PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CHRISTINA EPISCOPO
On November 21st, 2025, City of Elmira Mayor Mandell will be joined alongside Greg Tranter, Sports Historian, for the unveiling of a new historic marker at Dunn Field.
On November 21, 1902, (103 years ago) the first-ever game of professional football was played after dark at, what was Maple Avenue Driving Park, now known as Dunn Field. In 1902, Maple Avenue Driving Park included a stadium for horse racing, bicycle racing, baseball, and a football field in the center
The historic first night game featured a local team, the Kanaweola Athletic Club against the Philadelphia Athletics, which was a Major league Baseball team playing football in the offseason.
We invite the community to join us on November 21st, 2025 at 11:30AM at Dunn Field, where this new historical marker will join along side the Historic Dunn Field Plaque.
Greg Tranter stated, “This is a terrific untold Elmira story. The city was way ahead of its time. The NFL was still almost two decades away from being founded. And then it took the League another 50 years before it began to embrace night football, And once it did, professional football was transformed into the #1 spectator sport in the country and it all started here in Elmira.”