Friday

Cheap Beer and Disco

Quiz: How many people were in Cleveland Stadium for 10-cent beer night, back in 1974, when things went to hell in a handbasket?

Answer: 746,335.

That, according to this web comment: "All I know is -- if all of the people who claim to have been at the 10 cent Beer night were actually there, then there were roughly 746,335 people in the Stadium that night."

For those unacquainted with perhaps the most infamous night in baseball history, the story is here. Excerpt:

"It wasn't a big crowd. It was 25,000 in a stadium that holds 84,000. But I was surprised at how many underage kids were there drinking 10 beers for a dollar. The game started out funny as could be and then got scary."

The scary part came in the ninth inning with the game tied 5-5. Some kids jumped onto the field to shake the hand of Rangers right fielder Jeff Burroughs. One of them stole his cap and took off running. He chased the kid, slipped and fell. Players in the Rangers dugout thought he had been knocked down. Billy Martin led the charge on the Field, with his team carrying bats.

Then all hell broke loose. The Indians charged the field, too, to protect their opponents from their fans.

Here's another infamous night in baseball history. Also from the 1970s. Coincidence? Hardly:

I watched the entire thing as it happened. The White Sox were playing the Tigers. I was in eighth grade, and I didn't miss too many games back then.