Ten Cent Beer Night
Encyclopedia
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 8 USoz cups of 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 umpire crew chief Nestor Chylak
because of the crowd's uncontrollable rowdiness, and because the game could not be resumed in a timely manner.
in a Rangers/Indians game one week earlier at Arlington Stadium
in Texas, during a "cheap beer night" held on May 29, 1974 (the last game the teams played before the promotional night).
In Texas, the trouble had started in the bottom of the fourth inning with a walk to the Rangers' Tom Grieve
, followed by a Lenny Randle
single. The next batter hit a double play ball to Indians third baseman John Lowenstein
; he stepped on the third base bag to retire Grieve and threw the ball to second base, but Randle disrupted the play with a hard slide into second baseman Jack Brohamer
.
The Indians retaliated in the bottom of the eighth when pitcher Milt Wilcox
threw behind Randle's head. Randle eventually laid down a bunt. When Wilcox attempted to field it and tag Randle out (which he did successfully), Randle hit him with a forearm. Indians first baseman John Ellis responded by punching Randle, and both benches emptied for a brawl. As Rangers players and coaches emerged from the dugout, they were struck by food and beer hurled by fans. As the intoxicated crowd began to storm the field, WJW-TV, Cleveland's then CBS affiliate, suspended their live telecast of the game.
However, the game was not suspended or forfeited, no players from either team were ejected, and the Rangers won 3-0.
for the Rangers/Indians game. The past season's average attendance had been 8,000.
Early in the game, the Rangers took a 5-1 lead.
Meanwhile, throughout the contest, the crowd in attendance, which was already heavily inebriated, grew more and more unruly. 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. The crowd was further agitated when Cleveland's Leron Lee
hit a line drive into the stomach of Rangers pitcher Ferguson Jenkins
, after which Jenkins dropped to the ground. Fans in the upper deck of Municipal Stadium cheered, then chanted "Hit 'em again! Hit 'em again! Harder! Harder!"
As the game progressed, more fans ran onto the field and caused problems. Ranger Mike Hargrove
(who would manage the Indians and lead them to the World Series 21 years later
) was pelted with hot dog
s and spit, and at one point was nearly struck with an empty gallon jug of Thunderbird.
The Rangers later argued a call in which Lee was called safe in a close play at third base, spiking Jenkins with his cleats in the process and forcing him to leave the game. The Rangers' angry response to this call enraged Cleveland fans, who again began throwing objects onto the field.
In the bottom of the ninth, the Indians managed to rally and tie the game at five runs apiece, and had Rusty Torres
on second base representing the potential winning run. However, with a crowd that had been consuming as much beer as it could for nine innings, the situation finally came to a head.
' cap. Confronting the fan, Burroughs tripped.
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, nunchaku
and portions of stadium seats that they had torn apart – surged onto the field, and others hurled bottles from the stands.
Realizing that the Rangers' lives might be in danger, Ken Aspromonte
, the Indians' manager, ordered his players to grab bats and help the Rangers, attacking the team's own fans in the process. 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.
Among the Indians players suddenly running for their lives was Torres. In his career, Torres wound up seeing three big-league baseball riots close up; he was with the New York Yankees
at the Senators' final game in Washington in 1971 and would be with the Chicago White Sox
during the infamous Disco Demolition Night
in 1979.
The bases were pulled up and stolen (never to be returned) and many rioters threw a vast array of objects including cups, rocks, bottles, batteries from radios, hot dogs, popcorn containers, and folding chairs. As a result, umpire crew chief Nestor Chylak
, realizing that order would not be restored in a timely fashion, forfeited
the game to Texas. He too was a victim of the rioters as one struck him with part of a stadium seat, cutting his head. His hand was also cut by a thrown rock. He later called the fans "uncontrollable beasts" and stated that he'd never seen anything like what had happened, "except in a zoo".
As Joe Tait
and Herb Score
called the riot live on radio, Score mentioned the lack of police protection; a riot squad from the Cleveland Police Department finally arrived to restore order.
Later that season, the team's promotion of three additional beer nights was changed from unlimited amounts to a limit of four cups per person. American League president Lee McPhail commented, "There was no question that beer played a part in the riot."
newscaster Tim Russert
, then a student at the Cleveland–Marshall College of Law, attended the game. "I went with $2 in my pocket," recalled the Meet the Press
host. "You do the math."
Such promotions were banned in the 1963 through 1984 incarnation of the Central Hockey League after a Ten Cent Beer Night during the 1977–78 season caused a bench-clearing brawl and a riot.
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
's Cleveland Indians
1974 Cleveland Indians season
- Offseason :* December 12, 1973: Roger Freed was traded by the Indians to the Cincinnati Reds for Steve Blateric.* March 19, 1974: Walt Williams and Rick Sawyer were traded by the Indians to the New York Yankees as part of a 3-team trade. The Detroit Tigers sent Jim Perry to the Indians. The...
during a game against the Texas Rangers
1974 Texas Rangers season
The Texas Rangers season involved the Rangers finishing second in the American League West with a record of 84 wins and 76 losses . It would be only the second time in franchise history that the club finished over .500 and the first since the club relocated to Arlington, Texas...
at Cleveland Municipal Stadium
Cleveland Stadium
Cleveland Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium, located in Cleveland, Ohio. In its final years, the stadium seated 74,438, for baseball and 81,000, for football. It was one of the early multi-purpose stadiums, built to accommodate both baseball and football...
on June 4, 1974.
The idea behind the promotion was to offer as many 8 USoz cups of beer
Beer
Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
as the fans could drink for just 10¢
Cent (currency)
In many national currencies, the cent is a monetary unit that equals 1⁄100 of the basic monetary unit. Etymologically, the word cent derives from the Latin word "centum" meaning hundred. Cent also refers to a coin which is worth one cent....
each, thus increasing ticket sales.
Ultimately, the game was forfeited
Forfeit (baseball)
In rare cases, baseball games are forfeited, usually in the event when a team is no longer able to play. In the event of forfeiture, the score is recorded as "9 to 0", as per rule 2.00 of the Major League Baseball Rules Book...
to Texas on the orders of umpire crew chief Nestor Chylak
Nestor Chylak
Nestor George Chylak, Jr. was an American umpire in Major League Baseball who worked in the American League from 1954 to 1978.He was born in Olyphant, Pennsylvania of Ukrainian descent, and attended the University of Scranton, where he studied engineering...
because of the crowd's uncontrollable rowdiness, and because the game could not be resumed in a timely manner.
Background
The game had a special significance for both teams, as there had been a bench-clearing brawlBench-clearing brawl
A bench-clearing brawl, sometimes known as a basebrawl or a rhubarb, is a form of ritualistic fighting that occurs in sports, most notably baseball and ice hockey, in which every player on both teams leave their dugouts, bullpens, or benches and charge the playing area in order to fight one...
in a Rangers/Indians game one week earlier at Arlington Stadium
Arlington Stadium
Arlington Stadium was a baseball stadium located in Arlington, Texas, United States, located between Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. It served as the home for the Texas Rangers from 1972 until 1993, when the team moved into The Ballpark in Arlington .-1960s:The stadium was built in 1965 as Turnpike...
in Texas, during a "cheap beer night" held on May 29, 1974 (the last game the teams played before the promotional night).
In Texas, the trouble had started in the bottom of the fourth inning with a walk to the Rangers' Tom Grieve
Tom Grieve
Thomas Alan Grieve was a Major League Baseball player from 1970-1979 for the Washington Senators, Texas Rangers, New York Mets and St. Louis Cardinals...
, followed by a Lenny Randle
Lenny Randle
Leonard Shenoff Randle is a former Major League Baseball player. He was the first-round pick of the Washington Senators in the secondary phase of the June 1970 Major League Baseball Draft, tenth overall.-Early years:...
single. The next batter hit a double play ball to Indians third baseman John Lowenstein
John Lowenstein
John Lee Lowenstein , is a former professional baseball player who played Major League Baseball primarily as an outfielder from to...
; he stepped on the third base bag to retire Grieve and threw the ball to second base, but Randle disrupted the play with a hard slide into second baseman Jack Brohamer
Jack Brohamer
John Anthony Brohamer, Jr. was a Major League Baseball second baseman from to . On September 24, , Brohamer hit for the cycle.-External links:...
.
The Indians retaliated in the bottom of the eighth when pitcher Milt Wilcox
Milt Wilcox
Milton Edward Wilcox was a pitcher who had a sixteen-year career from 1970 to 1975, 1977–1986. He played for the Cincinnati Reds and Chicago Cubs of the National League and the Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers and Seattle Mariners of the American League...
threw behind Randle's head. Randle eventually laid down a bunt. When Wilcox attempted to field it and tag Randle out (which he did successfully), Randle hit him with a forearm. Indians first baseman John Ellis responded by punching Randle, and both benches emptied for a brawl. As Rangers players and coaches emerged from the dugout, they were struck by food and beer hurled by fans. As the intoxicated crowd began to storm the field, WJW-TV, Cleveland's then CBS affiliate, suspended their live telecast of the game.
However, the game was not suspended or forfeited, no players from either team were ejected, and the Rangers won 3-0.
The game
Six days later, Cleveland's Ten Cent Beer Night promotion enticed 25,134 fans to come to Municipal StadiumCleveland Stadium
Cleveland Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium, located in Cleveland, Ohio. In its final years, the stadium seated 74,438, for baseball and 81,000, for football. It was one of the early multi-purpose stadiums, built to accommodate both baseball and football...
for the Rangers/Indians game. The past season's average attendance had been 8,000.
Early in the game, the Rangers took a 5-1 lead.
Meanwhile, throughout the contest, the crowd in attendance, which was already heavily inebriated, grew more and more unruly. A woman ran out to the Indians' on-deck circle and flashed her breasts
Exhibitionism
Exhibitionism refers to a desire or compulsion to expose parts of one's body – specifically the genitals or buttocks of a man or woman, or the breasts of a woman – in a public or semi-public circumstance, in crowds or groups of friends or acquaintances, or to strangers...
, and a naked man sprinted
Streaking
Streaking is the act of running nude through a public place.-History:On 5 July 1799, a Friday evening at 7 o'clock, a naked man was arrested at the Mansion House, London, and sent to the Poultry Compter...
to second base as Grieve hit his second home run of the game. A father and son pair ran onto the outfield and mooned
Mooning
Mooning is the act of displaying one's bare buttocks by removing clothing, e.g., by lowering the backside of one's trousers and underpants, usually bending over, whether also exposing the genitals or not...
the fans in the bleachers one inning later. The crowd was further agitated when Cleveland's Leron Lee
Leron Lee
Leron Lee is a former left fielder in Major League Baseball who played 8 seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals, Los Angeles Dodgers, Cleveland Indians and San Diego Padres....
hit a line drive into the stomach of Rangers pitcher Ferguson Jenkins
Ferguson Jenkins
Ferguson Arthur "Fergie" Jenkins, CM, is a Canadian former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He was a three-time All-Star and the 1971 NL Cy Young Award winner. In 1991, Jenkins was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. During a 19-year career, he pitched for four different teams,...
, after which Jenkins dropped to the ground. Fans in the upper deck of Municipal Stadium cheered, then chanted "Hit 'em again! Hit 'em again! Harder! Harder!"
As the game progressed, more fans ran onto the field and caused problems. Ranger Mike Hargrove
Mike Hargrove
Dudley Michael Hargrove is a former Major League Baseball first baseman and manager. He is currently employed as an advisor with the Cleveland Indians....
(who would manage the Indians and lead them to the World Series 21 years later
1995 World Series
-Game 1:Saturday, October 21, 1995 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta, GeorgiaAtlanta ace Greg Maddux pitched a two-hit complete game victory in his first World Series appearance ....
) was pelted with hot dog
Hot dog
A hot dog is a sausage served in a sliced bun. It is very often garnished with mustard, ketchup, onions, mayonnaise, relish and/or sauerkraut.-History:...
s and spit, and at one point was nearly struck with an empty gallon jug of Thunderbird.
The Rangers later argued a call in which Lee was called safe in a close play at third base, spiking Jenkins with his cleats in the process and forcing him to leave the game. The Rangers' angry response to this call enraged Cleveland fans, who again began throwing objects onto the field.
In the bottom of the ninth, the Indians managed to rally and tie the game at five runs apiece, and had Rusty Torres
Rusty Torres
Rosando "Rusty" Torres Hernández is a former professional baseball outfielder. He played all or part of nine season in Major League Baseball for five different teams...
on second base representing the potential winning run. However, with a crowd that had been consuming as much beer as it could for nine innings, the situation finally came to a head.
The riot
After the Indians had managed to tie the game, a fan ran onto the field and attempted to steal Texas outfielder Jeff BurroughsJeff Burroughs
Jeffrey Alan Burroughs is a former player in Major League Baseball. From through , he played for the Washington Senators , Texas Rangers , Atlanta Braves , Seattle Mariners , Oakland Athletics and Toronto Blue Jays . Burroughs batted and threw right-handed...
' cap. Confronting the fan, Burroughs tripped.
Texas manager
Manager (baseball)
In baseball, the field manager is an individual who is responsible for matters of team strategy on the field and team leadership. Managers are typically assisted by between one and six assistant coaches, whose responsibilities are specialized...
Billy Martin
Billy Martin
Alfred Manuel "Billy" Martin, Jr. was an American Major League Baseball second baseman and manager. He is best known as the manager of the New York Yankees, a position he held five different times...
, 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, nunchaku
Nunchaku
is a traditional Okinawan weapon consisting of two sticks connected at their ends with a short chain or rope.-Etymology:The Japanese word nunchaku is the Kun'yomi reading of the Kanji term for a traditional Chinese two section staff....
and portions of stadium seats that they had torn apart – surged onto the field, and others hurled bottles from the stands.
Realizing that the Rangers' lives might be in danger, Ken Aspromonte
Ken Aspromonte
Kenneth Joseph Aspromonte is a former second baseman and manager in Major League Baseball who had a seven-year career from 1957 to 1963. He played for the Boston Red Sox, Washington Senators, Cleveland Indians, and Los Angeles Angels of the American League, and the Milwaukee Braves and Chicago...
, the Indians' manager, ordered his players to grab bats and help the Rangers, attacking the team's own fans in the process. Rioters began throwing steel folding chairs, and Cleveland relief pitcher Tom Hilgendorf
Tom Hilgendorf
Thomas Eugene Hilgendorf is a retired American professional baseball player. He was a Major League relief pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals, Cleveland Indians and Philadelphia Phillies in 1969–1970 and 1972–1975....
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.
Among the Indians players suddenly running for their lives was Torres. In his career, Torres wound up seeing three big-league baseball riots close up; he was with the New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
at the Senators' final game in Washington in 1971 and would be with the Chicago White Sox
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois.The White Sox play in the American League's Central Division. Since , the White Sox have played in U.S. Cellular Field, which was originally called New Comiskey Park and nicknamed The Cell by local fans...
during the infamous Disco Demolition Night
Disco Demolition Night
Disco Demolition Night was a promotional event that took place on Thursday, July 12, 1979, at Comiskey Park in Chicago, Illinois, during which a crate filled with disco records was blown up on the field. It was held during the twi-night doubleheader baseball game between the Chicago White Sox and...
in 1979.
The bases were pulled up and stolen (never to be returned) and many rioters threw a vast array of objects including cups, rocks, bottles, batteries from radios, hot dogs, popcorn containers, and folding chairs. As a result, umpire crew chief Nestor Chylak
Nestor Chylak
Nestor George Chylak, Jr. was an American umpire in Major League Baseball who worked in the American League from 1954 to 1978.He was born in Olyphant, Pennsylvania of Ukrainian descent, and attended the University of Scranton, where he studied engineering...
, realizing that order would not be restored in a timely fashion, forfeited
Forfeit (baseball)
In rare cases, baseball games are forfeited, usually in the event when a team is no longer able to play. In the event of forfeiture, the score is recorded as "9 to 0", as per rule 2.00 of the Major League Baseball Rules Book...
the game to Texas. He too was a victim of the rioters as one struck him with part of a stadium seat, cutting his head. His hand was also cut by a thrown rock. He later called the fans "uncontrollable beasts" and stated that he'd never seen anything like what had happened, "except in a zoo".
As Joe Tait
Joe Tait
Joseph "Joe" Tait is an American sports broadcaster, who called the radio play by play for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the NBA. With the exception of two seasons in the early 1980s and illness in 2010-11, he has been the Cavaliers' radio announcer since the team's inception in 1970...
and Herb Score
Herb Score
Herbert Jude Score was a Major League Baseball pitcher and announcer.-Athletic career:Score came up as a rookie in with the Cleveland Indians...
called the riot live on radio, Score mentioned the lack of police protection; a riot squad from the Cleveland Police Department finally arrived to restore order.
Later that season, the team's promotion of three additional beer nights was changed from unlimited amounts to a limit of four cups per person. American League president Lee McPhail commented, "There was no question that beer played a part in the riot."
Box score
Notable attendees
NBCNBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
newscaster Tim Russert
Tim Russert
Timothy John "Tim" Russert was an American television journalist and lawyer who appeared for more than 16 years as the longest-serving moderator of NBC's Meet the Press. He was a senior vice president at NBC News, Washington bureau chief and also hosted the eponymous CNBC/MSNBC weekend interview...
, then a student at the Cleveland–Marshall College of Law, attended the game. "I went with $2 in my pocket," recalled the Meet the Press
Meet the Press
Meet the Press is a weekly American television news/interview program produced by NBC. It is the longest-running television series in American broadcasting history, despite bearing little resemblance to the original format of the program seen in its television debut on November 6, 1947. It has been...
host. "You do the math."
In other locations
In 1976, the Milwaukee Brewers held a Ten Cent Beer Night; there was no disruption to the game, but incidents of disorderly behavior in the stands led the Brewers to limit quantities of discounted beer when the promotion was repeated the following year.Such promotions were banned in the 1963 through 1984 incarnation of the Central Hockey League after a Ten Cent Beer Night during the 1977–78 season caused a bench-clearing brawl and a riot.
See also
- Bounty BowlBounty BowlThe Bounty Bowl was the name given to two notorious NFL games held in 1989 between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Dallas Cowboys. The first, the 1989 Thanksgiving Classic game in Dallas was most noted for allegations that the Philadelphia Eagles put a $200 bounty on Dallas Cowboys kicker Luis...
- Disco Demolition NightDisco Demolition NightDisco Demolition Night was a promotional event that took place on Thursday, July 12, 1979, at Comiskey Park in Chicago, Illinois, during which a crate filled with disco records was blown up on the field. It was held during the twi-night doubleheader baseball game between the Chicago White Sox and...
- Forfeit (baseball)Forfeit (baseball)In rare cases, baseball games are forfeited, usually in the event when a team is no longer able to play. In the event of forfeiture, the score is recorded as "9 to 0", as per rule 2.00 of the Major League Baseball Rules Book...
for a list of similar events
External links
- Box Score and play-by-play at RetrosheetRetrosheetRetrosheet is a non-profit organization whose website features major league baseball box scores and play-by-play narratives for almost every contest from 1871–1872, 1874, 1911 NL, and 1918–2010...
- USA Today Article
- Other Article
- "The night beer and violence bubbled over in Cleveland"