May 24, 1935 – A landmark event occurred at the ballpark in Cincinnati, Ohio. President Franklin D. Roosevelt flicked the switch ceremoniously from the Nation’s Capitol and the lights went on for a Major League baseball game for the first time in history!
Despite the neigh-sayers, National League President Ford Frick embraced the technology in a speech while in attendance saying, “One game of course, but the players were not handicapped in any way that I could see and I believe we will have more of it in 1936.”
Very prophetic words indeed as look at the amount of night baseball games played in this era of the sport. The Reds held on to win it 2-1 over the visiting Philadelphia Phillies in front of a crowd of over 20,000. According to a post on OfftheBenchBaseball.com, there are twice as many MLB night games played nowadays as there are daytime versions.
To find more great daily sports history make sure to check out the Sports Jersey Dispatch and Pigskin Dispatch.
More From Sports History Network
Super Bowl LX: A History-Making Super Bowl?
Once the Super Bowl game is done and dusted, there will be plenty of
Larry Csonka and Larry Brown – They Took a Licking but Kept on Ticking
In the 1970s, John Cameron Swayze would advertise Timex wristwatches with the slogan, “They
Pete Maravich Becomes NCAA’s All-Time Scoring Leader — January 31, 1970
On January 31, 1970, college basketball witnessed a moment that would echo through the
More Than Cheers: From Face Paint to Fireworks in Sports Fan Culture
Sports are rarely just about the game. From packed stadiums echoing with chants to
Ancient Grit: The Evolution of Combat from Olympia to Rome
Ancient Greeks transformed raw violence into a structured cult. In 708 BC, the introduction
Why Has Interest In The Super Bowl Grown In The UK Over The Past 20 Years?
Over the past two decades, the Super Bowl, America’s annual championship game and one
Reliving England’s Worst World Cup Heartbreaks
The English Football League is the oldest league system dating way back to 1888.
Big Jim Thorpe’s Forgotten Football Vacation
It was December of 1924 when Big Jim Thorpe of the NFL’s Rock Island