The First Night Game in Major League History

On May 24, 1935, the Cincinnati Reds defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 2-1 in the first night game in major league baseball history. President Franklin Roosevelt pressed a telegraph key from the White House to ceremonially switch on the 632 lights at Crosley Field. More than 20,000 fans filled a ballpark that had been drawing a few thousand per game.

The Reds were terrible. They had finished last in the National League in 1934 and were headed for another losing season. General manager Larry MacPhail, a restless promoter who understood that baseball needed to sell entertainment, not just wins, had pushed for the installation of a lighting system over the objections of nearly every other owner in the game. The lights cost $50,000, a staggering investment for a struggling franchise.

MacPhail's gamble paid off immediately. The 20,422 fans who showed up for the night game were roughly five times the Reds' average home attendance. The novelty was irresistible. People who worked during the day and could never attend afternoon games now had a reason to buy tickets.

Paul Derringer pitched a complete game for the Reds. The Phillies managed only a single run. The lights worked. Nobody got lost in the outfield.

Other teams resisted. The Cubs' Philip Wrigley dismissed night baseball as a gimmick and did not install lights at Wrigley Field until 1988, fifty-three years later. But most franchises followed Cincinnati's lead within a decade. Night baseball saved several teams from financial ruin during the Depression and permanently changed when and how Americans watched the game.

MacPhail would later introduce night baseball to Brooklyn when he took over the Dodgers in 1938. He brought it to Yankee Stadium in 1946. The man who turned on the lights never stopped selling.