{"id":65836,"date":"2025-05-16T08:45:41","date_gmt":"2025-05-16T08:45:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shefnews.co.uk\/?p=65836"},"modified":"2025-05-16T13:37:34","modified_gmt":"2025-05-16T13:37:34","slug":"blue-plaque-to-honour-engineer-who-brought-floodlights-to-football","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shefnews.co.uk\/index.php\/2025\/05\/16\/blue-plaque-to-honour-engineer-who-brought-floodlights-to-football\/","title":{"rendered":"Blue plaque to honour engineer who brought floodlights to football"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>A blue plaque has just been unveiled in Sheffield city centre to honour an engineer who created the world\u2019s first football match played under floodlights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On 14 October 1878, John Tasker, an electrical engineer, set up the world\u2019s first football game played under floodlights at Bramall Lane, changing the beautiful game by allowing night time games for the first time. The game was played between two elite Sheffield teams called \u2018Reds\u2019 and \u2018Blues\u2019, and ended in a 0-0 draw.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"990\" src=\"https:\/\/shefnews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/article23.jpg\" alt=\"The blue plaque dedicated to John Tasker held at Bramall Lane by Charity Trustee Chris Wood\" class=\"wp-image-65842\" srcset=\"https:\/\/shefnews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/article23.jpg 800w, https:\/\/shefnews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/article23-480x594.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) 800px, 100vw\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The blue plaque has been installed at the Frog &amp; Parrot pub on Division Street, the original site of Tasker\u2019s electrical company, John Tasker Engineering Ltd. It was placed by the Sheffield Home of Football Charity, a charity dedicated to educate the public about football history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>John Clarke, secretary of Sheffield Home of Football Charity, said: \u201cWe honour John Tasker, a name synonymous with progress in Sheffield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cTasker played a pivotal role in organising the first-ever floodlit football match at Bramall Lane. This groundbreaking event, illuminated by 12 powerful lamps, drew an astonishing crowd of nearly 20,000 spectators, proving that the fusion of sport and technology could captivate the masses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe celebrate the unveiling of a blue plaque, a symbol of remembrance and recognition for this great man. May we continue to honour the past while embracing the future, ensuring that the legacies of Tasker, my hero, Sheffield\u2019s pioneer, and all those who have shaped our city remain alive for the next generations to see.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/shefnews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/tasker-1-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"The Blue Plaque held up at the Frog and Parrot Pub. \" class=\"wp-image-65845\" srcset=\"https:\/\/shefnews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/tasker-1-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/shefnews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/tasker-1-480x640.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) 768px, 100vw\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>John Tasker originally was a boot and shoemaker from Devon before moving to Sheffield and starting his own electrical engineering business, as well as the area\u2019s first ever telephone province and set up electric cables under the streets of Sheffield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is the seventh blue plaque unveiled by Sheffield Home of Football. Others can be found on Norfolk Row, commemorating John Charles Shaw, co-founder of Hallam FC, and at the Crucible, marking the site where the first football rules were agreed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The charity also plans to erect a statue of Brazilian legend Pel\u00e9 doing his iconic scissor kick, recognising the city\u2019s strong historical links with the global game.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A blue plaque has just been unveiled in Sheffield city centre to honour an engineer who created the world\u2019s first football match played under floodlights.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":724,"featured_media":65842,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17,415,43,26],"tags":[64,33,15,38,40],"class_list":["post-65836","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-charity","category-community","category-culture","category-sport","tag-charity","tag-football","tag-news","tag-sheffield","tag-sport"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - 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