Ten Cent Beer Night

On June 4, 1974, the Cleveland Indians offered fans beer for 10 cents a cup. Six days earlier, the Indians and Texas Rangers had brawled during a game in Arlington. Rangers manager Billy Martin, asked if he was worried about retaliation when the teams met in Cleveland, said, "Naw, they won't have enough fans there to worry about."

Cleveland sports radio host Pete Franklin spent the entire week whipping fans into a frenzy. The Indians' front office added fuel by scheduling their 10-cent beer promotion for the very game Texas came to town. Twelve-ounce cups of Stroh's were available at the concession stands, with a limit of six per purchase, but no limit on how many times you could go back. The beer intended for the promotion was 3.2% alcohol, but regular-strength Stroh's was also served. An estimated 60,000 cups of beer were consumed.

The crowd of 25,134 was nearly double what a Tuesday night game normally drew. Things went wrong immediately. In the second inning, a woman ran onto the field, lifted her shirt, and tried to kiss home plate umpire Nestor Chylak. In the fourth, a naked man ran onto the field and slid into second base. One inning later, a father and son leapt from the stands and mooned the crowd. Fans threw firecrackers, batteries, golf balls, and rocks onto the field throughout the game. Marijuana smoke drifted through the stands.

The Indians trailed 5-1 but mounted a comeback, tying the game 5-5 in the bottom of the ninth with two runners on base. It was at that moment, with Cleveland poised to win, that roughly 200 fans stormed the field.

What followed was a full-scale riot. Fans attacked Texas right fielder Jeff Burroughs. Rangers players grabbed bats and charged out of the dugout to rescue their teammate. Then the Indians players did something nobody expected. They grabbed their own bats and ran out to help the Rangers. The two teams, bitter rivals who had brawled six days earlier, fought side by side against the mob.

Fans threw steel folding chairs. Cleveland relief pitcher Tom Hilgendorf was hit in the head by one. Umpire Chylak was struck by a chair and cut by a thrown rock. Knives were flashed. The stadium security force of 50 officers was overwhelmed. Twenty additional police cars responded.

Chylak declared the game forfeited to Texas. "They were uncontrolled beasts," he told reporters afterward. "I've never seen anything like it, except in a zoo."

Martin, the man whose taunt had helped ignite the atmosphere, praised the Indians players. "I am very proud of the Cleveland players," he said. "They saved our lives."

The Indians held another 10-cent beer night six weeks later. With proper crowd controls and a limit enforced by coupons, it went off without incident.