ON THIS DAY: Lights at Wrigley Field power up for first time in 1988
Lights at Wrigley Field became a reality Aug. 8, 1988 when a 91-year-old Cubs fan named Harry Grossman flipped a switch. Finally, every ballpark in the majors had lights installed and operational.
By
Dave Brown
•
2 min read
It was 27 years ago Saturday that the Chicago Cubs finally gave in and turned on the lights at Wrigley Field: Aug. 8, 1988. Watch fan Harry Grossman flip the switch. He was 91 years old at the time and said his first Cubs game happened during the 1906 World Series against the White Sox. Whoa!
It was only 53 years-plus since the first night game in major-league history had happened at Crosley Field in Cincinnati, on May 24, 1935. As if the baseball gods chuckled at Wrigley finally getting with the times, the Cubs and Phillies were rained out before the game could be completed. So the anniversary of the first night game at Wrigley is actually Aug. 9, 1988. Whatever, history books.
So, who was the team previous to the Cubs to get night baseball? The Detroit Tigers, on June 15, 1948. Before that? The Boston Red Sox, on June 13, 1947. Before that? The New York Yankees, on May 28, 1946. If it seems like these dates correspond to the end of World War II, it's probably no coincidence, given the need for raw materials to keep up the fight. It should be noted, getting back to the Cubs, that owner P.K. Wrigley probably would have lighted Wrigley Field decades earlier if not for WWII, the Big One.
Check out this history of lights at Wrigley write-up by Carrie Muskat of MLB.com in 2008:
FALL 1941: Wrigley ordered light standards for the park to be installed in February or March of 1942. The material for the lights was stored underneath the bleachers at Wrigley. The Cubs assembled the steel, cable, reflectors and electrical equipment for the most modern lighting system in baseball and moved it into storage in late November.
The lights were not intended for "true" night games. Instead, Wrigley wished to schedule some twilight games, starting at 6 p.m. The twilight games would allow patrons to attend a game after work while ensuring that the neighborhood settled down so that residents could enjoy a restful evening. As such, the Cubs and City Council agreed on an ordinance that prohibited an inning starting after 8:00 p.m.
DEC. 8, 1941: A day after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, Wrigley donated the 165 tons of steel for the light standards to the U.S. war effort. Later, when President Franklin Roosevelt requested more night baseball games, the Cubs looked into using wooden poles and second-hand equipment to erect useful, but not beautiful, lighting for Wrigley.
The Cubs would eventually submit plans for lighting at least three times, but those plans were rejected by the War Production Board.
Lights at Wrigley Field: 4-F.
