Taft High School Press Release - Taft High School Alum Leonard Wislow Donates Permanent Lights for 'Friday Night Lights'

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 27, 2021

William Howard Taft High School, Chicago - Taft High School is looking forward to a return of "Friday Night Lights" on September 3, 2021 when it hosts Grant Community High School in a game that will include a halftime salute to military veterans.

The September 3 game, which starts at 7:30 p.m., will be Taft's third-ever Friday night home varsity football game, although one of those games had limited fans during the abbreviated spring season in 2021. Taft's multi-purpose sports field was installed in 2019 at Taft's Varsity Campus (6530 W Bryn Mawr Ave) with spectator stands but no lights. Prior to the 2019-2020 school year Taft's "home" football games had to be played off-site. Leonard Wislow, a 1966 Taft graduate, sponsored temporary lights for the first ever night game hosted on campus at Taft on September 6, 2019. A crowd of about 2,000 attended the game, during which Taft defeated Gwendolyn Brooks College Prep Academy.

Prior to Mr. Wislow's sponsorship of the temporary lights he also made past donations to Taft's weight room and athletic training room, which are named after him. Additionally, Mr. Wislow donated a grand piano to help mark the opening of the Taft Freshman Academy (4071 N. Oak Park Ave) in 2019. Following the success of the first game under temporary lights, Mr. Wislow and his wife Gaye (Taft class of 1967) donated an additional $300,000.00 for the installation of permanent lights at Taft's multi-purpose sports field.