BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Seven decades of Magic City Classic memories now line the second floor of Birmingham City Hall, where the city opened a free photo exhibition on Thursday about a week before this year’s game.
Titled A Classic Tradition: The History, Culture and Legacy of the Magic City Classic, the show gathers archival photographs from the 1950s through the present. The images cover more than the game itself, with marching bands, tailgate crowds and the fifth quarter, the postgame band showdown that keeps fans in their seats long after the final whistle.
The city assembled the collection with the Southwestern Athletic Conference and the two rival schools, Alabama State and Alabama A&M. Organizers pitch it as a tribute to one of the best-known HBCU football rivalries in the country and the role the yearly matchup plays in Birmingham’s culture.
Mayor Randall Woodfin, speaking at the unveiling, described the Classic as larger than football, tying it to HBCU excellence, school pride and fans who have passed the tradition down through families. Alumni leaders from both schools traded friendly jabs at the event. Leaders of alumni chapters from both campuses, including Alabama State groups from Jefferson and Shelby counties, closed by stressing the goodwill between the universities, and the city bills the exhibit as a look back at one of Birmingham’s biggest annual traditions.
The exhibit is open to the public at no charge and will stay up through the end of the year, so visitors can stop in before or after kickoff. Kickoff for this year’s Classic is Oct. 31, and the city has posted details about the display on its exhibit page.
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