If you're a baseball fan younger than 35, chances are you have no memory of Wrigley Field without lights. But if you're older than 35, chances are you remember how big a deal it was for the Friendly Confines to get nighttime illumination in 1988.

After decades of playing only day games at home, the Cubs finally joined the night ranks after Chicago leaders passed an ordinance allowing limited night games starting in 1988. So on Aug. 8, 1988 — offering the memorable numerical symmetry of 8/8/88 — the Cubbies finally took the field under the lights for a game against the Phillies.

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The whole thing had a postseason atmosphere. It was An Event. The announcers wore tuxedos. Bill Murray was there. There was pageantry and palpable electricity, no pun intended. Even people who weren't Cubs fans tuned in to watch. I was 12 and about as die-hard a baseball fan as a kid can be. I unwrapped a new VHS tape to make sure I could record the whole thing.

Holy Cow!



The lights turned on at #WrigleyField 30 years ago today! pic.twitter.com/Qx8CCQxfjf — Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) August 8, 2018

Everything was great for a few innings. The first batter of the game, the Phillies' Phil Bradley, hit a homer. In the bottom half of the first, future Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg put the Cubs on top with a two-run shot. It was all great. And then it wasn't. The skies opened up in the fourth inning and there was a long rain delay. Though there was at least some hope that the game would resume, even 12-year-old me could sense that a postponement was inevitable.

But the long delay meant there was a lot of TV time to fill. I remember lots of interviews and banter. I vaguely remember Harry Caray drinking a Budweiser on the air. (He was a Bud Man, remember.) There were also hijinks with the tarp involving a young future Hall of Famer.

Alas, as history now records, the game was indeed postponed, having never officially happened in baseball's eyes, but definitely having happened in the minds of all who watched. The first official night game came the next night against the Mets. The Cubs won 6-4. Hooray.

I still have that VHS tape, by the way. It's labeled "8/8/88: First night game at Wrigley Field." That will always be true for me, regardless of what the official story says.

If you've never seen it, or just want to relive it, here's video of the first few innings. There's no rain featured, just happy memories.