Worst Baseball Decision Ever: 10 Cent Beer Night

[Jobu Voodoo]

Hey, was anybody on this board actually at this game? If so, I'd certainly be interested in hearing more about it. I couldn't believe that this was given the green light to begin with.

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 US fluid ounces (240 ml) cups of beer as the fans could drink for just 10¢ each ($0.47 in 2012 dollars)[1], 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.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_Cent_Beer_Night

[jnakamura]

[Dude Paskert]

Hey, was anybody on this board actually at this game? If so, I'd certainly be interested in hearing more about it. I couldn't believe that this was given the green light to begin with. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_Cent_Beer_Night

I don't think any fans came out of the park alive that night!
Disco Demolition in Chicago was another great idea, destroy the field by blowing up a bunch of records and having morons running all over the place.

[EdTarbusz]

See if you can dig up a 1974 Indians program. They had several 10 cent beer nights planned. The Indians were going to have another one after the riot but MLB shut it down.

[PVNICK]

The ideas that in retrospect seem insane. Imagine if someone got killed or otherwise seriously injured by a patron after the game. Times have changed. I remember a friend whose keychain was a bottle opener.

[Jobu Voodoo]

I don't know if it was an embellishment, but the article did state that people carried knives and nun-chuks onto the field and I couldn't believe it. I guess they let you bring anything to the game back then, because although I can understand how you could conceal and enter a stadium with a knife, including during this day and age, but I don't see how you could conceal and enter a stadium with a pair of nun-chuks - even then.

[EdTarbusz]

I don't know if it was an embellishment, but the article did state that people carried knives and nun-chuks onto the field and I couldn't believe it. I guess they let you bring anything to the game back then, because although I can understand how you could conceal and enter a stadium with a knife, including during this day and age, but I don't see how you could conceal and enter a stadium with a pair of nun-chuks - even then.

In that day and age it would have been easy at Cleveland Stadium, just stick them in your pocket. I can remember walking under the little bridge and seeing guys sticking a full twelve pack in their pants. I don't remember ever seeing anyone getting searched there until the late 80s.

[Spindlebrook]

Rusty Torres had a real facility for being at modern forfeited games.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/bu...Rusty%20Torres

[Cap78]

I don't think any fans came out of the park alive that night!
Disco Demolition in Chicago was another great idea, destroy the field by blowing up a bunch of records and having morons running all over the place.

The best part of Disco Demolition Night was Veeck's response afterward stating that the people who came out to the field that night were not baseball fans...what did you expect man? you did it for publicity and to sell more tickets, which you did...besides, what the hell does disco records have to do with baseball? so my question is, does that not make you a fan? idiot!!!

[Dude Paskert]

The best part of Disco Demolition Night was Veeck's response afterward stating that the people who came out to the field that night were not baseball fans...what did you expect man? you did it for publicity and to sell more tickets, which you did...besides, what the hell does disco records have to do with baseball? so my question is, does that not make you a fan? idiot!!!

Bill Veeck was generally well thought of in Chicago at the time, but, even as a kid, I thought he was too much about promotion and not enough about baseball.
I blame Steve Dahl for most of the chaos, he was a real smug jerk and I'm sure he enjoyed seeing the crowd get out of control and destroy things. I finally turned him off for good when one of the people on his show died during a medical or dental procedure under anesthesia and Dahl mocked him the next day during his radio show. That summed him up in a nutshell for me.