Just in Sport

by Ted

Article taken from The Charleston Daily Mail, September 25, 1930

More out of curiousity than anything else, the writer travelled some 200 or more miles Wednesday evening and night to find out for himself just how successful these night football games are. The game witnesses was the Spartan-Brooklyn National professional football league contest played at the Portsmouth, O., stadium, which drew close to 7,500 fans from the Tri-State region. Of all athletic events the writer has ever seen, the lay-out at the Porstmouth and high schools in the United States will never come to the point where nigth games will be played exclusively but nevertheless it cannot be said that football cannot be played successfully under lights if the proper lighting facilities are installed.

The gridiron at the Universal stadium was covered with grass crossed off by white chalk lines five yards apart. The Portsmouth Spartans were clad in purple uniforms with white trimmings while Brooklyn's ex-college players wore outfits of bright green and gold.

The feild was illuminated by 24 lights. There were six 50-foot poles running along side the sidelines on each side with two poerful lights focused from each pole on the feild. A white bell was used and the players handled it as well as if they had been playing with a tan one in daylight;

The game was won 12-0 by the Spartans, who were led by the famous Glassgow, 1029 all-America, player from Iowa. He shared the ball carrying honors fir the night with Chuck Bennett, of Indiana, an all-conferance star. The ounts in the game were unusually long ones and well placed, most of them being long and out-of-bound kicks. The interference for the Spartans' ball carries was almost perfect with "Father" Lumpkin, the "rambling wreck from Georgia Tech," ay its head.

Glassgow's playing was sensational from the opening quarter until he was yanked in the forth period. He twisted and waved his way through one of the most powerful first lines\ of defenses that stalling in the game and every play seemed to go off like clock-work. Defensiev linemen were taken out like collegiate coaches dream about and had not the second lines of defense on Brooklyn's team been as strong as it was Portsmouth probably would have scored more touchdowns.

The game was broadcast through loud speakers.