The Midnight Sun Game is a baseball

Baseball

Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...

 game played every summer solstice

Summer solstice

The summer solstice occurs exactly when the axial tilt of a planet's semi-axis in a given hemisphere is most inclined towards the star that it orbits. Earth's maximum axial tilt to our star, the Sun, during a solstice is 23° 26'. Though the summer solstice is an instant in time, the term is also...

 at Growden Memorial Park

Growden Memorial Park

Growden Memorial Park is an outdoor baseball park in Fairbanks, Alaska, United States. It is used for summer collegiate and high school baseball, and has been the home field for the Alaska Baseball League's Alaska Goldpanners since 1960. It's also home to the Athletes in Action Fire. It was also...

 in Fairbanks

Fairbanks, Alaska

Fairbanks is a home rule city in and the borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska.Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior region of Alaska, and second largest in the state behind Anchorage...

, Alaska

Alaska

Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Because the sun

Sun

The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...

 is out for almost 24 hours a day, the game starts at about 10:30 at night and completes around 1:30 the next morning

Morning

The word morning originally referred to the sunrise. Morning precedes midday, afternoon, and night in the sequence of a day.Morning is the part of the day usually reckoned from dawn to noon...

. Famous players who have appeared in the game include Tom Seaver

Tom Seaver

George Thomas "Tom" Seaver , nicknamed "Tom Terrific" and "The Franchise", is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He pitched from 1967-1986 for four different teams in his career, but is noted primarily for his time with the New York Mets...

, Dave Winfield

Dave Winfield

David Mark Winfield is an American former Major League Baseball outfielder. He is currently Executive Vice President/Senior Advisor of the San Diego Padres and an analyst for the ESPN program Baseball Tonight...

, Terry Francona

Terry Francona

Terry Jon Francona , nicknamed "Tito," is a former Major League Baseball manager and a former player. He was a first baseman and outfielder in the majors from 1981 to 1990. After retiring as a player, he managed several minor league teams in the 1990s before managing the Philadelphia Phillies for...

, Harold Reynolds

Harold Reynolds

Harold Craig Reynolds is a former Major League Baseball second baseman. He played from 1983–1994, primarily for the Seattle Mariners.-High school:...

, and Jason Giambi

Jason Giambi

Jason Gilbert Giambi is an American professional baseball first baseman with the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball.He was the American League MVP in 2000 while with the Oakland Athletics, and is a five-time All-Star who has led the American League in walks four times, in on base percentage...

.

The first game was in 1906. Artificial light has never been used. The sun does dip below the horizon

Horizon

The horizon is the apparent line that separates earth from sky, the line that divides all visible directions into two categories: those that intersect the Earth's surface, and those that do not. At many locations, the true horizon is obscured by trees, buildings, mountains, etc., and the resulting...

 for about an hour. Since 1960, the game has been hosted by the Alaska Baseball League

Alaska Baseball League

The Alaska Baseball League is an amateur collegiate summer baseball league, with six teams located in four Alaskan cities. Players in the league must have attended one year of college and must have one year of NCAA eligibility remaining....

's Fairbanks-based Alaska Goldpanners.

Starting the game in 2008 was Bill "Spaceman" Lee

Bill Lee (left-handed pitcher)

William Francis Lee III , nicknamed "Spaceman", is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher. He played for the Boston Red Sox from - and the Montreal Expos from -...

. He last pitched in the game in 1967, and avenged a loss to the Japanese national champions that year by beating the Southern California Running Birds, 10-6.

Game results

Through 1959, the Midnight Sun Game featured various teams from the Fairbanks area. In 1960, the game became exclusively hosted by the Alaska Goldpanners

Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks

The Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks are a collegiate summer baseball team which was founded in 1960 as an independent barnstorming team. The Pan-Alaska Goldpanners were charter members of the Alaska Baseball League at the league's inception in 1974. The Goldpanners play their home games at Growden...

.

The Goldpanners have a record of 41 wins, 11 losses in the Midnight Sun Games they have hosted. Although the Midnight Sun Game has been played since 1906, only games hosted by the Goldpanners are listed.

Date	Winning team		Losing team		Notes
	Pan-Alaska Goldpanners Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks The Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks are a collegiate summer baseball team which was founded in 1960 as an independent barnstorming team. The Pan-Alaska Goldpanners were charter members of the Alaska Baseball League at the league's inception in 1974. The Goldpanners play their home games at Growden...	11	Fairbanks Pioneers	0
	Pan-Alaska Goldpanners	10	North of the Range Military All-Stars	4
	Pan-Alaska Goldpanners	8	North of the Range Military All-Stars	3
	Wichita Wichita, Kansas Wichita is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas.As of the 2010 census, the city population was 382,368. Located in south-central Kansas on the Arkansas River, Wichita is the county seat of Sedgwick County and the principal city of the Wichita metropolitan area...  Rapid Transit Dreamliners	3	Alaska Goldpanners	1
	Grand Junction Grand Junction, Colorado The City of Grand Junction is the largest city in western Colorado. It is a city with a council–manager government form that is the county seat and the most populous city of Mesa County, Colorado, United States. Grand Junction is situated west-southwest of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver. As...  Eagles	10	Alaska Goldpanners	5
	Alaska Goldpanners	4	USC Trojans	3
	Alaska Goldpanners	8	Oregon State Beavers Oregon State Beavers baseball The Oregon State Beavers baseball team represents Oregon State University in NCAA Division I college baseball. The team participates in the Pacific-10 Conference. They are currently coached by Pat Casey and assistant coaches Marty Lees, David Wong, and Pat Bailey. They play home games in Goss...	3
	Kumagai Gumi Kumagai Gumi is a construction company founded in Fukui, Fukui Prefecture, Japan. The company still has registered headquarters in Fukui, but the actual head office is located in Shinjuku, Tokyo.Kumagai Gumi was removed from the Nikkei 225 index on Oct...	10	Alaska Goldpanners	3
	Alaska Goldpanners	7	Santa Clara Broncos Santa Clara University Santa Clara University is a private, not-for-profit, Jesuit-affiliated university located in Santa Clara, California, United States. Chartered by the state of California and accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, it operates in collaboration with the Society of Jesus , whose...	0
	Boulder Boulder, Colorado Boulder is the county seat and most populous city of Boulder County and the 11th most populous city in the U.S. state of Colorado. Boulder is located at the base of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains at an elevation of...  Baseline Collegians	5	Alaska Goldpanners	2
	Arizona Wildcats Arizona Wildcats baseball The Arizona Wildcats baseball team is the intercollegiate men's baseball program representing the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The team competes in the Pacific-12 Conference of NCAA Division I. The baseball team had its first season in 1904...	4	Alaska Goldpanners	3
	Alaska Goldpanners	12	Stanford Indians Stanford Cardinal baseball The Stanford Cardinal baseball team represents Stanford University in NCAA Division I college baseball. Along with most other Stanford athletic teams, the baseball team participates in the Pacific-10 Conference. The Cardinal play their home games on campus at the Sunken Diamond, and they are...	3
	Ponchatoula Ponchatoula, Louisiana Ponchatoula is a city in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 5,180 at the 2000 census. Ponchatoula calls itself the "Strawberry Capital of the World". It is part of the Hammond Micropolitan Statistical Area. The current mayor is Bob Zabbia.-Geography:Ponchatoula is...  Athletics	5	Alaska Goldpanners	4
	BYU Cougars BYU Cougars BYU Cougars is an American soccer team based in Provo, Utah, United States. The team plays in the USL Premier Development League , the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Southwest Division of the Western Conference....	8	Alaska Goldpanners	5
	Alaska Goldpanners	5	Washington State Cougars Washington State Cougars The Washington State Cougars are the athletic teams at Washington State University; the term applies to any of the school's varsity teams. Washington State University is a member of the Pacific-12 Conference, which participates in the NCAA Division I...	6
	Alaska Goldpanners	4	Vanderbilt Commodores Vanderbilt Commodores baseball The Vanderbilt Commodores baseball team represents Vanderbilt University in NCAA Division I college baseball. The team participates in the Eastern division of the Southeastern Conference...	3
	Alaska Goldpanners	6	Westwood Westwood, Los Angeles, California Westwood is a neighborhood on the Westside of Los Angeles, California, United States. It is the home of the University of California, Los Angeles .-History:...  Bruins	4
	Alaska Goldpanners	12	Red Deer Red Deer, Alberta Red Deer is a city in Central Alberta, Canada. It is located near the midpoint of the Calgary-Edmonton Corridor and is surrounded by Red Deer County. It is Alberta's third-most-populous city – after Calgary and Edmonton. The city is located in aspen parkland, a region of rolling hills...  M&K Generals	11
	Wichita El Dorado Coors	10	Alaska Goldpanners	1
	Alaska Goldpanners	8	North Carolina Tar Heels North Carolina Tar Heels baseball The North Carolina Tar Heels baseball team represents the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in NCAA Division I college baseball. They participate in the Atlantic Coast Conference Coastal Division....	2
	Alaska Goldpanners	16	Wisconsin Badgers Wisconsin Badgers The Wisconsin Badgers are the collegiate athletic teams from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. This NCAA Division I athletic program has teams in football, basketball, ice hockey, volleyball, soccer, cross country, tennis, swimming, wrestling, track and field, rowing, golf, and softball...	5
	Alaska Goldpanners	11	Intermountain Badgers	4
	Alaska Goldpanners	9	San Francisco Senators	3
	Alaska Goldpanners	7	Anchorage Bucs Anchorage Bucs Baseball Club The Anchorage Bucs Baseball Club is a college summer baseball team in Anchorage, Alaska. The team has been a member of the Alaska Baseball League since 1981....	2
	Alaska Goldpanners	9	Chinese Taipei	0
	Moraga Moraga, California Moraga is a suburban incorporated town located in Contra Costa County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is named in honor of Joaquin Moraga, whose grandfather was José Joaquin Moraga, second in command to Juan Bautista de Anza...  Marauders	12	Alaska Goldpanners	11
	Alaska Goldpanners	8	San Francisco Senators	1
	Mat-Su Miners Mat-Su Miners The Mat-Su Miners are a college summer baseball club in the Alaska Baseball League . The Miners are based in Palmer, Alaska, and their name refers to the Matanuska-Susitna Borough where Palmer is located...	2	Alaska Goldpanners	1
	Alaska Goldpanners	6	Hawaii Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city. Although the name "Honolulu" refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and county government are consolidated as the City and...  Island Movers	5
	Alaska Goldpanners	7	San Diego SeaWorld SeaWorld San Diego SeaWorld San Diego is an animal theme park, oceanarium, and marine mammal park, located in San Diego, California, United States. The park is owned by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, a division of The Blackstone Group....  Killer Whales	3
	Alaska Goldpanners	12	San Bernardino San Bernardino, California San Bernardino is a city located in the Riverside-San Bernardino metropolitan area , and serves as the county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States...  Tribe	3
	Alaska Goldpanners	9	South Lake Tahoe South Lake Tahoe, California South Lake Tahoe is the most populous city in El Dorado County, California, in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The population was 21,403 at the 2010 census, down from 23,609 at the 2000 census...  Stars	8
	Victor Valley Victor Valley, California Victor Valley is a subregion of Southern California north of the San Bernardino Mountains in the Mojave Desert. It is located in San Bernardino County and situated east of the Antelope Valley and north of the Cucamonga Valley. The Victor Valley is part of the 14th largest metropolitan area, the...  Mets	2	Alaska Goldpanners	1
	Alaska Goldpanners	10	South Lake Tahoe Stars	4
	Alaska Goldpanners	15	San Diego Stars	6
	Alaska Goldpanners	10	San Francisco Seals	4
	Alaska Goldpanners	5	Anchorage Bucs	3
	Alaska Goldpanners	12	Kelowna Grizzlies Kelowna Falcons The Kelowna Falcons are an amateur baseball team located in Kelowna, British Columbia. Formally known as the Kelowna Grizzlies, the club was purchased in and changed its name to the Falcons. They play in the West Coast League, a collegiate summer baseball league...	0
	Alaska Goldpanners	14	Kelowna Grizzlies	7
	Alaska Goldpanners	7	Oceanside Oceanside, California -2010:The 2010 United States Census reported that Oceanside had a population of 167,086. The population density was 3,961.8 people per square mile...  Waves	1
	Alaska Goldpanners	3	Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...  Foresters	2
	Alaska Goldpanners	2	Oceanside Waves	1
	Alaska Goldpanners	2	California Dons	1
	Alaska Goldpanners	3	California Dons	1
	Alaska Goldpanners	9	Peninsula Oilers Peninsula Oilers The Peninsula Oilers are a college summer baseball club in the Alaska Baseball League. The Oilers are based in Kenai, Alaska, and their name refers to the Kenai Peninsula region...	1
	Alaska Goldpanners	3	Omaha Omaha, Nebraska Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...  Strike Zone	1
	Alaska Goldpanners	2	Beatrice Beatrice, Nebraska Beatrice is a city in and the county seat of Gage County, Nebraska.Beatrice is located south of Lincoln on the Big Blue River. It is surrounded by agricultural country. The population was 12,459 at the 2010 census.-History:... Bruins	1
	Oceanside Waves	5	Alaska Goldpanners	1
	Alaska Goldpanners	10	Southern California Running Birds	6
	Alaska Goldpanners	6	Lake Erie Monarchs	3
	Alaska Goldpanners	4	Heroes of the Diamond	3
	Alaska Goldpanners	2	Oceanside Waves	1
	Alaska Goldpanners vs. TBA