Night Owl Cards

Today is another one of the holy days in night game history. It's the 25th anniversary of Wrigley Field's first scheduled night game. Unfortunately, the game was called off because of thunderstorm in the fourth inning and the first official night game at Wrigley Field didn't actually occur until the next day, Aug. 9 against the Mets. In true Cubs fashion, they even botched completing a game under the lights. I've never been a fan of the Cubs, and I don't even understand their fans. Their allegiance to a franchise that has been inept for so long baffles me. I suppose that's more of a commentary on me than anybody who roots for the Cubs, but I just can't see following a team that's been such a drag for 100 years. Yet, there are the Cubs fans at every game. Singing away. Drinking away. So damn happy for a team that disappoints every year. It's weird. Even though I wouldn't care if the Cubs were contracted tomorrow, I'm actually tick...

Today is one of those "high holy days" of night cards that I mentioned a few months ago. Seventy-eight years ago tonight, the Reds and Phillies played the first night game in major league history. The Reds prevailed 2-1. Almost a century later, night games are the rule, not the exception. Night events in general are increasing rapidly. Who had ever heard of a PGA tournament under the lights until a few years ago? But now premiere events that used to be held exclusively during the day -- golf, horse racing, auto racing -- are now also at night. (this causes holy hell with deadlines, by the way). Increasingly, we live in a night owl world. That's right, I am hardly unique. And in some small way, we can credit or blame Reds officials Powel Crosley and Larry MacPhail for it. They were the ones so desperate for attendance (the Reds were last in 1933 and 1934) that they thought up holding a game at night as a gimmick to get people to the park. Good thing there were n...