1. 1935: The First MLB Night Game is Played
Photo: Cincinnati.com
On the evening of this day in 1935, President Roosevelt symbolically switched on the lights at Crosely Field in Cincinnati for the first night game to be played in the history of Major League Baseball. The Cincinnati Reds were playing the Philadelphia Phillies in front of a record crowd of 25,000 screaming fans. Minor league teams had been using the lights for almost five years before the MLB jumped on board. Owners of the minor league teams noticed that attendance skyrocketed during the night games. The first recorded night game was held in Des Moines, Iowa May 2nd, 1930, and there were a reported 12,000 fans in attendance which destroyed the 600 per game average. Other owners caught wind and before long most minor league games were played at night. Ultimately the same thing happened with the Reds; paid attendance rose as much as 117 percent for the home games played at night even though the team had a terrible season
