Night baseball games are pretty common nowadays but that wasn't always the case. Naturally, human beings tend to take for granted things that are common today but were practically a luxury in the past. That’s what this article is about: to show the evolution of this wonderful sport and how lighting technology played a crucial role in allowing baseball to remain one of the most popular sports in the country!
The first baseball night game(s)
Did you know that that the very first baseball game played under lights involved two amateur teams in Massachusetts in 1880? On September the 2nd, three wooden towers that supported electric arc lamps provided light at Strawberry Hill in a baseball match between two major department stores from Boston. It
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Wilkinson, the owner of the Kansas City Monarchs, decided to organize games at night so more people could come and watch. Using six 50-foot tall portable floodlights with electric tungsten filament bulbs, Wilkerson turned this idea into reality. The attendance of Monarchs games that season tripled and a decade later, most of the MLB teams had installed lights in their stadiums. The Cincinnati Reds even invested $50,000 (850,000 in today’s money) for installing huge floodlights at their stadium. Mr. Wilkerson is today known as the ‘father of night baseball’.
A game changer: The Metal-Halide Lamp of the 1950s
The next innovation in lighting technology that impacted sports was Gilbert Reiling’s 1959 invention of the metal-halide lamp. Reiling’s invention entered the market in 1962, the same year when Nick Holonyak Jr. developed the first LED that emitted light in the visible part of the frequency range. However it took quite a while for LED lights to become a feasible market option. Reiling’s Metal Halide lamps offered a more pleasant, neutral color, and were more efficient than incandescent bulbs. This was the main reason why they remained the standard for outdoor sports lighting in the next 50 years.
How did LED lights become a first option for stadium
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Not only are LED lights more efficient and can help teams decrease their electricity consumption but they also provide better visibility with a brighter and more natural light. The traditional metal halide fixtures have a CRI rating of 63 (the sun’s CRI is 100) while most LED stadium lights have a CRI rating of 80+, which brings dramatic improvements in visibility for both, the players on the field and the fans in the stands.
As we’ve seen, baseball lighting has come a long way and not only did baseball night games survived but also flourished. Today, 4 out of 5 games are played at night which makes the achievement of stadium lighting even greater. It’s really impressive how lighting technology helped change the game we all love and allowed us not to miss a single play even during the
Unbeknownst to the public, Sox owner Charles A. Comiskey was underpaying players (Carnes & Garraty, 1999). “Shoeless” Joe Jackson, right fielder, earned $6,000 in 1919, while second baseman Eddie Collins collected $14,500 (Goetsch, 2011, p. 92). Factions grew out of such differences as those earning more crowded towards Eddie and those making less favored Gandil (as did Jackson and Cicotte). Chick Gandil reached out to gamblers before the World Series began asking for $100,000 to be distributed among select players in exchange for a Cincinnati Reds victory (Anderson, 2001). Arnold Rothstein, an infamous gambler, was eager to put up the money and bet against the Sox.
This early history of baseball in New Britain is important to understand the community in New Britain but also the Latino community in New Britain as well.
Pass figured a Chicago victory was worth a $3,000 investment.” (Asinof 41) What the White Sox did to their fans was something that will haunt fans forever. Back in the early 1900s (1910-1930) when baseball was starting to produce stars and attract fans it was a huge part of American life. Baseball was one of the only things in an Americans life that was consistent.
Take Me Out to the Ball Game In the state of Georgia, there are thousands of baseball fans that enjoy the fresh air of the open field and the taste of salty peanuts. “Take me out to the ballgame” might become a simpler task in the near future for Braves fans that live in the Cobb County area. One of the biggest things that I think of when I hear baseball is the huge stadium, filled with thousands of people. More importantly I think of Turner Field, the Brave’s current stadium located in Atlanta.
Growing up playing a sport, that sport becomes a part of you. It not only becomes a part of your everyday life, but it also becomes a contribution to your personality. “Friday Night Lights” or as I knew it: Monday, and Thursday night lights, became what I looked forward to most as a child. I started playing softball at the age of four, and my team played every Monday and Thursday night from the month of March to around the middle of June, for six years. When I turned ten years old, softball became a year-round sport because of it being more competitive.
Church or ritual ceremonies are seen as a form of entertainment that many are devoted to going to on a weekly basis. A devoted baseball fan finds it by any means necessary to watch the game on television or attend it live because they find it entertaining, Every religion has different rituals that are followed throughout the year, and during baseball season you have fans and players following specific rituals they believe will help their team win. Baseball is sport has the long season of any sport of a 162 games in the regular season; it takes a big commitment by a player to consistently be able to perform at a high performance day in and day out. The body does not rest; in the off-season players continue to work on how to better themselves. The dedication for the sport in seen through grueling training.
The scent of hot dogs, the crack of the ball off the bat, and umpires hollering “strike” are just a few memories one will have after attending a baseball game. America’s game is filled with many sensory details, which is why it is so appealing to many spectators, as well as players. The massive fences in the outfield seem daunting up close; the players seem to whip the ball effortlessly, but with extraordinary speed. Spectator’s noses will be filled with baseball smells such as sunflowers seeds, which everyone seems to be chewing, or the perfume of fresh cut outfield grass. The home fans will be cheering with optimism despite the score.
The Roaring 20’s brought many great changes to America. New technology, economic boom, and cultural change strived. George Herman “Babe” Ruth Jr., an American baseball player, was one of eight children born to a saloon keeper. He was taught at St. Mary’s Industrial School for Boys, where his love and passion for the game, began. Little did anyone know, soon, America would be home to the legend of baseball.
Has baseball lost its cool? Baseball is a very popular sport in America although there is very much controversy on whether it is fading away or still thriving strong in America. Baseball has been around since 1839. The sport has evolved very much over the past 178 years.
The reason for having the Negro Leagues was because it very unlikely to have a colored person be on the same field as a white person. However, one man who stands alone Jackie Robinson’s defeat to break the color barrier in baseball with the help of Branch
Baseball was growing so this brought a lot of money
The 1920’s were a very exciting and well remembered time era for the changes the way sports are played today. During this time period watching as well as playing sports became much more popular as a method of relaxation or a way to spend some free time having fun, just as it is today. Babe Ruth’s outstanding skill and dedication changed the game of ball since people of all races and colors would watch his games, and was a huge role model to many young kids, giving them a dream to someday become a great player just like him. Babe Ruth’s record setting performances brought a whole new social life to people in the 20’s.
The owners were always kept out of the light. The author gives us a visual example on how Marvin Miller, a union activist, “eventually dragged owners to the table.” The players eventually got the respect they deserve and obtained free-agency, allowing them to sell their contracts at the player’s choice. All of this was done out of the light and people are now just realizing that baseball has always been a business. The author gives us an example about how The Great Gatsby is like baseball in the sense that the tragedy in the story cannot happen without the “glorious dream.”
Imagine you are sitting at a baseball game eating cracker jacks or at a football game yelling because your team scored or you could be yelling at the refs because they made a bad call. There are many people that love sports but there was also a lot of people that loved sports when they became popular in the 1920’s. Sports have came a long why since then. They have became more competitive, the skill levels have improved a lot, and they are also easier to watch and keep up with because of how far technology has came. Who doesn’t love to watch baseball in the summer?
It took three years for a 2nd city to install lights in the stadium but finally Macphil brought the light to The Dodgers. Even though the Dodgers finished in 7th, they gained more fans throughout that season. “Although MacPhil had laid out hundreds of thousands of dollars for ballpark improvements, lights, and players, the Dodgers posted and operating deficit of only $11,000, a vast improvement over earlier years” (Tygiel, 104). Eight more teams would trail the success of night games in the two years following boosting attendance and interest in the