The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-12-02
DENNY FIELD IS DESERTED
 AND GRID CURTAIN DOWN
Crimson Tide Made Great Showing Despite Disastrous Loss To Florida Eleven

UNIVERSITY, Ala, Dec. 1.-(Spe- cial l)-Denny field is today a de- serted spot at the Capstone. place that was. Into history has gone all the anguish and plodding toll of the past three months that ended in the | Turkey Day defeat by Florida. It IS true that championship dreams were rudely awakened in a field of mud l but the Capstone is well satisfied, they thought sadly after the Gator defeat but waited until more calm moment before passing verdict on the season of 1923 as whole.
 Summed up briefly. it was favor able. The Capstone. without one ols- senting voice. actually believe Ala bama could have beaten Florida on dry field. That's not in the form of alibi. but just the Capstone opin- ion. The verdict of the Capstone Coaches Wade, Crisp and Cohen ana | the record of the Crimson Tide"
 Next year Is many, many months away. but already are the Floridfans being beaten next year. Customary 1t is to think of next season as an not exist at Alabama. The Tides men were forced to wade through schedule that proved too much for them too many games and hard 1 games without enough rest. TOO often were they forced to acquire their top form. Lots of things could be said that would be in the nature of an alibi, but why say it when the season was completely satisfactory excepting the Florida defeat?
 The season was a decided success. Alabama played ten games, losing 10 | Syracus and Florida, tieing Georgla 1 Tech and winning from Union uni versity, Ole Miss. Sewanee. Kentucky, L. S. U. and Georgia. Outside Of the Tech game-unseen by the writer the Tide played its best games against Kentucky and Georgia. | Against. Florida, something seemed amiss besides the mud puddles. The Tide held Dixie opponents to 27 points | and scored a total of 222 points. Georgia Tech alone held the Tides, men to no first downs. That, Tn coiu l figures. are the facts.
 Premier thanks for the successful season go to the three coaches, Wal lace wade and his two assistants, Russ Cohen and "Hustling Hank Crisp. What the Tidesmen accom- plished can be laid to them, they furnished the means. Few people realize how inexperienced the ma jority of the players were when the season started, even though several had seen service for one and two l what the three mentors did. They worked many days, 12 hours a day. They simply lived football and Ala | bama's opponent. They worked as one, never objecting to the wishes of one unless 1t was for the best Of the team. To them, goes the brunt of the credit for the success of the Crimson Tide. They took a team of players, stressed a far different | ,l slowly but surely until they reached the peak of condition for the second time this season against Georgia. If one thinks they were unable to con tinue at top form all of the game against Florida, blame the schedule.
 Through thick and thin, members of the squad worked this year. They did not kick at anything. Practice in the afternoon, practice at night | from black kboard-they did without a whimper. They kept training bet ter than any team before at Alabama. They kept up in their studies, as a whole. They fought hard in every game and tried, from the start, to give Alabama championship team this year. Truly, they should be ever remembered as a whole, a con- scientious squad and coaching staff. Scrubs Are Faithful.
 The scrubs. those youngsters who strived all the year, without thought of making a letter, without thought of ever crashing their 1.-the bodies against strong foe-deserve all the nice things that can be said about them. AS a Sewanee aggregation, as a Tech eleven. as Georgia men, as Florida men-they scrimmaged the varsity. None of them entered big l hpi glory is in years to come, in some never be. The scrubs of '23-Salmon, Hussey. Jennings, Erwin, Dany, Thomas. Martin and others too nu- merous to mention-will be forgot ten ere many days pass. But their work in making Alabama what it was this year should not be forgot ten when the season Is thought of in other years.
 Men, playing their first year of varsity ball, helped make the Ala bama machine IS great as it was this credit away from Pooley Hubert Rubber" Baty, Propst,. Compton, MacCartee and other veterans of last year. But name one person who thought early in September that Barnes. Gillis, Camp, Jones and Buckler would play such stellar roles on the Crimson team? Absolutely no one, not even optimistic students. Os course, they were given a chance at the team, and two or three of them were expected to make the squad, but that they would be stars-unheard of! A word for those who are gone for ever to Alabama as players. A valiant leader was Capt. Al Clemens. An equally great end was Tom Newton.