A Walk Down Memory Lane: 10¢ Beer Night

[HD MM]

June 4, 1974

We're approaching the 36th anniversary of 10¢ Beer Night at the old Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Unfortunately, this was before my time. Anyone have any memories? Here's the basic history.....

Ten Cent Beer Night was a promotion held during a game between the Cleveland Indians and the Texas Rangers at Cleveland Municipal Stadium on June 4, 1974. The idea behind the promotion was to offer as many eight-ounce cups of Stroh's beer as the fans could drink for just 10¢ each, thus increasing ticket sales.

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. Ken Aspromonte, the Indians' manager, ordered his players to grab bats and help the Rangers.

The bases were pulled up and stolen 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 later called the fans "uncontrollable beasts" and stated that he'd never seen anything like what had happened, "except in a zoo".

A riot squad from the Cleveland Police Department finally arrived to restore order.

The 25,134 fans in attendance (the past season's average attendance had been 8,000) chugged down an estimated 60,000 cups of beer.

 

[cosmo_kramer]

There's some pretty interesting details here:

[ame="http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=beernight/080604"]Page 2: Remembering 10-Cent Beer Night - ESPN Page 2[/ame]

 

[BillD1984]

Anyone remember Disco Demolition Night at the old Comiskey Park in the late '70's?

 

[Ramy]

This was One month before I was born.

 

[The Insider]

We have Nickel Beer night at the Big Belly in downtown every Wednesday.. I guess we just have enough class not to cause a riot

 

[SabresRule]

If ESPN and message boards had been around back then, I can't imagine what the coverage and rwxtion would have been like. I think it might have been covered like Malice At The Palace.)

 

[riffjim4069]

June 4, 1974

We're approaching the 36th anniversary of 10¢ Beer Night at the old Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Unfortunately, this was before my time. Anyone have any memories? Here's the basic history.....

Ten Cent Beer Night was a promotion held during a game between the Cleveland Indians and the Texas Rangers at Cleveland Municipal Stadium on June 4, 1974. The idea behind the promotion was to offer as many eight-ounce cups of Stroh's beer as the fans could drink for just 10¢ each, thus increasing ticket sales.

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. Ken Aspromonte, the Indians' manager, ordered his players to grab bats and help the Rangers.

The bases were pulled up and stolen 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 later called the fans "uncontrollable beasts" and stated that he'd never seen anything like what had happened, "except in a zoo".

A riot squad from the Cleveland Police Department finally arrived to restore order.

The 25,134 fans in attendance (the past season's average attendance had been 8,000) chugged down an estimated 60,000 cups of beer.

I remember this story in the news although I was only 11-years old at the time. To be honest, this doesn't sound much worse than a normal baseball or football in Philadephia...whose fans are always chemically imbibed and missing more than a few million brain cells. Anyway, I'll betcha this was the last 10 cent beer night in Cleveland.

 

[mccoyrj]

June 4, 1974

We're approaching the 36th anniversary of 10¢ Beer Night at the old Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Unfortunately, this was before my time. Anyone have any memories? Here's the basic history.....

Ten Cent Beer Night was a promotion held during a game between the Cleveland Indians and the Texas Rangers at Cleveland Municipal Stadium on June 4, 1974. The idea behind the promotion was to offer as many eight-ounce cups of Stroh's beer as the fans could drink for just 10¢ each, thus increasing ticket sales.

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. Ken Aspromonte, the Indians' manager, ordered his players to grab bats and help the Rangers.

The bases were pulled up and stolen 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 later called the fans "uncontrollable beasts" and stated that he'd never seen anything like what had happened, "except in a zoo".

A riot squad from the Cleveland Police Department finally arrived to restore order.

The 25,134 fans in attendance (the past season's average attendance had been 8,000) chugged down an estimated 60,000 cups of beer.

You yanks and your alcohol tolerance. LOL!

 

[mdonnelly]

I remember the riot story. Unfortunately, I was overseas in Greece at the time, so all we had was AFRTS and Stars & Stripes to tell the story. I had forgotten that Bill Martin was with the Rangers at the time. I wonder if he had some of those 10¢ beers?

The only was it could have been worse is if it was 10¢ beer night and free bat night too.

 

[meathead76]

You yanks and your alcohol tolerance. LOL!

an LSU fan talking about someone else being drunk





Tiger fans practically invented intoxication

 

[Claude Greiner]

Here is disco demolition...

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o98PcPvS-54]YouTube - Disco Demolition - Thirty Years Ago![/ame]

 

[Paul Wozniak]

Since Stroh's left Detroit, a dime is all I would give you for that swill.

It's a Detroit thing.

 

[Will94]

Back in the 70s, the Astros had a promotion called foamers. There was a red light in the outfield scoreboard. If the Astros hit a home run when the light was on, there was free beer for the rest of the inning. Now, at the time, the power alleys in the Astrodome were 390' and the A/C blew in.

I was a little kid, but I can remember the stands emptying when this happened. They gave out beer in those 8 oz keg cups. As soon as the fans got their free beer, they went right back to the end of the line.

Here is an ad that I found for "Foamer night."

 

[twiseguy]

I was at that game. We were sitting in the upper deck in steel folding chairs that were being used because the new plastic chairs hadn`t been installed yet. (These would have been primo Browns seats, but just outfield baseball seats.) I remember all the fans running around, the firecrackers, LOADS of beer for all, and when things went crazy in the 9th inning, fans were actually throwing the steel folding chairs over the railing of the upper deck. It was nuts. Scary too. The cops had no chance. It`s amazing nobody was killed. And If my memory serves me well, the Indians had 25 cent beer night the following season (without all the shenanigans)

 

[HD MM]

A minor-league club near me has $1 beer nights in the summer. That's probably the equivalent to 10¢ with inflation from 1974.

 

[pro96]

Twas June 4th, 1974 in Cleveland when...

Today, June 4, is the 36th anniversary of the drunkest night in sports history—Ten-Cent Beer Night at Municipal Stadium in Cleveland. What better way to celebrate than getting absolutely blitzed on some cheap Stroh's?

For those of you too young to remember the 1970s (lucky you), on a night much like tonight in 1974, the Indians hosted the Rangers with a special beer promotion that drew 25,000 fans, or roughly three times the average attendance, to the ball yard. Eight ounces of tasty, tasty Stroh's for just one thin dime. Can you paint the picture in your head?

The teams were not the best of friends (they had brawled in Texas a week earlier) and things got a little heated late in the game—a game that featured multiple streakers, mooners, and hot dog throwers. The event even has its own Wikipedia page, which helpfully explains.

The ugliness escalated when Cleveland's Leron Lee hit a line drive into the stomach of Rangers pitcher Ferguson Jenkins, after which Jenkins dropped to the ground. The 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 dogs and spit, and at one point was nearly struck with an empty gallon jug of Thunderbird.

Citation needed! Things came to a frosty head in the ninth when a fan tried to steal Texas outfielder Jeff Burroughs' hat. Burroughs tripped and fell down, his teammates thought he was under attack and charged out of the dugout with bats. (Yes, Billy Martin was involved.) A full-fledged riot ensued, players were hit with bottles, chairs, fists, and eventually Cleveland had to forfeit. The local station broadcasting the game showed a tremendous lack of foresight into the coming YouTube age and switched off the live broadcast as soon as it turned ugly