Tag: night games

May 16 in baseball history: Into the night

MAY 16, 1939 | PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA – On this date in 1939 the American League finally played a game under the lights – four years after the National League pioneered the trend. The game took place at Shibe Park in Philadelphia. The Cleveland Indians beat the home team Philadelphia Athletics (today’s Oakland A’s) 8-3 in ten innings .

Night games are so prevalent today, it’s hard to imagine a time when all games were played during the day. That slowly began to change in 1935. The Cincinnati Reds played the first night game at Crosley Field in Cincinnati May 24, 1935. Crosley was the only park to have lights for more than 3 years.

The Brooklyn Dodgers (today’s Los Angeles Dodgers) was the next team to play under the lights on June 15, 1938. By coincidence, or maybe because of it, the Dodgers first night game was the night Johnny Vander Meer of the Cincinnati Reds pitched his second consecutive no-hitter – the only time it’s been done.

CONTRIBUTORY SOURCES:
Baseball-Almanac
Baseball Library

MAY 24 – Let there be lights

*1935 | CINCINNATI, OHIO – The first night game took place on this date in 1935. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt flipped a switch from Washington, D.C. creating that now familiar glow emanating from night baseball. The first game under the lights took place at Crosley Field in Cincinnati where the Reds beat the Philadelphia Phillies 2-1 before 20,422 fans.

Night baseball is commonplace today, but it took a while to catch on. A number of charter major league teams were still without lights well into the 1940’s (well into the 1980’s for the Cubs).

It’s a wonder night baseball didn’t arrive sooner because it brought out the fans. Attendance went up just about everywhere lights went up.

According to The Sporting News, September, 1940 issue, the New York Yankees led the majors in total attendance that year with a little over a million fans. That’s about 17,000 per game at Yankee Stadium which did not have lights. Cleveland had lights, and averaged 33,000 fans when it played at night, which was only during the week.

CONTRIBUTING SOURCES:
Attendance throughout the years
Retrosheet
Night baseball