Midnight Sun Game is an amateur baseball game played every summer solstice at Growden Memorial Park in Fairbanks, Alaska, United States. Because the sun 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. However, because Fairbanks's summer time zone differs by about an hour from local solar time, coupled with the state's observance of daylight saving time, the game may not actually last until solar midnight, at about 1:53. If the summer solstice lands on a Saturday, the game is moved to the Friday night before to avoid competition with other Midnight Sun-related celebrations in Fairbanks that occur on the Saturday nearest the solstice. Famous players who have appeared in the game include Tom Seaver, Dave Winfield, Terry Francona, Harold Reynolds, Jason Giambi, and Bill "Spaceman" Lee.
After Noel Wien's arrival in 1924, he noted, "The baseball team played on weekends, and on June 21 and July 4 they always started a game at midnight sharp, just to indicate that this was the farthest city in the country."
The first game was in 1906. It was established by Eddie Stroecker, according to legend as part of a friendly wager; it was also conceived as a promotional gambit to bring people to Fairbanks. Artificial light has never been used; Growden Memorial Park has lights but has not turned them on for any purpose since 2003. The sun does dip below the horizon for about an hour. Since 1960, the game has been hosted by the Alaska Goldpanners, a collegiate summer baseball team based in Fairbanks that had been established the same year. As the Goldpanners have been without a league since leaving the Alaska Baseball League in 2015, the opponent has typically been picked from other collegiate summer teams from anywhere in the United States.
In 2020, the Goldpanners pulled out of the contest due to the COVID-19 pandemic; the game went on, with a local American Legion Baseball squad and the local Town Team Baseball squad agreeing to play the game in the Goldpanners' stead. The same game narrowly avoided what would have been the only rainout in the game's history. For 2021, the game expanded into a Midnight Sun Tournament, with a doubleheader consisting of the final of the American Legion Baseball tournament leading into the Goldpanners' Midnight Sun Game.
In 2026, in response to overwhelming demand for tickets, the Goldpanners set up a watch party in the ballpark parking lot with a Jumbotron displaying a live feed of the game to those who could not acquire tickets.
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. The Goldpanners are 49-15 all-time in Midnight Sun Games.
Date Winning team Losing team Notes Military All-Stars 4Civilian All-Stars 0 Civilian All-Stars xMilitary All-Stars x No score available Civilian All-Stars 6Military All-Stars 2 Civilian All-Stars 5Military All-Stars 0 Civilian All-Stars 12Military All-Stars 8 Civilian All-Stars xMilitary All-Stars x No score available Sportland 6Air Force All-Stars 0 Sportland Bees 5Ladd Special Units 3 Alaska Sales and Service 16Fairbanks 6 Pan-Alaska Goldpanners 11Fairbanks Pioneers 0 Pan-Alaska Goldpanners 10North of the Range Military All-Stars 4 Pan-Alaska Goldpanners 8North of the Range Military All-Stars 3 Wichita Rapid Transit Dreamliners 3Alaska Goldpanners 1 Grand Junction Eagles 10Alaska Goldpanners 5 Alaska Goldpanners 4USC Trojans 3 Alaska Goldpanners 8Oregon State Beavers 3 Kumagai Gumi 10Alaska Goldpanners 3 Alaska Goldpanners 7Santa Clara Broncos 0 Boulder Baseline Collegians 5Alaska Goldpanners 2 Arizona Wildcats 4Alaska Goldpanners 3 Alaska Goldpanners 12Stanford Indians 3 Ponchatoula Athletics 5Alaska Goldpanners 4 BYU Cougars 8Alaska Goldpanners 5 Alaska Goldpanners 7Washington State Cougars 6 Alaska Goldpanners 4Vanderbilt Commodores 3 Alaska Goldpanners 6Westwood Bruins 4 Alaska Goldpanners 12Red Deer M&K Generals 11 Wichita El Dorado Coors 10Alaska Goldpanners 1 Alaska Goldpanners 8North Carolina Tar Heels 2 Alaska Goldpanners 16Wisconsin Badgers 5 Alaska Goldpanners 11Intermountain Badgers 4 Alaska Goldpanners 9San Francisco Senators 3 Alaska Goldpanners 7Anchorage Bucs 2 Alaska Goldpanners 9Chinese Taipei 0Moraga Marauders 12Alaska Goldpanners 11Alaska Goldpanners 8San Francisco Senators 1 Mat-Su Miners 2Alaska Goldpanners 1 Alaska Goldpanners 6Hawaii Island Movers 5 Alaska Goldpanners 7San Diego SeaWorld Killer Whales 3 Alaska Goldpanners 12San Bernardino Tribe 3 Alaska Goldpanners 9South Lake Tahoe Stars 8 Victor Valley Mets 2Alaska Goldpanners 1 Alaska Goldpanners 10South Lake Tahoe Stars 4 Alaska Goldpanners 15San Diego Stars 6 Alaska Goldpanners 10San Francisco Seals 4 Alaska Goldpanners 5Anchorage Bucs 3 Alaska Goldpanners 12Kelowna Grizzlies 0 Alaska Goldpanners 14Kelowna Grizzlies 7 Alaska Goldpanners 7Oceanside Waves 1 Alaska Goldpanners 3Santa Barbara Foresters 2 Alaska Goldpanners 2Oceanside Waves 1 Alaska Goldpanners 2California Dons 1 Alaska Goldpanners 3California Dons 1 Alaska Goldpanners 9Peninsula Oilers 1 Alaska Goldpanners 3Omaha Strike Zone 1 Alaska Goldpanners 2Beatrice Bruins 1 Oceanside Waves 5Alaska Goldpanners 1 Alaska Goldpanners 10Southern California Running Birds 6 Alaska Goldpanners 6Lake Erie Monarchs 3 Alaska Goldpanners 4Heroes of the Diamond 3Alaska Goldpanners 2Oceanside Waves 1 Alaska Goldpanners 7Everett Merchants 5 Alaska Goldpanners 4San Francisco Seals 1 Alaska Goldpanners 13Lake Erie Monarchs 6 Alaska Goldpanners 7Seattle Studs 4 Alaska Goldpanners 9Kenai Peninsula Oilers 2 San Diego Waves 4Alaska Goldpanners 2 Alaska Goldpanners 6Orange County Surf 4 Seattle Studs 5Alaska Goldpanners 4 Eielson Brewers 15Black Spruce Pirates 13Alaska Goldpanners 3Everett Merchants 0Alaska Goldpanners 10San Diego Waves 9Alaska Goldpanners 5Michigan Monarchs 1 Alaska Goldpanners 10Seattle Studs 4 Anchorage Glacier Pilots 7Alaska Goldpanners 2June 19, 2026Utah Yaks5Alaska Goldpanners3
References
External links