Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-08-30
SPECTATORS MISS
MANY FINE POINTS
Contests Lose Natural Char
acteriStiC and Happenings
Hard to Follow.
BY FRANCIS J. POWERS.

NHICAGO, August 30.-Thc
efforts OF electrical engi-
~ neerS to transform night
into day for the purpose Of
staging base ball and foot ball
games and track meets may be q
practical success, but from an ar
tiStic standpoint much is lacking.
The light that floods from the
huge batteries of incandescentS
furnishes sufficient illumination
for the playing of games, but 1t
lacks the penetrating sharpness
OF the sun, and much of the de-
tail of the contests is lost to the
spectators.
That particularly was true in the
Brittsh-American track meet staged at
Soldier Field here recently. From the
top seats in the huge stadium it vir-
tually was impossible to follow the flight
OF the javelin and shot or hammer; the
pole vault standards were only a sill
houette against the black background
of night and the broad jump lacked the
sharp cut features on daylight per-
Torrance.
It was easier to follow the runners,
but as they swung around the far side
OF the track it often times was i'm
possible to recognize individuals. The
night illumination was perfect for the
Sprints and also the hurdles for those
who sat Immediately parallel to the
track, but from the opposite side of the
held much again was missing.
Few major league base ball players,
who have competed in night exhibition
games and with whom the writer has
talked, think much of the idea.
TITS like a circus" declared one Of
the New York Giant stars, who recently
took part in a nocturnal game ut
bridgeport. You see everything, but
still you miss lot. For instance, many
OF the personal mannerisms of a player
are lost to the crowd in night games.
In the sunlight fans are able to tell q
player by his walk or the way he runs
in the outf1eld. But under the lights
that part of the game is missing
Bob MeuSel of the Cincinnati Reds
was quoted as saying fly balls looked
like aspirin tablets as they floated
through the artificially Illuminated sky.
Others have found the old game loses
many of its natural characteristics
when staged under lights.
One major Lacquer raised an interest
Ing question while discussing the noe
turnal game. What will happen" he
asked, IF player who does all his work
under lights comes into the major
leagues and goes back to playing under
the sun? Will 1t affect his batting or
fielding?" There's one for the advo-
Gates of night base ball to answer.
In foot ball many of the finer points
Of the game are lost to the crowd. In
big stadium it would be impossible to
get all the details of line play. It is
hard enough for spectators to get much
OF the line work on bright afternoons
and doubly SO at night The fast
handling OF the ball behind the line
also becomes shadowy and many other
thrilling points of the game are cloudy.
OF course, Illumination for nocturnal
sports contests still is in its infancy
and tremendous improvements will be
made IN time. But it is going to be q
hard job to completely duplicate the
work of the sun and it's unlikely that
daytime sports ever can be transferred
to nocturnal setting and retain all Of
their fine angles.
However, base ball men are going
right ahead with night games. They
may be a fad, as some claim. and
doomed to only temporary popularity.
But they have been the salvation Of
many minor league clubs this season
and are boosting the attendance wher-
ever tried. So they cannot yet be called
failure. Sam Breadon, president Of
the st. Louis Cardinals is an advocate
OF night base ball. but he is the only
major league magnste to favor 1t
strongly, so far.
1t will take another full season to de-
termine if night base ball is a success.
But by that time it no longer will be
an innovation and the fans either win
accept 1t or discard the idea as a fad,
In the meantime the sun shows little
signs of worrying about the man-made
competition.