UNDER LIGHTS

  Wolves were one of the first Football League clubs to get floodlights fully operational and they did this with friendlies against teams from South Africa, Hungary and Russia. On Wednesday September 30th 1953 they played a South Africa XI and then realising the value of floodlights, invited Honved, Dynamo Spartak and Moscow Dynamo to Molyneux.

Two years earlier Arsenal had played Hapoel Tel Aviv in a friendly under lights at Highbury on Wednesday September 19th 1951.

The first "official" Football Association approved game was held at Mansfield's Field Mill Ground on Saturday 22nd February 1930 staging the North Nottinghamshire Senior Cup Final between Ollerton Forest and Welbeck Athletic.

Ollerton (above) won 3-0 but the real heroes were the chaps on the side line who dipped the five dark brown leather footballs into whitewash every so often, so that at least one ball was seeable on the pitch, under the new style lighting. As it was an evening kick off, of course, and a lot of the locals were at home, from their work in factories and mines etc. Home fires were lit "tea" was being served up and smoke descended onto the pitch, adding to the poor visibility. But the show went on! 

An FA rep at the match got excited and noted the expenditure on the floodlight system-£1200 for equipment-30 feet high poles etc in each corner of the pitch, that cost £1200 (note the date, so not cheap) and £3 for electricity! There was half an hour of community singing before the game, providing quality entertainment. 

 August 1930, the ever inventive and initiative based Football Assocation, banned floodlit games and not even Watford FC was allowed to switch on the lights around their ground's surrounding "greyhound track" when they asked for permission in December to stage a game.

So the FA banned any floodlit football until December 1950!!!

The first Football League side to install floodlights was Swindon Town who played a friendly against Bristol City on Monday 2nd April 1951. The FA eventually lifted the ban and on September 14th 1955 Kidderminster Harriers hosted Brierley Hill Alliance, at their Aggborough Ground, in an FA Cup Preliminary Rd replay, winning 4-2 after a 1-1 draw away.

By June 1956 the FA finally saw the light and on Wednesday 22nd February 1956 Portsmouth hosted Newcastle United at floodlit Fratton Park in a First Division game. Pompey lost 0-2 and nearly 16,000 saw it.

Putting all this into context, on October 14th 1878, the first floodlit game took place at Bramall Lane, between two representative teams from the Sheffield area. Over 8,000 attended but it could have been 12,000 because the entrances had not been "lit", so a number sneaked into the ground in the shadows. Two times 8 horse power generators behind each goal whirled away supplying 30 foot floodlight towers in each corner of the pitch.