The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-09-23
Alabama and Georgia Tech Loom as Strongest Con-
 tenders for Dixie Title
THANKSGIVING DAY
 GAME CANCELLED
Georgia and Tennessee Cancel Dates, Killing Two Big Games for Bir- mingham-Alabama Has Two
 Games Here; Auburn One

Unless preparations for more games are made within the next few weeks Birminghams gridiron public will wit ness only three big football games this year. Colleges have canceled their dates and abandoned the sport for the season until few first-cass teams are left to compete for the title.
 At the present the Alabama, anderbitAlabama and the Auburn Mississippi Agricultural and Mechanical games are the lone interesting battles scheduled to take place at Redwood. The Auburn Tennessee and the Alabama Georgia games were forced to be can celed because of the fact that Tennessee and Georgia have discontinued all sports.
 Usually, Birmingham has five real good football games for the season. And five good games would have been staged at Redwood again this year had the entire lot of southern colleges complied with statements made earlier in the year. GAME CANCELLED
 The authorities at the University of Alabama, it is said, have no intention of staging a game at Redwood Thanksgiv ing Day. The clash with Georgia was scheduled for this holiday. Plans are now being made to stage game at Montgomery with some Ohio team before the Ohio troops.
 Thanksgiving Day is a good drawing card for any football game in Birming- ham. and it would be wise action for any southern college to get busy and add a game on it's schedule for this date. Otherwise, the majority Of Birmingham's s fandom will favor journeying to Atlanta to witness the clash between Georgia Tech and Auburn.
 Football this year. it is generally ad- mitted,4 will not be of the calibre of former seasons in some. respects. But there is no doubt but that the games will be IS interesting and as well attended as in former years. All colleges will be handicapped by the loss of experienced and trained men and younger players will be forced to fill their shoes.
 ALABAMA LOOKS STRONG
 Early indications point to the battle for the southern championship to rest between Alabama and Georgia Tech Coach Heisman loses but few of his stars which composed the great team for the Yellow Jackets last year. Thus, another steam roller may be expected to be the product of the Atlanta college. Down at Alabama, Coach Kelly has a formidable array of youngsters-products of prep schools and small colleges from all corners of the south. Then, with a fair gathering from last year, prospects for winner for the Crimson are most favorable.
 Vanderbilt and Auburn, contenders in previous years, are not as formidable as they appeared in previous seasons. Mis- sissippi Agricultural and Mechanical are of unknown quality, but good team can be expected, as the Aggies are always formidable. With Georgia and Tennes- see out of the running, this leaves only five teams to battle for the title. Alabama does not meet Tech this year, and the settling of the crown may be left to the press, as has practically been the 1 case for the past few years.
 1 At any rate, there's no need of grid l iron enthusiasts assuming a gloomy at- | titude over the prospects for successful season. It will not be year for sensa- 1 tional playing, but it will be a year Of 1 strenuous fighting on all sides