The Lights Come On at Wrigley Field After 74 Years of Day Baseball

On August 8, 1988, the Chicago Cubs played host to a night game at Wrigley Field for the first time in the ballpark's 74-year history. The occasion drew a sellout crowd of 39,008 and national television coverage for a game against the Philadelphia Phillies that the weather would not allow them to finish.

Ninety-one-year-old Cubs fan Harry Grossman was chosen to flip the switch. After counting to three, he turned on the banks of lights mounted on the grandstand roof and declared, "Let there be light." Hall of Famers Ernie Banks and Billy Williams threw out ceremonial first pitches, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra performed before the game.

Rick Sutcliffe started on the mound for Chicago and gave up a home run to Phillies outfielder Phil Bradley on his fourth pitch. The Cubs rallied, though, and took a 3-1 lead into the fourth inning. Then the sky intervened. A powerful thunderstorm rolled over Wrigleyville and drenched the field. Groundskeepers fought the rain, but the game was called at 10:25 PM. Because Major League rules required five complete innings for an official game, the contest was wiped from the books.

The first official night game at Wrigley Field took place the following evening, August 9, when the Cubs defeated the New York Mets 6-4. That game gets the formal designation in the record books, but August 8 holds the emotional weight. It was the night Wrigley finally joined the rest of baseball's stadiums in hosting games under artificial light.

The Cubs had resisted lights for decades. Owner Philip K. Wrigley believed day baseball was part of the ballpark's charm. His son William carried on the tradition. It took the threat of losing postseason home games, combined with new ownership by the Tribune Company, to finally push the installation through. Even then, the neighborhood and city imposed limits. Night games at Wrigley were capped at 18 per season, a number that has gradually increased but never reached the levels seen at other parks.