August 8, 1988

On this day in history in 1988 the Chicago Cubs had their first night game at Wrigley Field.

The Lights Turn On

The Cubs were by no means the first team to host a night game, in fact they were quite late in their feat. The first-ever professional baseball game at night occurred in 1930 when a Des Moines team hosted Wichita. While the team usually averaged only 600 fans per game, the night game saw 12,000. Night games became popular in the minor leagues at this time. The country was in the midst of the Great Depression and owners found this new innovation was key to keeping the game relevant and bringing in money.

The major leagues were five years behind the minors, with their first night game coming in 1935 at the Cincinnati Reds stadium. President Franklin D. Roosevelt even joined in the pastime as he symbolically switched the lights on from Washington D.C. The Reds played a night game against every team in the National League that year with their attendance rising 117%. Over the next thirteen years the rest of the Major League teams added lights to their stadiums, with the Cubs being the exception.

Lighting Up Wrigley

The first night game at Wrigley Field

By the time the lights turned on in 1988 Wrigley Field was the second oldest ballpark, second only to Fenway in Boston.They played all day games for 74 seasons until 1988 when they hosted the Philadelphia Phillies for their first night game at Wrigley Field. The game was called due to rain before five innings and was thus not considered a complete game. Their first officially completed night game came on August 9 with a 6-4 win over the Mets.