cribbage board is passed down to the oldest fast-attack submarine in the Pacific.
When the second USS Tang was struck from the Naval Register in 1987, the cribbage board was passed on to the USS Kamehameha (SSN-642), the oldest commissioned submarine in the force at the time. Since this trade, the board has been sent to the oldest commissioned submarine in the Pacific Fleet after the decommissioning of its predecessor.
JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM Oct. 22, 2019 -- Commander Benjamin J. Selph, Commanding Officer, USS Olympia (SSN 717), plays a game of cribbage on the O'Kane board against Commander Chance Litton, Commanding Officer, USS Chicago (SSN 721).
When Kamehameha was decommissioned in 2002 after 37 years of service, the board was passed onto the USS Parche (SSN-683), the most highly decorated vessel in U.S. history. Parche was decommissioned in 2005 and the board did not reach its next home until 2007 - the USS Los Angeles (SSN-688). When the Los Angeles was decommissioned in 2011, the board was sent to the USS Bremerton (SSN-698) where it was kept atop a case of coffee mugs in the wardroom.
The crew uses the board often says Commander Wes Bringham. “We play on it. We figure he would have wanted us to.” With the decommissioning of the Bremerton, the board was transferred to the USS Olympia (SSN-717) in 2018 and the USS Chicago (SSN-721) in 2019. With the decommissioning of the Chicago, the wardroom of the USS Key West (SSN-722) has carried the O’Kane cribbage board since 2023.
From left to right, Commander Benjamin J. Selph, Commanding Officer, USS Olympia (SSN 717), turns the famous O'Kane board over to Commander Chance Litton, Commanding Officer, USS Chicago (SSN 721), as Rear Admiral Blake Converse, Commander, Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet, right, looks on. The O'Kane cribbage board is passed down to the oldest fast-attack submarine in the Pacific and recently changed hands from Olympia to Chicago.
After her decommissioning, the cribbage board will find its way to a new home and tradition will continue. The board isn’t simply handed over, but in true Navy fashion, its transfer is honored with a ceremony just as any change of command has seen. Cribbage is more than just a game to submariners. It is tied to their heritage and the essence of who they are. And with O’Kane’s cribbage board being kept alive, it serves as a reminder of the greatest of the submariners who came before, the ones that currently serve, and the future.
Cribbage is more than just a game to submariners. It is tied to their heritage and the essence of who they are. And with O’Kane’s cribbage board being kept alive, it serves as a reminder of the greatest of the submariners who came before, the ones that currently serve, and the future.
Learn more
We invite you to take two minutes to learn a little bit about the tradition and history of cribbage and the O'Kane cribbage board from Crew members onboard USS Olympia (SSN-717).
Reprinted from the Naval History and Heritage Command. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Michael B. Zingaro / Released
