Because one of its players has contracted a "mild" case of infantile paralysis, Yale yesterday called off Saturday's varsity football game with Fordham and indicated that it may have to cancel next week's Columbia game as well.

Explaining the move, Athletic Director Robert J. Kiphuth said that Yale health officials had advised a ban on heavy exercise for ten days to cover the normal polio incubation period. As a result, not only the Fordham game, but also a freshman game and all intramural sports will be eliminated at Yale for the next ten days.

During this ten-day period, the varsity football team will continue light practice with twice-daily medical examinations of all players. But it was believed that this ten-day diet of light drills would not allow the team enough heavy work to prepare for the Columbia game.

Liechty Strickon

The ailing Yale player, second-string fullback Richard D. Liechty, a senior from Lake Geneva, Wis., played over half of last Saturday's game with Connecticut. After the game Liechty reported to the infirmary with a back strain. Yesterday the case was diagnosed as polio.

Two other Yale students, seniors William C. Butter and Salvatore Miano, are in Connecticuts hospitals with polio, but neither is an athlete and doctors believe the three cases are unrelated.

Reaction at Yale to the sudden cancellation of Saturday's Bowl game-the first such occurrence in over 35 years- was termed "favorable" last night by the Daily News, Yale newspaper. Students, the paper said, seem glad to take precautions against the possible spread of polio, but there is no widespread fear or panic.

Yale University officials met yesterday and will continue meetings today to decide if any further moves against polio at Yale will be necessary.

Meanwhile at Fordham, the University decided to hold a fund-raising "beat polio" rally tomorrow night in place of the originally scheduled "beat Yale" rally.

No Harvard Polio

The Yale polio cases have no parallel at Harvard. Dr. Andrew W. Contratto, Hygiene Department physician, reported last night that there is no infantile paralysis at the University.

Contratto, a member of the Suffolk County committee on infantile paralysis, saw little likelihood of any cases at Harvard and said that polio in Massachusetts was "decidedly on the downgrade."