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
Fanatics Raises the Bar for Sportsbooks with New Prediction Platform
The sports betting industry, which has taken the world by storm over the past
Top 6 Types of Wild Symbols In Online Slots
Wild symbols are a standard feature in many online Slots. They act as substitutes
Cheltenham Comebacks and Shock Wins: The Moments Nobody Expected
Cheltenham has a way of pulling stories out of horses that you don’t see
How Prepaid Access Shaped Casual Sports Gaming
Before apps auto saved cards and one tap wallets became standard, casual fans who
How the World of Sports Learned to Completely Accept the Betting Industry
Professional sports leagues once treated gambling like a contagious disease. Team owners banned players
Horse Racing, High School Rivalries & Lesser-Known Missouri Sports Stories
Missouri’s sports timeline is a layered scrapbook: dusty 19th-century racetracks, high school rivalries that
Predicting the Match Outcomes of the Most Historic Clubs in English Soccer System
The English Football League is the oldest league system dating way back to 1888.
Key Buffalo And New England Playmakers Who Could Shape Momentum
As NFL Week 15 arrives, the Buffalo Bills and New England Patriots stand at