I Went to a Drinking Contest and a Baseball Game Broke Out!

Throughout the annals of baseball history, it’s been generally acceptable for fan unrest to manifest itself when there’s a pennant at stake or at least when a persuasive skipper can inflame the spectators with powerful oration. Take for example the plea that future Hall of Fame manager Casey Stengel gave during a 1927 Toledo game. Stengel was ejected for passionately arguing a close call with the home plate umpire and urged the stadium onlookers to charge the playing field and cause chaos. The umpire escaped safely after a few superficial blows that did not result in serious injury. The game was later resumed and Stengel was suspended.

Other times, riots at baseball games are inspired purely by beer. Lots and lots of beer. The best example of this is the game between the Cleveland Indians and the Texas Rangers that was played on June 4, 1974. Historians of baseball and bloodshed alike colloquially refer to this contest as “Ten Cent Beer Night”.

Low and behold, the origins of this infamous night in baseball history are contained to a similar cheap swill promotion one-week prior. Calculated maneuvers on the behalf of both teams resulted in a bench-clearing brawl and angry Texas fans drunkenly stormed the field and covered the Cleveland players with food and cheap beer.

After this debacle, for some foolish motive, it was decided that the game between the Indians and the Rangers would also be a cheap beer promotion. The Indians stadium management figured that offering bargain basement priced alcohol would significantly augment the contest’s attendance. That’s exactly what occurred: 25,000 fans showed up for this Tuesday evening’s match. The previous Tuesday night game in Cleveland only drew 7,155 fans, a tiny number. Eight ounce cups of Strohl’s would cost a mere ten cents. By ratio, that means of a fifty cent Budweiser at today’s Yankee Stadium! The only logical outcome would involve pandemonium with a small side of baseball.

Management of Municipal Stadium (Cleveland’s home turf) doubled its security force for the game, but it was useless. One gregarious female ran onto the field and flashed her breasts to an Indians player taking practice swings in the on deck circle. A naked gentleman sprinted toward second base when an Indians player hit a home run. A father and son team gained access to the field and mooned fellow fans in bleachers from the outfield. This all occurred before the sixth inning.

Things got much uglier as the game progressed. An Indians player hit a sharp line drive back into gut of the Texas pitcher. Cleveland fans chanted: “Hit 'em again! Hit 'em again! Harder! Harder!" Ranger’s player, Mike Hargrove, was coated with spit and hot dogs and barely circumvented an empty gallon jug of Thunderbird thrown at his head by a drunken fan!

Things really boiled over in the last inning of the game. The fans had nine solid innings of drinking under their belts. A drunken Indians fan attempted to steal the cap of Rangers outfielder, Jeff Boroughs. Boroughs confronted the inebriated fellow and tripped in this process. Thinking Boroughs was attacked, Texas Rangers manager Billy Martin ordered the entire Texas bench to attack the hat thief, some wielding bats. The Rangers soon faced a considerable army of drunken Indians fans that had climbed onto the field carrying an assortment of knives, chains, and stadiums seats that were torn out of the concrete so that they could be used as weaponry. Even the Indians players ran out to defend the Rangers players because of how badly they were being beaten by the fans.

After all was said and done, the field was littered with rocks, cups, batteries, and folding chairs that were torn out of the stadium floor. All of the bases were stolen. An umpire was hit over the head causing a significant wound. The game was eventually called due to the combat.

Seven fans were treated for injuries. Perhaps the craziest fact about Ten Cent Beer Night is that only five fans were arrested for disorderly conduct!