U.S. Census Bureau Daily Feature for September 28

WASHINGTON, Sept. 28 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is the daily "Profile America" feature from the U.S. Census Bureau:

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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28: FIRST NIGHT FOOTBALL GAME

Profile America — Tuesday, September 28th.  This is the anniversary of the first night football game in the U.S.  The date may be a surprise, because both the game and artificial lighting were in their infancy in 1892.  Besides that, the date was on a Wednesday.  The place was the Mansfield, Pennsylvania fairgrounds and the teams were Mansfield State Normal School, and the Wyoming Seminary.  While the night football game was certainly a novelty, most people were interested in seeing electric lighting for the first time.  Close to 20,000 people watched the game, which ended in a 0-0 tie.  Today, most high school football games are played under the lights, and NFL night games are common.  College football draws about 49 million fans each year, and NFL teams pack in nearly 22 million.  Profile America is in its 14th year as a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau.

Sources:  Chase's Calendar of Events 2010, p. 486

Statistical Abstract of the United States 2010, t. 1207

Profile America is produced by the Public Information Office of the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on a monthly CD or on the Internet at http://www.census.gov (look for "Multimedia Gallery" by the "Newsroom" button).  

SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau