Students at the College of Engineering built and installed the public address system that was first tested at a 26-0 victory over Springfield on October 10, 1931 but perfected for the last two home games against Delaware and Lehigh. On October 24, Professor Earl Reed Silvers dictated the Rutgers-Holy Cross game at Worchester, MA to a telegraph operator from the press box. The play-by-play was transmitted, received and then read over the PA system during a Rutgers-Lehigh freshman game being played at Neilson Field. The April 13, 1926 New York Times reported the University of Pennsylvania was installing a public address system at Franklin Field in Philadelphia for use at an upcoming track meet and for football in the fall.
The November 3, 1933 Daily Home News carried this suggestion, “The use of a public address system at Neilson field while a football game is in progress is of great value to the spectators, particularly when the ball is some distance away and it is impossible to tell near what line the ball is resting. Spectators are often confused as to who carried the ball, despite the use of numbers for identification purposes, and the announcer can come to their rescue by calling off the name of the ball carrier.”
The November 3, 1933 Daily Home News carried this suggestion, “The use of a public address system at Neilson field while a football game is in progress is of great value to the spectators, particularly when the ball is some distance away and it is impossible to tell near what line the ball is resting. Spectators are often confused as to who carried the ball, despite the use of numbers for identification purposes, and the announcer can come to their rescue by calling off the name of the ball carrier.”
