| Matches: 1893 1894 | 1887-1900 | League Tables: 1893-94 |
Trivia
- Christmas Day friendly fixture
- First Celtic game played under Electric floodlights.
- Celtic didn’t install proper floodlights until 1959.
- Clyde took the lead in this match, before Sandy McMahon’s equaliser made it 1-1.
Review
In the early days, experiments had taken place in England as early as 1888. Celtic’s first attempt to host an illuminated match, during a friendly against Clyde on Christmas day, 1893.
This Christmas clash drew a crowd of 5,000 spectators due to the novelty of a football match taking place under the aid of electric light. Football had been played under artificial lights in Scotland before, particularly at the Edinburgh Exhibitions, but this was the first match of the kind in a club owned stadium such as Celtic Park. Some 16 arch lights were suspended above the pitch on wires, which were fixed to a dozen, 50 feet high, wooden posts.
Meanwhile, almost 100 gas-jets provided additional illumination along the covered enclosure.
Apart from the obvious eyesore of multiple wires hanging across the pitch, the cables also tended to sag too low and interfere with lofted passes.
Eventually, in January 1894, the issue came to a head when St Bernard’s FC were beaten 8-1 by Celtic in the Quarter-Finals of the Scottish Cup. After the match, St Bernard’s lodged a protest with the SFA, regarding the ball striking the electric lighting wires. By virtue of the fact that the ball had only struck the wires twice during the game, St Bernard’s withdrew their protest, but maintained that their initial objection had been based on principle. Taking note of the clear failure of night time football at Celtic Park, the club swiftly abandoned the notion.
Incredibly, the next time that the Bhoys were to play a match under floodlit conditions was against Michigan All Stars, during a tour of the USA, on 25 June 1931.
Teams
Celtic:-
Goals: Sandy McMahon
Clyde:-
Goals:
Attendance:
Referee:-
Articles
- Match Report (see end of page below)
Pictures
- Match Pictures
Articles
The Scotsman – Tuesday, 26th December 1893, page 2
FOOTBALL UNDER THE ELECTRIC LIGHT – The novelty of a football match by the aid of electric light, combined with the fact that the competing teams were such keen rivals as the Celtic and Clyde, last evening attracted some five thousand spectators to Celtic Park, Glasgow. Football has been previously played at night under artificial lights, particularly at the Edinburgh and Glasgow Exhibitions, but this was the first match of the kind on a private field. Sixteen lamps are utilised to illuminate the playing pitch, the lights being hung from high pole erected inside the racing track, with a row suspended up the middle of the field. Last evening the atmosphere was foggy, and not very favourable to the experiment, but there appeared to be sufficient light for the players to follow every movement of the ball. A hard game ended in a draw of one goal each.
Article from the Evening Times, 25th December 1965
