February 21, 1931: Night Game In Houston

Buffalo Stadium

February 21, 1931: For the 1st time, 2 teams in what would later be called Major League Baseball play a night game. The Chicago White Sox play the New York Giants at Buffalo Stadium in Houston. The White Sox won, 11-6, scoring 5 runs in the top of the 10th inning.

Although the Negro Leagues had been playing night games since 1928, there would not be a regular-season night game in MLB until 1935. In New York, the Brooklyn Dodgers would get lights at Ebbets Field in 1938, the Giants at the Polo Grounds in 1940, and the Yankees at Yankee Stadium in 1946. By 1948, every MLB team except the Chicago Cubs would have lights. They held out until 1988.

Buffalo Stadium served as the home of the Texas League's Houston Buffaloes from 1928 to 1961, when they were replaced by the expansion team that would become the Astros. It was demolished in 1963, and a furniture store was built on the site. The Buffaloes were a farm team of the St. Louis Cardinals, and among the future Cardinals who played at Buffalo Stadium were future Hall-of-Famers Jim Bottomley in 1921, Chick Hafey in 1924, Dizzy Dean in 1930 and '31, and Joe Medwick in 1931 and '32.

Having previously won Texas League Pennants in 1889, 1892, 1896, 1905, 1909, 1910, 1912, 1913 and 1914, the Buffaloes won Pennants at Buffalo Stadium in 1928, 1931, 1940, 1947, 1951, 1954, 1956 and 1957, for a total of 17 Pennants. (It would take until 2005 for the Astros to win one.)

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February 21, 1931 was a Saturday. Baseball was, as this game shows, in Spring Training. Football was out of season. Professional basketball barely existed.

There were 3 games played in the NHL:

* The New York Americans lost to the Montreal Canadiens, 6-4 at the Montreal Forum.

* The Montreal Maroons and the Ottawa Senators played to a tie, 3-3 at the Ottawa Auditorium.

* The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Boston Bruins, 4-2 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.

* And the New York Rangers, the Philadelphia Quakers, the Detroit Falcons (who became the Red Wings in 1932) and the Chicago Black Hawks were not scheduled.

And in English soccer, Arsenal defeated Manchester City, 4-1 at the Arsenal Stadium, a.k.a. Highbury, in North London.