A quote from Homer Simpson:

“Fame was like a drug. But what was even more like a drug were the drugs.”

I just got an IM with more information about 10 cent beer night at Cleveland Municipal Stadium.


1) The beer was Stroh’s.

2) A naked man sprinted to second base as Tom Grieve (Rangers) hit his second homer of the game.

3) More fans run onto the field.

4) Mike Hargove (Rangers) was hit by an empty gallon jug of Thunderbird. (How do you sneak that into the stadium?)

5) The game was forfeited in the ninth after every base was stolen.

This game is infamous.

Cleveland Municipal Stadium, 1974

The Promotion: 10-Cent Beer Night. To bring fans to see the miserable Cleveland Indians, management decided to sell 10-ounce cups of beer for only 10 cents at a game against the Texas Rangers.

What went wrong: Management forgot one small detail: drunk people get restless. More than 25,000 fans showed up for the event, most of them already tipsy at the gate. Among the more tame incidents was a woman who flashed the crowd from the on-deck circle, a father-son team mooning the players (good bonding experience, I guess) and fans jumping on the field to meet shake hands with the outfielders. Then, in the bottom of the ninth, the Indians tied the game, but never got a chance to win. Fans started throwing batteries, golf balls, cups and rocks onto the field and one even took the glove of the Rangers right fielder. As the player rushed into the stands to get his glove back, fans starting swarming the field to stop him and threw chairs to block his way.

The Outcome: The Indians were forced to forfeit the game and nine fans were arrested. The AL president forced the franchise to abandon the promotion idea after understating “There was no question that beer played a great part in the affair.”

We’re not done yet. We still have Disco Record Demolition Night (think Frisbees), free baseball night (you know where this one’s going), and free food (vomit) seats.

From Bad ideas in baseball.