On this day in history : 14th October 1878 – The World’s first football match to take place under floodlights is played at Bramwall Lane in Sheffield….
Electricity was still in its infancy at the time, Edison hadn’t even patented the electric lightbulb yet…. A football match played in artificial light would have been a huge novelty – so much so 12,000 people paid sixpence each to watch…. In reality the crowd was probably double that size as many sneaked into the grounds under the cover of darkness….
Positioned behind each goal was a ‘portable engine’ powering four lights, which were mounted on plinths situated around the pitch and giving each a height of 30 foot…. The lights put out a power equating to 8,000 candles – the whole experiment was reported as being a resounding success….
The exhibition match between the ‘Blues’ and the ‘Reds’ may have given the crowd unconventional entertainment in comparison to a normal football match – as the brilliance of the lights dazzled the players causing them to make some extraordinary blunders…. The final score : Blues 2 – Reds 0….
Nine day after the match at Sheffield, Glasgow’s Cathrin Park hosted the first floodlit match in Scotland…. Three days later Aston Lower Grounds (to become Villa Park) saw the Midland’s first game under floodlights – when Birmingham XI played Nottingham Forest…. London’s first lit match was played at the Oval between Clapham Rovers and Wanderers in early November 1878….
Cottage Capers 