May 24, 1935

Despite reservations, night baseball sees the light of day. The site is Cincinnati's Crosley Field, but the switch to turn on the battalion of 632 lights on eight gigantic towers is controlled in the White House. When President Franklin D. Roosevelt presses his finger on a gold telegraph key, a blackened Crosley Field is instantly illuminated.

The lighting is greeted by a tremendous cheer from the large crowd of 20,422 that came to see the first night game in major league history. The lighting doesn't interfere with the players' performances, and the fans see a well-played, errorless game, with the Reds defeating the Philadelphia Phillies, 2-1.

Night baseball will prove to be a success. The Reds will draw 130,337 for seven night games this season, an average of 18,620 fans. In their remaining other 69 day dates, they will draw 317,910, an average of 4,607.

Despite the success of night ball in Cincinnati, the major leagues will be slow to adopt the innovation. It won't be until three years later that a second club, the Brooklyn Dodgers, will install lights.