May 24, 1935: The 1st Major League Night Game

May 24, 1935, 90 years ago: For the 1st time, a night game is played in Major League Baseball.

It's important to add the qualifier that it was the 1st in MLB. On September 2, 1880, competing teams of department stores in Boston played each other under lights in nearby Hull, Massachusetts. The Negro Leagues had been playing under lights since at least 1928.

On April 28, 1930, in the Class A Western Association, the Independence Producers of Kansas and the Muskogee Chiefs of Oklahoma played the 1st official minor-league night game in Independence. And on February 21, 1931, the 1st night game involving major league teams was played: The Chicago White Sox beat the New York Giants, 11-6 at Buffalo Stadium in Houston.

One of the minor-league teams that had played night games was the Columbus Red Birds of Ohio and the American Association. Larry MacPhail had been their general manager, and knew that night games, played when more people weren't working and could see games, had saved some minor-league teams during the Great Depression.

Now, he was the GM of the Cincinnati Reds. In the 1934-35 off-season, the National League had voted to allow teams to play up to 7 night games per season. He decided to make the 1st one a Friday night game at Crosley Field, when the Reds, not doing too well, were to play the Philadelphia Phillies, who were doing even worse.

Before the game, there were a performance by an American Legion band and fireworks. With the ceremonies over, and the Sun set, a prearranged method for turning the lights on was carried out. President Franklin D. Roosevelt pushed a button at the White House, and the connection with Crosley Field was made, turning on 632 lamps in 8 metal stanchions, totaling over 1 million watts of light, and bringing cheers from a crowd of 20,422, in a ballpark that then seated 26,060. (It would top out at a little over 30,000.) National League President Ford Frick threw out a ceremonial first ball.

Paul Derringer, then the Reds' ace, started for them. The Phillies' starter was Joe Bowman. In the bottom of the 1st, Billy Myers doubled, moved to 3rd on a groundout by Lew Riggs, and got home on a groundout by Ival Goodman. In the bottom of the 4th, Billy Sullivan singled, was singled over to 3rd by Harlin Pool, and scored on a groundout by Gilly Campbell, making it 2-0 Cincinnati.

In the top of the 5th, Al Todd singled, was moved over to 3rd by a Mickey Haslin single, and Bowman grounded into an error that scored Todd. The Phillies were within 2-1. A great catch of a Dolph Camilli drive to center by Sammy Byrd saved a run, to hold that score. And it held until the end, as Derring pitched a complete game -- lasting 1 hour and 35 minutes.

The rest of the majors were slow to adopt night games. MacPhail would be the catalyst again: He moved on to the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1938, and broke the "gentlemen's agreement" banning radio broadcasts of regular season games in New York City. He brought the Reds' broadcaster with him, Walter Lanier "Red" Barber. He also rebuilt the Dodgers' farm system, making them competitive for the first time since the mid-1920s. And he seriously fixed up Ebbets Field, including the installation of lights.

The 1st major league night game in New York City was played at Ebbets Field on June 15, 1938. Appropriately, the opponent was the Reds. Johnny Vander Meer, who had pitched a no-hitter against the Boston Bees (as the Braves were known from 1936 to 1940) at Crosley Field 4 days earlier, pitched another, becoming the only major league pitcher ever to throw back-to-back no-hitters. The Reds won, 6-0.

On May 16, 1939, the 1st night game in the American League was played, at Shibe Park in Philadelphia. The Athletics lost to the Indians, 8-3. Having moved from Baker Bowl to Shibe the previous year, the Phillies were now able to play home games at night, and did so on June 1. But they also lost, 5-2 to the Pirates.

Later in 1939, on June 27, the Indians played their 1st night game, beating the Tigers 5-0 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium; and the White Sox played the 1st night game in Chicago, on August 14, beating the Browns 5-2 at Comiskey Park.

Four teams had their nighttime home debuts in 1940: The Giants on May 24, beating the Bees/Braves 8-1 at the Polo Grounds; the Browns on the same day, the 1st night game in St. Louis, losing to the Indians 3-2 at Sportsman's Park; the Pirates on June 4, beating the Bees/Braves 14-2 at Forbes Field; and the Cardinals, also on June 4, losing to the Dodgers 10-1 at Sportsman's Park.

The Yankees and the Senators played their 1st home night games against each other: At Griffith Stadium in Washington on May 28, 1941, a 6-5 Yankee win; and at Yankee Stadium on May 28, 1946, a 2-1 Senators win. The 1st night games in Boston came on May 11, 1946, with the Braves losing 5-1 to the Giants at Braves Field; and on June 13, 1947, with the Red Sox beating the White Sox 5-3 at Fenway Park.

The last AL team to get lit was the Tigers, on June 15, 1948, beating the A's 4-1 at Briggs Stadium (later Tiger Stadium). The Cubs were the last holdouts, by plenty. The Wrigley family long claimed that the lights would disturb the neighborhood around Wrigley Field. Finally, with the threat of not being allowed to play home games in the postseason due to the demands of TV networks for prime-time ratings, the Tribune Company, which had bought the team from the Wrigleys in 1981, relented. On August 9, 1988, the Cubs played their 1st home night game, beating the New York Mets, 6-4.