36 years ago today: Infamous Ten Cent Beer Night at Cleveland Stadium

[Auggie]

From wiki:

Ten Cent Beer Night was a promotion held by Major League Baseball's Cleveland Indians during a game against the Texas Rangers at Cleveland Municipal Stadium on June 4, 1974. The idea behind the promotion was to offer as many eight-ounce (237 mL) cups of Stroh's beer as the fans could drink for just 10¢ each, thus increasing ticket sales. Ultimately, the game was forfeited to Texas on the orders of home plate umpire Nestor Chylak because of the crowd's uncontrollable rowdiness, and because the game could not be resumed in a timely manner.

Early in the game, the Rangers took a 5-1 lead. Meanwhile, throughout the contest, the crowd in attendance, which was already heavily inebriated, continually misbehaved. A woman ran out to the Indians' on-deck circle and flashed her breasts, and a naked man sprinted to second base as Grieve hit his second home run of the game. A father and son pair ran onto the outfield and mooned the fans in the bleachers one inning later.

SNIP

In the ninth inning, a fan attempted to steal Texas outfielder Jeff Burroughs' cap. Confronting the fan, Burroughs tripped, and Texas manager Billy Martin, thinking that Burroughs had been attacked, charged onto the field, his players right behind, some wielding bats.

A large number of intoxicated fans – some armed with knives, chains, and portions of stadium seats that they had torn apart – surged onto the field, and others hurled bottles from the stands. WJW-TV producer Tony Lolli then suspended the station's live telecast of the game. Realizing that the Rangers' lives might be in danger, Ken Aspromonte, the Indians' manager, ordered his players to grab bats and help the Rangers. Rioters began throwing steel folding chairs, and Cleveland relief pitcher Tom Hilgendorf was hit in the head by one of them. Hargrove, involved in a fistfight with a rioter, had to fight another on his way back to the Texas dugout.

THE FULL STORY: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_Cent_Beer_Night

I was 17, working late nights as a part-time janitor, and would listen to games on the radio. I never forgot this one.

[joeybee12]

1. Wow...36 years ago was the last time they had a well-behaved crowd at Cleveland?

Is that the point? :evilgrin:

[Auggie]

2. Heh...

no point in particular on my part. Just sharing an ugly and unfortunate little part of sports history.

[joeybee12]

3. I remember this, too...

...although from the next day news.

[HughBeaumont]

4. I was a late 4 years old when this happened.

Think of how nightmarish that would have been to be surrounded by thousands of armed drunks, and you have a baseball bat.

Hargrove would go on to manage the Indians and lead them to the World Series twice. Unfortunately, they never had that one extra ace pitcher or a competent bullpen to take them to the next level.

Not going to go on a tirade about how those two WS were one of THREE Championship appearances by Cleveland teams in 46 YEARS . . . not going to do it . . .

[thatsrightimirish]

5. That's funny

I never heard of that story. Disco Demolition Night was pretty good too.

[MrSlayer]

6. Awesome.

I read about this a long time ago in the Baseball Hall of Shame book. Sounds like it would have been fun to attend.

[rocktivity]

7. Keith Olbermann calling a horse race during Oddball

"The race already in progress...Number eight in yellow charging hard...Down the stretch they come...Wait a minute, what‘s this? It‘s Naked Drunk Guy! Naked Drunk Guy making his move, diving for the finish line. It‘s all over. Naked Drunk Guy pulling up the rear!"
--March 14, 2008

:headbang:
rocktivity

[Swede]

8. Good times.

Beer will flow and blood will spill.

[CanonRay]

9. My wife went to a Nickle Beer Night with her Dad

sometime in the 60's