Evening star., 1940-11-09
Nov Arc Addict, Inconsistent
.GriH Is a Man of Mystery
With New Moves Due

With this act, all deals were called
off Not until yesterday when care
fully worded, telegraphic invitations
called the press to free-loading
festival at the Willard, was 1t an
nounced that Griffith, bitter foe of
night ball. had decided to capitulate.
Griff's Plans Mysterious.
Stricken with lumbago at his
home, Griffith, who will be II on
November 20, was unable to attend
and Mr.. Eynon signed the contract
| for the benefit of the newspaper
photographers and made the an
nouncement.
Griffith, as usual. will attend the
winter meeting of the major leagues
and, possibly. the minor league con-
fab which will precede it at Atlanta,
Ga. Whether he will attempt to in
crease the number of home games
which are permissible is debatable.
A year ago few gave him a chance
of passing that rule forbidding the
American League pennant winner
from buying or trading but it went
through and now baseball folk in
all parts of the country are wonder
ing if Griffith will conduct new and
equally radical campaign this
year.
Skipping this angle for the
moment and getting back to the
f1oodlighting of Griffith Stadium,
here are some of the facts having to
do with illuminating the most spa
cious field in the major leagues:
Could Light 5000 Homes.
The Westinghouse Electric e.
Manufacturing Co. will distribute
180,000,000 candlepower at Griffith
Stadium.
The stadium will be 16 times as
bright as the f1oodlighted dome of
the Capitol.
If concentrated in single beam,
the light would be sufficient to allow
person to read a newspaper 18
miles away from the source of the
1oodlights.
sNearly 100000 watts will be en-
pioyed in the system, which is esti-
mated as current enough to provide
electricity for 5000 homes.
Griffith Stadium is the sixth sue
cessive big league park to be lighted
by this same system and the ninth
lighted since the first major league
night game at Cincinnati in 1895.
Others are Forbes Field, Pitts
burgh; Polo Grounds, New York;
Comiskey Park, Chicago; Sports
mans Park, st. Louis, where both
the Browns and Cardinals play;
Shibe Park, where both the Athletics
and Phillies play; Cleveland's Mu-
nicipal Stadium and Ebbets Field,
home of the Brooklyn Dodgers.
There will be eight towers at
Griffith Stadium, each $50 feet high.
Four of them will be erected at the
top of the grandstand, two will stand
free in right field and two more will
rise through the back of the bleach
ers. Besides the towers, the system
repeatedly will include TAO flood
lights with 18-inch aluminium re-
Electors and more than 7 miles Of
wire and conduit
Aluminium Sheet a Factor.
Each of the two towers which
straddle home plate will support a
bank of 81 lights. The towers at
first and third bases will support
108 f1oodlights, each, and those in
the outfield 104 each. Every one of
the TAO f1oodlights will be directed
on definite area in the playing
field to eliminate shadows and pro-
duce even illumination on and above
the field.
The individual f1oodlights are
rated at 1900 watts each but as the
system will be operated at 10 per
cent over voltage, the lights will
burn at 1,750 watts.
Ten years ago, according to West
inghouSe engineers, tall towers were
not feasible because of the heavy
weight of the metal then used. At
Griffith Stadium the reflectors for
the lights will be spun out of alumni
mum sheet. Duesto discovery of
special finishing process, their re-
flecting surface is almost as efficient
as glass. They have glass, heat
resisting, dust-tight covers and
weigh only 20 pounds apiece.
Engineers say that the Griffith
Stadium lighting system will enable
players and fans to follow night
games as easily and az clearly as by
day.