On May 28, 1946, the first night game ever played at Yankee Stadium took place. The Yanks faced the Washington Senators in a 2-1 loss in front of 49,917 fans. The lone run came off the bat of Joe DiMaggio, a single to center field scoring Snuffy Stirnweiss.
Dutch Leonard, the Senators pitcher of all people, brought home the deciding run in the fourth inning. He hit a single to right field that scored Cecil Travis.
General Electric president Charles E. Wilson threw out the ceremonial first pitch under 1,245 newly developed GE sports floodlights. These innovative bulbs caused Yankee Stadium to shine twice as bright as any other park in the Majors.
