On this day in Alabama history: Cramton Bowl hosts first football game in the South played under lights
Artist's sketch of the Cramton Bowl, 1921. (From "How Crampton Bowl Will Look after it is Completed", Montgomery Advertiser, November 20, 1921; Wikipedia)
September 23, 1927
Cloverdale High School played Pike Road High School at the Cramton Bowl in Montgomery in the first football game in the South played under artificial lights. Using lamps sent in from California and dishpans as reflectors, the game attracted more than 7,000 fans. The Cramton Bowl opened in 1922 as a multi-use stadium and, over the years, has hosted minor league baseball games, Major League Baseball spring training, and college and high school football games. In 2014, the stadium became the venue for the annual Raycom Media Camellia Bowl college football game and, in 2017, the stadium hosted the first game of the college football season.
Read more at Encyclopedia of Alabama.
South’s first night football game held at the Cramton Bowl, Montgomery, AL, 1927. (Alabama Power Company Archives)
For more on Alabama’s Bicentennial, visit Alabama 200.
