Floodlights

[Gary James]

I wasn't old enough to be there but I do remember being at the unveiling of the updated floodlights as a lad in the mid 1960's. I think we played Bury on a Boxing Day, but wouldn't swear to it. What I vividly recall is that when they were switched on at HT the lights initially turned green, and some blokes standing near me thought they weren't working properly. 'Typical City' may well have been uttered.

Yes it was Bury. Mentioned in the full article on my site. Nice story too. Thanks.

 

[Gary James]

It's quite surprising that floodlights arrived as late as 1953 really when you think about it, the technology was hardly cutting edge and ground breaking and had probably been around and in use in other applications for, I'd guess, 50 years before then... how come it took football so long to cotton on to using them?

City/Ardwick did play floodlit games at Hyde Rd and Belle Vue in 1880s/1890s. A fact I quoted is that City/Ardwick have been playing games under lights since before teams like LFC, LUFC & CFC even existed! And they talk of us having ‘no history’!

 

[Johnny Mars Bar]

The best floodlights in all the land and all the world.

 

[york away to this!]

Nearest I got was absailing off the roof for some charity thing.

Are you that plastic pigeon?

 

[andyhinch]

Are you that plastic pigeon?

Thought it was a kestrel ?

 

[mancityvstoke]

Thought it was a kestrel ?

yeah scaring pigeonho off

 

[the blue panther]

Tall were they?

Tall, they were. Yoda me told.
:-)

 

[AliBobbyJ]

It's quite surprising that floodlights arrived as late as 1953 really when you think about it, the technology was hardly cutting edge and ground breaking and had probably been around and in use in other applications for, I'd guess, 50 years before then... how come it took football so long to cotton on to using them?

Going off topic but floodlights came even later to rugby league, not till the mid-1960s. Before that they'd only had them at Leigh, I think.

 

[Sheikh Rattle n Roll]

My first recollection of the floodlights is from 1977 when I went to my first night matches watching the Reserves in the Central League midweek. They took an age to warm up, no instant bright light back then, no chance of a light show. I think they got switched on about 10 minutes before kick off and were still getting brighter when the matches started.

 

[Stephen230]

In the 5th Round of the FA Cup run in ‘81, City fans had climbed up the floodlight in the away end at Peterborough for a better view. The PA announced at half time that they were about to turn the floodlights on and anyone who didn’t climb down would be electrocuted.

They didn’t and they weren’t.