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First Night Game at Reilly Stadium
Description:
On Oct. 11, 1929, Salem attracted nationwide attention when it became the first Ohio high school to hold a night football game under the lights at Reilly Stadium. The idea of night football was first presented to the Board of Education by J. S. Alan, superintendent of schools, who had discussed the matter with high school coaches and faculty athletic directors. They were all enthusiastic about the plan.
Authorization was given by the board to purchase the lighting system from the Giant Manufacturing Co. of Trenton, N. J. R. B. Frederick was the firm’s illuminating engineer, and he estimated total cost to be around $3,100. Cost of the floodlights was $1500, and an installation charge by the Penn-Ohio was about the same amount. The Salem School Athletic Association planned to pay the entire cost out of proceeds from remaining home games, all of which were changed from Saturday to Friday night.
Board members, after meeting in regular session at the high school on Oct. 7, went to Reilly School where a floodlight was placed on the rear end of the building for exhibition purposes. They voted unanimously to authorize purchase of the lights.
On Thursday, Oct. 10, poles began arriving from Youngstown. The light units, supplied by the Trenton, N. J. company, were shipped from Council Bluffs, Iowa. They were large, open-type, wide-beam reflectors with three 1,000-watt lamps in each unit. Fourteen floodlights were mounted on 10 poles, each of which was set about 60 feet above field level.
Total candle-power generated was 75,000, with current being supplied by a three-phase 230-volt overhead line. Gangs of linemen wasted no time in installing the lights, completing the job less than an hour before the opening of ticket booths at 6:45 p.m. on Oct. 11.
School officials anticipated the largest crowd in the city’s football history. Students of the manual training classes, under the direction of E. A. Engelhart, rushed to erect temporary wooden bleachers to expand seating capacity. W. J. Springer, principal and athletic director, appointed 15 ushers to help in seating spectators.
A staff of special policemen, plus two city patrolmen, were assigned duty at the field by Police Chief T. W. Thompson. Janitors from the public schools and members of the fire department were delegated as special officers. The 60-piece Warren High School band and 30-piece Salem High School band would be in full uniform for a parade through city streets prior to the game. They would then return to the field for concerts in front of the concrete bleachers. Between halves they would perform band formations. Half-time activities would also include a cross-country race between Salem and Wooster High School runners.
The big night of dedication arrived with pomp, pageantry and color. A throng of over 6,000 watched Salem High defeat Warren High 6-0. Reilly Stadium was transferred into a miniature coliseum. Every open space was jammed with ardent fans anxious to view the struggle.
An additional 2,000 spectators were watching the game from outside and around the stadium. The crowd continued to swell until the contest was well along towards its end. There was a slight drizzling rain, but this did not seem to bother the fans.
Spectators found out that watching football at night was more than just a novel event. All the glamour and color of a daytime game was present. Some described the feeling as being seated in a gigantic amphitheater, watching a struggle between two schools for gridiron supremacy, under the glare of 14 large floodlights on 10 giant poles.
High punts and long passes were visible at all times. For a night game the pigskin was dyed white, making it stand out in contrast against the drab uniforms of players. Two of the three officials handling the game had never seen a night game before. All three were loud in praise of the affair, saying that it was no different than working a daytime game.
Discipline and order was maintained throughout the evening. Before the game, there were something like a thousand drivers within five blocks of the stadium searching for parking places. Fifteen minutes before the gates opened at 6:45 p.m., a line of ticket purchasers could be seen extending 40 yards from the west ticket booth. When the gate was finally thrown open, a rush was made for the concrete stands.
People came from all over the area; from as far away as Steubenville and Lorain. Every town in Columbiana County was well represented, as were many communities from other eastern Ohio counties. The crowd was the largest ever (up to that time) to watch a football game in Salem.
It was quite a night. Salem had introduced night football to Ohio with this first high school venture. From that point on, high school football would never be quite the same. The game became even more thrilling, exciting and popular than ever. A new era had begun and Salem had played an important part in bringing it about.
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