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Mr. Ed -> RE: MLB General Information PT 4 (6/4/2014 2:53:21 PM)
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Today marks the 40th anniversary of Ten-Cent Beer Night at Municipal Stadium in Cleveland. And yes, it’s exactly as it sounds. Ten ounces of Stoh’s beer for ten cents. The promotion famously went awry as fans stormed the field and the umpires ruled the game a forfeit after five innings. Ron Fimrite wrote about the game in the June 17, 1974 issue of SI:
“At first, they were merely capricious, fools clowning in the stands, spilling onto the playing field to gambol on the forbidden turf like rebellious children. There were streakers, naturally, and a woman who attempted to embrace Home Plate Umpire Larry McCoy, and teen-agers sprinting across the outfield. They created irritating delays in the game between the Cleveland Indians and the visiting Texas Rangers but, in the beginning, at least, they seemed manageable.
Some difficulty had been anticipated, for beer at Cleveland’s Municipal Stadium on the night of June 4 was selling at 10 cents a cup, and of the 25,134 “Beer Night” celebrants, a few would obviously be attending the ball game in quest of a cheap high. The stadium security force was, therefore, beefed up from a normal 32 men to 48, just in case.
As the night wore on and the beer took hold, more than a few fans turned ugly. They dropped firecrackers near the Rangers’ bullpen and suspended others on strings into the Ranger dugout. They tossed cherry bombs onto the field and poured beer on the Rangers as they returned to their bench. In the ninth inning, after the Indians, who had been trailing by two runs, had rallied dramatically to tie the score at 5-5, dozens of rowdy fans jumped onto the outfield, belligerent, spoiling for trouble.”
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