When was our first home midweek league match under floodlights?

Blackpool-rocks

Blackpool-rocks

Well-known member
The first match under floodlights at Bloomfield Road was on 13th October 1958 against Hearts. Apparently a lot of matches to commemorate the launch of floodlights at grounds were played between English and Scottish teams in the 1950's when the majority of floodlights were installed.

Anyone know which was our first actual league match played under the lights at Bloomfield Road and also our first floodlit away match?

Given that clubs probably had floodlights installed at different dates how did teams play all their fixtures? I assume some fixtures were played midweek in the early and later stages of the season when light permitted to accommodate the schedule, whilst others teams with floodlights would have played matches at night with significantly larger crowds than if played in the afternoon.

In Winter presumably Saturday matches kicked-off around 1 or 2 o'clock.
 
Blackburn rovers,in the old cop(north stand ) with the roof on,in the late 60s.Tuesday night I think it was.
 
I'm pretty sure the first full game to be played under floodlights after the opening was the Cup replay against
Bristol City on 28/1/ 1959 . The kick off times for the home league fixtures for Dec & Jan 58/9 is shown on the
programmes as 3 pm so the floodlights must have been on at some point during some of those games.
 
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Our first full league game under floodlights was at Goodison Park on Wednesday 20 Nov 1957, we played the second half under lights at St James Park Newcastle 11 days earlier. When Blackpool made their one and only appearance, to date, in the FA Charity Shield. The match held at Highbury on 12 October 1953 was the first-ever Charity Shield game played under floodlights.

Although the Scottish League Champions were defeated by the Seasiders in front of over 15,000 on that Monday evening. The club were expecting a gate over 20,000 so were disappointed with the Blackpool chairman Albert Hindley stating that:

"The Hearts match merely confirmed the view that there is just not the public for such games in the Fylde area. He said it would not affect the club policy as it relates to floodlit matches.

When it was decided to instal the system at Bloomfield Road there was never any serious intention of promoting a series of mid-week evening matches during the Blackpool winter. The lights will serve their primary purpose by permitting 3pm kick offs all through the winter. There will never probably be another 2.15pm kick-off at Bloomfield Road."

There was a FA Youth Cup game under floodlights at 7pm against Blackburn Rovers at Bloomfield Road two days later on 15 Oct 1958.

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