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Friday, August 8th, 2008
Then there was light...



...and lots of rain.

Twenty years ago this evening, the Chicago Cubs played baseball under the lights at Wrigley Field for the first time against the Philadelphia Phillies. Until August 8, 1988 (promoted endlessly as 8-8-88), the Cubs played all of there home games during the day. The closest they came was on September 28, 1938 when Gabby Harnett belted his "Homer in the Gloamin'" against the Pittsburgh Pirates. That game, which was a 3 p.m. start, was moments away from being called due to darkness.

On that evening back in 1988, I raced home and threw a VHS tape into the VCR and recorded the rain-soaked affair. Harry Grossman, a 91-year-old Cubs fan, "turned on the lights" with a ceremonial button, then starting pitcher Rick Sutcliffe threw out the first pitch. Ryne Sandberg hit the first home run under the lights. He was also the victim of Morganna the Kissing Bandit. After 3 1/2 innings, the skies opened and the rain never stopped. A young Greg Maddux, Jody Davis, Les Lancaster and Al Nipper were fined by Cubs management for running onto the tarp and entertaining the fans with the league's largest Slip-and-Slide. After a two-hour-plus rain delay, the game was called and all of the statistics were erased.

Following all the hype and hoopla during the season, the game did not count. The first "official" night game occurred the next evening against the New York Mets as Cubs starting pitcher Mike Bielecki recorded the first victory under the lights.

When I think back to that evening, I am amazed that I now have known Wrigley Field with lights longer than without them. The Cubs did not install lights until I was in high school. While growing up, I remember watching games where the shadows from the upper deck would blanket the entire infield and stretch into the outfield. WGN would proceed to flash graphics that read, "Today's game postponed due to darkness." The Cubs were the last Major League Baseball team to install lights. The Cincinnati Reds played the first Major League game under the lights on May 24, 1935 against the Philadelphia Phillies. The Chicago White Sox installed lights at Comiskey Park for the 1939 season. Supposedly, the Cubs had plans to install lights during the 1940s, but the metal was ultimately given away to support the war effort.

A local organization, Citizens United for Baseball in the Sunshine (CUBS), fought the installation for years. A few years ago, the initial agreement with the City of Chicago expired. According to that arrangement, the Cubs could only host 16 night game each season. Now they host around 30 games at night, not to mention other activities like concerts during the evening.

Twenty years later, night baseball at Wrigley Field is commonplace, but back then it was a novelty. I attended my first night game on the north side during the Cubs' National League Eastern Division-winning 1989 season. Since the 8-8-88, the Cubs have advanced to the post-season in 1989 (lost to the Giants in the NLCS), 1998 (lost to the Braves in the NLDS), 2003 (beat the Braves in the NLDS, and lost to the Marlins in the NLCS) and 2007 (lost to the Diamondbacks in the NLDS).

Some photos from June 1988. The lights were completed on the third base side, but not on the first base side.