1892 Wyoming Seminary vs. Mansfield Normal football game
First night-time American football game
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 1892 Wyoming Seminary vs. Mansfield Normal football game, played September 28, 1892, was the first-ever American football game played at night.[1][2][3]
| 1892 Wyoming Seminary vs. Mansfield Normal football game | |||||||||||||
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| First night football game | |||||||||||||
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| Date | September 28, 1892 | ||||||||||||
| Season | 1892 | ||||||||||||
| Stadium | Smythe Park | ||||||||||||
| Location | Mansfield, Pennsylvania | ||||||||||||
The game was played between Wyoming Seminary (a private college preparatory school located in the Wyoming Valley of Northeastern Pennsylvania) and Mansfield Normal School in Mansfield, Pennsylvania. During the time period, it was common for a college and high school to play each other in footballâa practice that has long since been discontinued.
Game summary
The lighting system brought in turned out to be inadequate for gameplay The game itself lasted only 20 minutes and there were only 10 plays. Both sides agreed to end at halftime with a 0â0 tie after several players had an unfortunate run-in with a light pole.[4]
References in modern culture
Annual reenactment
This historic game is celebrated by a yearly reenactment of the original game played between Wyoming Seminary and Mansfield Normal School during an autumn festival known as the "Fabulous 1890s Weekend." The re-enactment of the game is a play-by-play version of the actual game as recorded. Fans who watch the game are sometimes known to correct players when they deviate from the original recorded plays.[5]
100th anniversary
The 100th anniversary of the game happened to occur on Monday, September 28, 1992. Monday Night Football celebrated "100 years of night football" with a game between the Los Angeles Raiders and the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium. The Chiefs won 27â7 in front of 77,486 fans.[6]
See also
- 1879 VFA season, for a description of the first night game in Australian rules football
- 1905 Cooper vs. Fairmount football game
- Kanaweola Athletic Club, hosts of the first professional football night game
- List of historically significant college football games
