Since 1906, Fairbanks, Alaska, has staged the Midnight Sun Game, a baseball contest that begins late on the summer solstice so the sun never fully sets. The game typically starts with first pitch around 10 p.m. and carries past midnight in a city of just under 95,000 people.
The matchup is played at Growden Memorial Park without artificial lights. The park’s lights have not been used since 2003, and Alaska Goldpanners general manager John Lohrke told ESPN that turning them on is unnecessary and might cause problems given their age. Dr. Katherine Ringsmuth, Alaska state historian, told ESPN the event is a striking contrast: “a very American ballgame with all of the pageantry and flyovers of the military and singing, kids running the bases,” yet the clock reads midnight.
The Goldpanners have hosted the event since 1963. The team will face the Utah Yaks on Friday. Through the years, the club has featured future Hall of Famers such as Dave Winfield and Tom Seaver; Seaver began his career appearing in the Midnight Sun Game. Red Boucher founded the Goldpanners in 1960 and helped promote the team nationally.
The game traces to a bar bet among miners during Alaska’s gold rush era and is credited to Eddie Stroecker, a California ballplayer who became known as the “Father of the Midnight Sun Game.” Local historians note the event was promoted to draw visitors to the region, and media coverage as early as The New York Times in 1914 and 1945 helped raise its profile. Early iterations included local leagues and, during the world wars, military teams.
The Midnight Sun Game attracts fans from across the United States and abroad; attendees commonly come from at least 40 states and two to three countries, with visitors traveling from as far as Japan and Australia, according to ESPN. The occasion typically features post-anthem F-35 flyovers and, at midnight, members of SingUnited performing the Alaska flag song. Lohrke told ESPN the experience is singular: “You can’t really describe it because it’s just unique.”
