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1st Night Game
In 1933, the Great Depression was happening and the economy was bad. In Cincinnati, the Cincinnati Reds Major League baseball team was going bankrupt since nobody was coming to the games. They tought about selling the team to a different city until Cincinnati businessman, Powell Crosley Jr bought the team and kept it in Cincinnati.
Crosley needed a way to raise attendence even with the Great Depression going on. He lowered prices on tickets and food but stii wasnt enough. He thought that maybe if we played later, people who worked during the day could come to games. He worked with General Electric and Cincinnati Gas and Electric to put lights around the baseball stadium.
On May 24, 1935, the Cincinnati Reds were hosting the Philadelphia Phillies. 21000 fans showed up to the ballpark but there was no time set for a first pitch. As it got later, and the sunset, fans waited for the nightfall for one reason, the first Major League baseball game at night and the first night baseball game in 40 years.
As night fell, fans cheered but only one person had the liberty to turn on the lights. President Franklin Roosevelt. Roosevelt was in Washington DC at the White House, but when the sun fell, he turned a key that sent electrical pulses to Cincinnati and signalled a crew member to hit the switch. 632 lamp lights turned on and lit up the field as fans cheered. The Reds would beat the Phillies 2-1. The Reds would hold several more night games that season with fans coming to those games 4 times more then fans at day games.
A new era of baseball began and this was one of those lights used that day. It is located in the Cincinnati Reds Baseball Hall of Fame in Cincinnati, Oh.
On May 24, 2010, the Cincinnati Reds hosted the Pittsburgh Pirates on the 75th anniversary of the first night game. During the 77th inning stretch, instead of singing Take Me Out To The Ballgame, the announcer spoke about that night 75 years ago and what it meant to the future of baseball. Then this light, which had been placed on top of the steamboat in center field before the game, was lit for the first time in over 50 years.
1st Night Game
In 1933, the Great Depression was happening and the economy was bad. In Cincinnati, the Cincinnati Reds Major League baseball team was going bankrupt since nobody was coming to the games. They tought about selling the team to a different city until Cincinnati businessman, Powell Crosley Jr bought the team and kept it in Cincinnati.
Crosley needed a way to raise attendence even with the Great Depression going on. He lowered prices on tickets and food but stii wasnt enough. He thought that maybe if we played later, people who worked during the day could come to games. He worked with General Electric and Cincinnati Gas and Electric to put lights around the baseball stadium.
On May 24, 1935, the Cincinnati Reds were hosting the Philadelphia Phillies. 21000 fans showed up to the ballpark but there was no time set for a first pitch. As it got later, and the sunset, fans waited for the nightfall for one reason, the first Major League baseball game at night and the first night baseball game in 40 years.
As night fell, fans cheered but only one person had the liberty to turn on the lights. President Franklin Roosevelt. Roosevelt was in Washington DC at the White House, but when the sun fell, he turned a key that sent electrical pulses to Cincinnati and signalled a crew member to hit the switch. 632 lamp lights turned on and lit up the field as fans cheered. The Reds would beat the Phillies 2-1. The Reds would hold several more night games that season with fans coming to those games 4 times more then fans at day games.
A new era of baseball began and this was one of those lights used that day. It is located in the Cincinnati Reds Baseball Hall of Fame in Cincinnati, Oh.
On May 24, 2010, the Cincinnati Reds hosted the Pittsburgh Pirates on the 75th anniversary of the first night game. During the 77th inning stretch, instead of singing Take Me Out To The Ballgame, the announcer spoke about that night 75 years ago and what it meant to the future of baseball. Then this light, which had been placed on top of the steamboat in center field before the game, was lit for the first time in over 50 years.