August 27, 1910: Comiskey Park hosts its first night baseball game

As most baseball fans know, in 1988 the Chicago Cubs were the last team in the major leagues to install lights at their home ballpark – decades after every other team had turned on the switch from day to night. Across town, Chicago White Sox owner Charles Comiskey was experimenting with night baseball at his own ballpark long before.

Just weeks after the original Comiskey Park opened in 1910, the White Sox owner hosted an experimental night game between two local semipro teams, thanks to a persuasive entrepreneur with a patented system of arc lamps. More than 3,500 fans1 showed up for an August 27 twilight game featuring the Logan Squares, managed by former White Sox star James “Nixey” Callahan, against a team from the north side neighborhood of Rogers Park led by ex-Cubs outfielder Jimmy Ryan.

Night baseball was not a new idea by any means. As soon as electric lighting systems became popular in the late nineteenth century, baseball occasionally fell under the spell of illumination. The first known game played under artificial lights took place in 1880 at Nantasket Beach in Hull, Massachusetts. But after an error-filled contest in which only the pitchers could be seen clearly, few observers “believed the idea to be at all practical,” as historian Preston Orem later wrote.2

By the turn of the twentieth century, advances in lighting technology provided some optimism that night baseball might soon become a viable endeavor. George F. Cahill, a manufacturer from Holyoke, Massachusetts, along with two of his brothers built a system of strategically placed arc lamps intended to cover the entire playing field. Then, he set about to persuade baseball team owners to try them out.3

In the summer of 1909, Cahill took his lights to Cincinnati, where Reds owner Garry Herrmann hosted a game between two Elks Lodge teams.4 Herrmann had invested $50,000 in Cahill’s Night Baseball Development Company and recruited other Cincinnati businessmen to join the cause.5 The game was well-played with only two errors, but only 14 lamps were working correctly. “Night baseball has come to stay,” Hermann said afterward. “With proper lighting conditions – conditions better than this experiment provided – the night sport [will be] immensely popular.”6 

In Chicago, Cahill set up his portable lighting system at Comiskey Park, a concrete and steel “baseball palace” built for $750,000 (nearly $25 million in 2025 dollars) that had just opened on July 1.7 Nine of Cahill’s 20 lamps were placed on the grandstand roofs: five on the first base side, “where more action occurs,” and four behind third base.8 Two lamps were on the ground near both the first- and third-base foul lines. Six lamps lined the outfield grass, two behind each fielder. Cahill claimed that each lamp could burn for 20 hours and represented about 137,600 candle power (or about 1.7 million lumens), far too bright for fans to comfortably enjoy the game. To alleviate the glare – a problem that had adversely affected most previous efforts to play night baseball – he placed twin poles in front of each lamp and added black canvas screens to help better direct the light.9

At Comiskey Park, about 300 fans attended an amateur lacrosse game under the lights on Thursday, August 25. A club soccer game played on Friday night had a slightly larger showing. The baseball game was the biggest test, and a reported crowd of 3,500 fans entered the grandstand to watch Saturday night’s showcase between Rogers Park and the Logan Squares on August 27.

The teams invited to participate in this exhibition were part of the six-team Chicago League, an integrated circuit that included the all-Black Chicago Giants with future Hall of Fame pitcher “Cyclone” Joe Williams.10 The league president was Chicago Tribune sports editor Harvey T. Woodruff, whose newspaper frequently covered these semipro games which drew thousands of spectators to watch ex-big leaguers like Jiggs Donahue, Chick Fraser, and Billy Maloney.

The Rogers Park team was led by Jimmy Ryan, who once led the National League in home runs.11 Now 47, Ryan continued to suit up regularly for the semipro team that he founded following the 1906 World Series.12 The team’s secretary was Judge Charles A. McDonald, who later served as chief justice of Cook County’s criminal courts, overseeing the grand jury that indicted the Black Sox in 1920.13

Nixey Callahan’s Logan Squares team, based on the city’s northwest side, became famous around the nation when they beat the Cubs and White Sox in a postseason barnstorming tour after the 1906 World Series. The fiery and independent Callahan, who had thrown the first no-hitter in White Sox history, spent 10 years in the major leagues before abruptly quitting at the age of 31 to purchase a semipro team and their ballpark at the corner of Milwaukee and Diversey avenues.14

Callahan’s new venture made him a lot of money, but also some powerful enemies. His Logan Squares were declared “outlaws” by American League President Ban Johnson, and Washington Senators star Walter Johnson was reportedly fined $100 for pitching in a game against them.15 But Callahan’s entrepreneurial spirit also earned him the respect of Charles Comiskey, his former and future boss, and the two remained close friends for many years. Thus, Callahan’s team was a natural choice for Comiskey to invite and play in the first night game at his new ballpark, scheduled for an 8:00 P.M. start.16

Ed Almquist, a strapping 25-year-old right-hander, started on the mound for Rogers Park. The son of Swedish immigrants, Almquist had beaten Callahan’s Squares, 1-0, in a memorable 10-inning game two years earlier.17

The Logan Squares battery was George “Big Bane” Hanson18 and Andrew Slight. Hanson was a 37-year-old veteran of Chicago’s semipro leagues. The 18-year-old Slight had recently signed his first pro contract with the White Sox. After spending three seasons in the minor leagues, the tall catcher was called up for a special occasion in the fall of 1913: to take Ray Schalk’s place on a tour around the world organized by Comiskey, Callahan, and New York Giants manager John McGraw.19 Slight returned home from this trip of a lifetime and sat on the White Sox bench for the first two months of the 1914 season, never making a single appearance – one of the rare “phantom” major leaguers in baseball history.20

Al Wickland, the Squares’ leadoff hitter, opened the game with a single to center field. He stole second base and scored on Callahan’s sharp double to left to give the Squares an early lead. Wickland later made the defensive play of the night when he snagged a line drive hit by Almquist to deep center field, then doubled up Walter Most at first base.21

In the sixth inning, Danny Green, a former Cubs and White Sox outfielder, hit a triple over the head of Lou Gertenrich in center field and scored on Callahan’s single to give the Squares a two-run lead. Wickland scored the game’s final run in the eighth inning after singling and advancing on two Rogers Park errors.

In the 3-0 win, “Big Bane” Hanson scattered four hits, all singles, and struck out eight Rogers Park batters. The game was finished in 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Reviews were mostly positive, with a Chicago Tribune reporter noting that “the ball could be followed as readily as if thrown under natural light. … The game was played under exactly the same conditions as a contest in broad daylight.”22 The Inter Ocean declared that arrangements were expected to be made to host “regular games” at night and this would be “greeted with delight by the many thousands of day workers who are now able to see the ball games only on odd Sundays.”23

Cahill, ever the promoter, promised “better light and service” for any future ballgames played with his system. The Tribune reported that only seven gameday operators were trained on how to keep their lights up and running at full capacity, which led to some flickering at times.24 

The Tribune’s editorial writer was far less impressed with the entire stunt, calling Comiskey’s exhibition an “unholy enterprise” and declaring that healthy athletic contests required daylight. “Wrestling and prizefighting may thrive under the arc light, but no self-respecting game will last under such conditions.”25

As for George Cahill, he failed to find any other baseball owners interested enough in his system to try it more than once. He and his brothers moved on to other ventures, focusing primarily on inventing different types of music equipment.26 But they returned to floodlights after World War I – and after making a few tweaks, they quickly built a sports empire. The Cahill Brothers projector system was used most often for night football games in the 1920s, but their lights were installed at the Polo Grounds in New York, Soldier Field in Chicago, Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, Wembley Stadium in London, and many other college and pro venues.27 George Cahill was also in attendance at Cincinnati’s Crosley Field on May 24, 1935, when the Reds turned on the lights for the first time in a National League game.28

It took a few more years before the White Sox finally played an American League game under the lights at Comiskey Park. By then, Charles Comiskey was dead and so was his son and successor as team president, J. Louis Comiskey. It fell to Louis’s son, Charles Comiskey II, to press a switch and brighten the ballpark again on August 14, 1939, when Chicago native Johnny Rigney pitched the White Sox to a win against the St. Louis Browns.29

1910 Rogers Park baseball team. Top row, from left: Hage, Ray Lovett, Ed Almquist, Frank Scanlon, Jimmy Ryan, Lou Gertenrich, Giblin. Middle row: Righter, Jimmy McDonough, Walter Most, Art Zangerle, Hilgendorf. Bottom row: George Lyman and Dick Hummer, mascots. (Chicago Tribune, September 10, 1910)

Author’s note

This article is dedicated to the feline Nixey Callahan, who at the time of this writing lives in Rogers Park, just a long fly ball away from where the semipro team’s home ballpark stood a century ago. All the pets in our household get named after Deadball Era ballplayers, and this Nixey is just as strong-willed and independent as her baseball namesake.

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Glenna Eaves of the Rogers Park/West Ridge Historical Society. A box score for the game can be found in the Chicago Tribune on August 28, 1910:

This article was fact-checked by Mike Huber and copy-edited by Len Levin.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball-Reference.com and Retrosheet.org for pertinent information.

Notes

1 For context, in 1910 the White Sox averaged just under 7,000 fans for home games, which were split between South Side Park and the new Comiskey Park. Full capacity at Comiskey Park during its first season was 28,800. Philip J. Lowry, Green Cathedrals: The Ultimate Celebration of All Major League and Negro League Ballparks, Fifth Edition (Phoenix: SABR, 2019), 76-79.

2 Craig B. Waff, “September 2, 1880: Night baseball at Nantasket Beach,” SABR Games Project, accessed October 30, 2025.

3 Stephanie Barry, “Brothers Threw Light on Bases,” Springfield (Massachusetts) Republican, September 16, 1999: 63. A year earlier, George Cahill had also invented an early version of a pitching machine.

4 Greg Hand, “The Reds Were Ready for Night Baseball in 1909 but Decided to Wait 26 Years,” Cincinnati Magazine, September 21, 2020, accessed on November 24, 2025.

5 John Saccoman, “Garry Herrmann,” SABR Biography Project, accessed November 23, 2025.

6 “Baseball by Electric Light,” Chillicothe (Ohio) Gazette, April 16, 1910: 2.

7 Curt Smith, “Comiskey Park,” SABR Biography Project, accessed November 22, 2025.

8 “Arcs Illuminate Sox New Grounds,” Chicago Tribune, August 24, 1910: 8.

9 “Arcs Illuminate Sox New Grounds.” When all the lights were working properly, the entire field was illuminated and the only reported dark spots were at the edge of the dirt where the infield met the outfield grass.

10 The Chicago Giants of 1910, 1911, and 1913 were recognized as major-league-caliber teams by SABR’s Special Negro Leagues and Teams Committee (2024).

11 Ryan hit 16 home runs to lead the National League in 1888.

12 Tim Hagerty, “Jimmy Ryan,” SABR Biography Project, accessed October 29, 2025.

13 “Sport and Politics,” Chicago Eagle, March 14, 1914: 2.

14 In 1911, Callahan resumed his major-league career when he returned to the White Sox as an outfielder. James Elfers, “Nixey Callahan,” SABR Biography Project, accessed November 20, 2025. Brian McKenna, “Logan Squares,” SABR Biography Project, accessed November 20, 2025.

15 Elfers, “Nixey Callahan.”

16 Chicago Daily News, August 26, 1910: 14.

17 “J. Ryan to Quit Baseball,” Chicago Tribune, March 8, 1911: 22. A few weeks after the night game, Almquist was recruited by Charles Comiskey as a possible replacement at first base for an underachieving 22-year-old rookie on the White Sox roster – Chick Gandil. But Almquist turned down Comiskey’s offer to keep his job in Rogers Park as an ice delivery man. Almquist did eventually sign with a minor-league club in 1911 – his only season in professional baseball – and he hit .373 in 84 games for Urbana-Champaign of the Class D Illinois-Missouri League. The league’s batting champion: future White Sox Hall of Famer Ray Schalk, who hit .398 for Taylorville. See the 1912 Reach Official American League Baseball Guide.

18 Hanson did not pitch regularly for Logan Square and only his nickname “Big Bane” was used in sporadic newspaper reports. Thanks to Bruce Allardice for digging up more details on the pitcher’s likely identity as George Washington Hanson (1873-1950), who pitched for many semipro clubs in and near Chicago beginning around 1895. That year he won 26 games for the Peoria Distillers. He also pitched for the Chicago Brands, Edgars, and Jefferson Parks.

19 Schalk did play in some pre-tour exhibition games, but like many other White Sox and Giants players, he decided he did not want to cross the ocean and returned home before the teams sailed to Japan. James Elfers and Stephen D. Boren, “The 1913-1914 Chicago White Sox-New York Giants World Tour,” Nichibei Yakyu: US Tours of Japan, 1907-58 (Phoenix: SABR, 2022).

20 For a full list of “phantom” major leaguers who were rostered by a team but never played, see Bill Hickman’s list maintained on the SABR website.

21 “Night Baseball a Success,” Chicago Tribune, August 28, 1910: 26. “Promotion for 4 Semi-Pros,” Chicago Tribune, August 21, 1910: 24. One week earlier, the 22-year-old Wickland, then working at a stationery store, had also signed his first professional contract. He went on to play parts of five major-league seasons as a smooth-swinging outfielder with the Cincinnati Reds, Boston Braves, New York Yankees, and in the Federal League. For more on Wickland’s career, see Kevin Larkin, “Al Wickland,” SABR Biography Project, accessed November 22, 2025.

22 “Night Baseball a Success,” Chicago Tribune.

23 “Initial Night Baseball Game at Sox Park Proves Success,” Chicago Inter Ocean, August 28, 1910: 1.

24 “Night Baseball a Success,” Chicago Tribune.

25 “Baseball at Night,” Chicago Tribune, August 29, 1910: 4.

26 “Cahill Electrical Music To-night,” Springfield Daily Republican, March 3, 1911: 4. Back in 1906, Dr. Thaddeus Cahill, George’s brother, built the first instrument to generate music electronically, which he called the Telharmonium.

27 “George F. Cahill, of Telharmonium Fame, Dies at N.Y.,” Springfield (Massachusetts) Weekly Republican, October 17, 1935: 9.

28 Barry, “Brothers Threw Light on Bases.” “Hollingsworth to Oppose Thomas Today; Dignitaries Grace Night Baseball Inaugural,” Cincinnati Enquirer, May 25, 1935: 15.

29 Mike Huber, “August 14, 1939: Chicago native Johnny Rigney pitches White Sox to historic win in first night game at Comiskey Park,” SABR Games Project, accessed October 14, 2025.