View source for Ten-Cent Beer Night

{{Short description|1974 Major League Baseball promotion}}
{{Use American English|date=June 2024}}
{{use mdy dates |date=May 2020}}
{{Infobox news event
| title                    = 
| image                    = 
| image_name               = Dossin Great Lakes Museum (3478856847).jpg
| image_size               = 
| caption                  = A [[Stroh Brewery Company|Stroh's]] beer promotion was blamed for the riot
| date                     = June 4, 1974
| time                     = Evening
| place                    = [[Cleveland Stadium]],<br>[[Cleveland|Cleveland, Ohio]], U.S.
| coordinates              = {{Wikidatacoord|Q2403171|region:US-OH_type:event|display=inline,title}}
| also known as            = 
| cause                    = Fan animosity from previous game combined with [[low-point beer]] being sold cheaply and liberally
| first reporter           = 
| filmed by                = 
| participants             = [[Cleveland Indians]] and [[Texas Rangers (baseball)|Texas Rangers]] baseball clubs, several thousand inebriated attendees
| outcome                  = Rangers/Indians game forfeited to Texas
| reported death(s)        = 
| reported injuries        = Various players, officials, and fans (exact count unknown)
| reported missing         = 
| reported property damage = Damage to the field of Cleveland Stadium; bases stolen, never returned
| burial                   = 
| inquiries                = 
| inquest                  = 
| coroner                  = 
| suspects                 = 9 fans arrested
| charges                  = Disorderly conduct
| verdict                  = 
| convictions              = 
| publication bans         = 
| litigation               = 
| website                  = 
}}

'''Ten-Cent Beer Night''' was an ill-fated promotion held by [[Major League Baseball]]'s [[1974 Cleveland Indians season|Cleveland Indians]] during a game against the [[1974 Texas Rangers season|Texas Rangers]] at [[Cleveland Stadium]] in [[Cleveland, Ohio]], U.S., on June 4, 1974. The promotion was meant to improve attendance at the game by offering cups of beer for just 10 cents each ({{Inflation|US|0.1|1974|r=2|fmt=eq|cursign=$}}), a substantial discount on the regular price of 65 cents ({{Inflation|US|0.65|1974|r=2|fmt=eq|cursign=$}}), with a limit of six beers per purchase but no limit on the number of purchases made during the game.

Six days earlier, the Indians and the Rangers had been involved in a widely publicized [[bench-clearing brawl]]; the game therefore drew a rowdy and belligerent crowd. As the game proceeded, on-field incidents and massive alcohol consumption further agitated the crowd, many of whom threw lit [[firecracker]]s, [[Streaking|streaked]] across the playing field, and openly smoked [[marijuana]]. Most sober fans departed early, leaving an increasingly drunk and unruly mob behind. Continued degradation of the game culminated in a riot in the ninth inning when fans [[pitch invasion|rushed the field]]. Players were forced to protect themselves with their [[baseball bat|bats]] while retreating from the field. Chief umpire [[Nestor Chylak]] declared the game to be [[Forfeit (baseball)|forfeited]] in Texas's favor due to the mob's uncontrollable behavior.

==Background==
The Indians had previously held such promotions without incident, beginning with Nickel Beer Day in 1971 ({{Inflation|US|0.05|1971|r=2|fmt=eq|cursign=$}}).<ref>{{cite news |last=Kozloski |first=Hank |date=June 27, 1971 |title=Cleveland Indians Plan Nickel Beer Day in July |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/news-journal-news-journal-mansfield-oh/27330902/ |access-date=2025-05-28 |newspaper=[[Mansfield News Journal]] |location=Cleveland |page=D1 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |quote=Dime Beer Day was a king-size success in Houston's [[Astrodome]]. Then the [[Milwaukee Brewers]] held a Dime Beer Day... Now the Indians are going the Astros and Brewers one better. They're planning a combination Nickel Beer and Helmet Day July 5. That's a Monday afternoon (1:30) single game with the [[Texas Rangers (baseball)#Washington Senators (1961–1971)|Washington Senators]].}}</ref> However, a [[bench-clearing brawl]] during the teams' previous meeting on May 29 at [[Arlington Stadium]] in Texas angered many Indians fans, who then harbored a grudge against the Rangers. The trouble at Arlington began in the bottom of the fourth inning with a [[Base on balls|walk]] to the Rangers' [[Tom Grieve]], followed by a [[Lenny Randle]] [[Single (baseball)|single]]. The next batter hit what should have been a double-play ball to Indians third baseman [[John Lowenstein]]; Lowenstein stepped on third base to retire Grieve and threw the ball to second base for the second out, but Randle disrupted the play with a hard slide into second baseman [[Jack Brohamer]].<ref name=schneider>{{cite news |last=Schneider |first=Russell |title=Rangers top Indians, 3–0 |newspaper=[[The Plain Dealer]] |date=May 30, 1974 |page=1-G |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-plain-dealer-rangers-top-indians-3/148750780/ |via=newspapers.com |accessdate=June 5, 2024}}</ref>

The Indians retaliated in the bottom of the eighth when pitcher [[Milt Wilcox]] threw behind Randle's legs. On the next pitch Randle laid down a drag [[Bunt (baseball)|bunt]]. When Wilcox fielded the ball and approached Randle to tag him out, Randle intentionally veered inside the baseline toward Wilcox and hit him with his forearm before continuing to first base. Indians first baseman [[John Ellis (baseball)|John Ellis]] responded by intercepting and punching Randle before he reached the base, and both benches emptied for a brawl. After the brawl was broken up, as Indians players and coaches returned to the dugout, they were struck by food and beer hurled by Rangers fans; catcher [[Dave Duncan (baseball)|Dave Duncan]] had to be restrained from entering the stands to fight the fans.<ref name=schneider />

The game was not [[Suspended game|suspended]] or [[Forfeit (baseball)|forfeit]]ed, no players from either team were [[Ejection (baseball)|eject]]ed, and the Rangers won, 3–0.<ref>{{Cite web |date=May 29, 1974 |title=Retrosheet Boxscore: Texas Rangers 3, Cleveland Indians 0 |url=https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1974/B05290TEX1974.htm |url-status=live |access-date= |website=[[Retrosheet]] |archive-date=May 30, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210530004659/https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1974/B05290TEX1974.htm}}</ref>

After the game, a Cleveland reporter asked Rangers manager [[Billy Martin]], "Are you going to take your armor to Cleveland?" to which Martin replied, "Naw, they won't have enough fans there to worry about."<ref>{{cite news |last=Braham |first=Jim |date=May 30, 1974 |title=Here's beer in your eye? Could be for Texas' Martin |page=E2 |newspaper=[[The Cleveland Press]]}}</ref> During the week leading up to the teams' next meeting in Cleveland, sports radio talk show host [[Pete Franklin]] and Indians radio announcer [[Joe Tait]] made comments that fueled the fans' animosity toward the Rangers. In addition, ''[[The Plain Dealer]]'' printed a cartoon the day of the game showing [[Chief Wahoo]] holding a pair of [[boxing gloves]] with the caption, "Be ready for anything."<ref>{{cite book |last=Coughlin |first=Dan |title=Crazy, with the Papers to Prove It: Stories About the Most Unusual, Eccentric and Outlandish People I've Known in 45 Years as a Sports Journalist |year=2010 |pages=75–83 |publisher=Gray & Company, Publishers |isbn=978-1-59851-068-3}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-plain-dealer-tribe-eyes-500-mark/148750494/ |title=Tribe eyes .500 mark |first=Russell |last=Schneider |newspaper=[[The Plain Dealer]] |page=1-D |date=June 4, 1974 |accessdate=June 5, 2024 |via=newspapers.com}}</ref>

==The game==
[[File:Cleveland Municipal Stadium (NBY 6450).jpg|thumb|249x249px|The game was played at [[Cleveland Stadium]] (''pictured 1955'').]]

===Problems from the beginning===
Six days after the brawl in Texas, Cleveland's Ten Cent Beer Night promotion drew 25,134 fans to Cleveland Stadium for the Tuesday night game, twice the number expected.<ref>{{cite news |last=Lebovitz |first=Hal |title=Where was the warning? |newspaper=The Plain Dealer |date=June 6, 1974 |page=F1}}</ref> 12-fluid-ounce (355 mL) cups of beer were offered for just 10 cents each, a substantial discount on the regular price of 65 cents, with a limit of six beers per purchase but with no limit on the number of purchases made during the game.<ref name="Lebovitz1">{{cite news |last1=Lebovitz |first1=Hal |date=1974-06-09 |title=10,000 six packs? |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-plain-dealer-10000-six-packs/173301328/ |access-date=2025-05-28 |work=Plain Dealer |page=2C |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> Although the beer intended to be served at the discount price was 3.2% alcohol,<ref name="Lebovitz1"/> regular strength (5%–6%) [[Stroh's (beer)|Stroh's]] beer was also served.<ref name="Netzel-q2">{{cite news |author=Netzel |first=Andy |date=June 2007 |title=The Experience: Swiping Jeff Borroughs' cap on 10-cent Beer Night |work=[[Cleveland Magazine]] |url=https://clevelandmagazine.com/in-the-cle/articles/the-experience-swiping-jeff-borroughs'-cap-on-10-cent-beer-night |access-date=June 6, 2024 |archive-date=September 10, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160910190313/https://clevelandmagazine.com/in-the-cle/articles/the-experience-swiping-jeff-borroughs'-cap-on-10-cent-beer-night |url-status=live|quote=Anyone who wanted beer got beer. I was 19, so I could drink 3.2 beer, but I think they were just serving regular beer.}}</ref><ref name="jackson20080604" />

The Rangers quickly took a 5–1 lead. Meanwhile, throughout the game, the increasingly [[inebriated]] crowd grew more and more unruly. Early in the game, Cleveland's [[Leron Lee]] hit a [[line drive]] into the stomach of Rangers pitcher [[Ferguson Jenkins]], after which Jenkins dropped to the ground. Fans in the upper deck of the stadium cheered, then chanted, "Hit 'em again! Hit 'em again! Harder! Harder!" A woman ran out to the Indians' on-deck circle, [[Exhibitionism|flashed her breasts]], and then tried to kiss umpire [[Nestor Chylak]], who "was not in a kissing mood."<ref name="jackson20080604" /> As the Rangers' Grieve hit his second home run of the game, a [[streaking|naked man sprinted]] to second base and slid in, "probably getting dirt in places unsuitable for speculation", in the words of one sportswriter.<ref name="jackson20080604" /> One inning later, a father-and-son pair ran onto the outfield and [[mooning|mooned]] the fans in the bleachers.

Some fans brought firecrackers to the game which they set off in the stands or lit and threw onto the playing field.<ref name="jackson20080604" /> As the game progressed, more fans ran onto the field and disrupted play. Rangers first baseman [[Mike Hargrove]] was pelted with [[hot dog]]s and spat at, and at one point was nearly struck by an empty gallon jug of [[Thunderbird (wine)|Thunderbird]].<ref name="Ingraham">{{cite book |last1=Ingraham |first1=Jim |title=Mike Hargrove and the Cleveland Indians |date=2019 |publisher=Gray & Company |isbn=9781598511109 |url=https://chroniclet.com/news/179792/it-was-nuts-mike-hargrove-remembers-10-cent-beer-night-in-excerpt-of-new-biography-by-jim-ingraham/}}</ref>

The Rangers argued a call in which Lee was called safe in a close play at third base, spiking Jenkins with his cleats in the process and forcing him to leave the game. The Rangers' angry response to this play provoked an enraged outburst from Cleveland fans, who again began throwing objects onto the field. A fan also threw lighted firecrackers into the Rangers' bullpen.{{r|jackson20080604}} The clouds of firecracker and marijuana smoke further contributed to the unsettling mood.<ref name="jackson20080604" />

By the seventh inning, families and those fans who remained sober had mostly left the ballpark, and the remaining crowd became increasingly intoxicated and belligerent.<ref name="jackson20080604" /> As sportswriter Paul Jackson described in a 2008 article on the event:<ref name="jackson20080604" />
{{Blockquote|text=Early on, the demand for beer surpassed the Indians' capacity to ferry it to concession stands, and a luminary, perhaps the same person who suggested the promotion in the first place, decided to allow fans to line up behind the outfield fences and have their cups filled directly from Stroh's company trucks. The promotion achieved critical mass at that moment, as weaving, hooting queues of people refilled via industrial spigot.|author=}}

In the bottom of the ninth, the Indians managed to rally, tying the game 5–5, and had [[Rusty Torres]] on second base representing the potential winning run. However, with a rowdy crowd that had been drinking heavily for nine innings, the situation finally boiled over.

===The riot===
After the Indians had tied the game, a 19-year-old fan named Terry Yerkic ran onto the field and attempted to steal Texas outfielder [[Jeff Burroughs]]' cap.<ref>{{Cite web |date=June 2, 2014 |title=Remember 10-cent beer night? |url=https://www.espn.com/blog/dallas/texas-rangers/post/_/id/4911791 |url-status=live |website=[[ESPN]] |access-date=August 1, 2019 |archive-date=August 1, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190801005842/https://www.espn.com/blog/dallas/texas-rangers/post/_/id/4911791}}</ref><ref name="Netzel">{{cite news |author=Netzel |first=Andy |date=June 2007 |title=The Experience: Swiping Jeff Borroughs' cap on 10-cent Beer Night |work=[[Cleveland Magazine]] |url=https://clevelandmagazine.com/in-the-cle/articles/the-experience-swiping-jeff-borroughs'-cap-on-10-cent-beer-night |access-date=June 6, 2024 |archive-date=September 10, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160910190313/https://clevelandmagazine.com/in-the-cle/articles/the-experience-swiping-jeff-borroughs'-cap-on-10-cent-beer-night |url-status=live}}</ref> According to Yerkic, he dropped the hat, and as he picked it up, "I looked up, and saw (Burroughs) looking at me, and I said 'Oh, hell.'" Burroughs kicked Yerkic and stumbled in the process. Thinking that Burroughs had been attacked, Texas [[Manager (baseball)|manager]] [[Billy Martin]] and his players ran onto the field, some with bats. A large number of intoxicated fans—some armed with knives, chains, and [[Club (weapon)|clubs]] fashioned from portions of stadium seats they had torn apart—[[Pitch invasion|surged onto the field]], and others hurled bottles from the stands. Two hundred fans surrounded the 25 Rangers, with more fans coming.{{r|jackson20080604}}

Realizing that the Rangers' lives might be in danger, Cleveland manager [[Ken Aspromonte]] ordered his players to grab bats and help the Rangers, attacking the team's own fans in the process. Rioters began throwing steel folding chairs, and Cleveland relief pitcher [[Tom Hilgendorf]] was hit in the head by one of them. The Rangers' Hargrove, after subduing one rioter in a fistfight, had to fight another on his way back to the Texas dugout, while Texas catcher and former Indian [[Duke Sims]] also wound up getting into a fight with a fan. The two teams retreated off the field through the dugouts in groups, with players protecting each other.<ref name="jackson20080604">{{cite web |last=Jackson |first=Paul |date=June 4, 2008 |title=The night beer and violence bubbled over in Cleveland |url=https://www.espn.com/espn/page2/story?page=beernight/080604&sportCat=mlb |url-status=live |access-date=June 8, 2008 |website=[[ESPN]] |publisher= |archive-date=October 17, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081017055146/http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=beernight%2F080604&sportCat=mlb}}</ref>

The teams fled into their clubhouses and closed and locked the doors. The crowd pulled up and stole the bases from the infield. Rioters threw a vast array of objects, including cups, [[Criminal rock throwing|rocks]], bottles, batteries from radios, hot dogs, popcorn containers, and folding chairs. Umpire crew chief Chylak, realizing that order would not be restored in a timely fashion, [[forfeit (baseball)|forfeited]] the game to Texas.<ref name="fctrib">{{cite news |date=June 5, 1974 |title=Fans cost Tribe forfeit to Texas |page=1, part 2 |newspaper=[[Milwaukee Sentinel]] |agency=[[Associated Press]] |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=XMUVAAAAIBAJ&pg=3879%2C815477}}</ref> He, too, was a victim of the rioters, as one struck and cut his head with part of a stadium seat,<ref name="tencentbeernight">{{cite web |title=This Week in Baseball History: Ten Cent Beer Night |url=http://coffeyvillewhirlwind.wordpress.com/2006/06/06/this-week-in-baseball-history-ten-cent-beer-night/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080724122809/http://coffeyvillewhirlwind.wordpress.com/2006/06/06/this-week-in-baseball-history-ten-cent-beer-night/ |archive-date=July 24, 2008 |access-date=July 5, 2011 |website=Coffeyville Whirlwind |date=June 6, 2006 |publisher=}}</ref> and his hand was cut by a thrown rock. He later called the fans "uncontrollable beasts" and stated that he'd never seen anything like what had happened "except in a zoo".<ref>{{cite news |last=O'Connor |first=Ian |date=April 17, 2003 |title=Alcohol puts a damper on fun and games |work=[[USA Today]] |url=https://www.usatoday.com/sports/columnist/oconnor/2003-04-17-ian_x.htm |access-date=May 25, 2010 |archive-date=July 13, 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040713165302/http://www.usatoday.com/sports/columnist/oconnor/2003-04-17-ian_x.htm |url-status=dead}}</ref>

The rioting continued for twenty minutes as [[Joe Tait]] and [[Herb Score]] described the events live on radio. Tait commented, "Aw, this is absolute tragedy." The [[Cleveland Division of Police]] finally arrived to restore order, arresting nine fans. Indians players escorted the Rangers to the team bus.{{r|jackson20080604}} A local sportswriter, Dan Coughlin of the ''Chronicle-Telegram'', attempted to interview fans but was punched in the face twice, though Coughlin later recollected that the drunken punches were so weak, he was barely affected by them.<ref name="jackson20080604" />

Cleveland general manager [[Phil Seghi]] blamed the umpires for losing control of the game. ''[[The Sporting News]]'' wrote that "Seghi's perspective might have been different had he been in Chylak's shoes, in the midst of knife-wielding, bottle-throwing, chair-tossing, fist-swinging drunks".<ref>{{cite book |last=Neyer |first=Rob |url=https://archive.org/details/robneyersbigbook0000neye |title=Rob Neyer's Big Book of Baseball Blunders |publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]] |year=2006 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/robneyersbigbook0000neye/page/175 175–176] |isbn=978-0-7432-8491-2 |url-access=registration}}</ref> American League president [[Lee MacPhail]] commented, "There was no question that beer played a part in the riot."<ref name="tencentbeernight" />

===Box score===
{{Baseballbox
|date = June 4, 1974
|time = 8:05 pm EDT
|team1 = [[Texas Rangers (baseball)|Texas Rangers]]
|score = 5–5
|boxurl = http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1974/B06040CLE1974.htm
|team2 = [[Cleveland Indians]]
|stadium = [[Cleveland Stadium]]
|attendance = 25,134
|umpire = HP: [[Larry McCoy (umpire)|Larry McCoy]]<br>1B: [[Joe Brinkman]]<br>2B: [[Nick Bremigan]]<br>3B: [[Nestor Chylak]] (cc)
}}

==Notable attendees==
Among the Indians players fleeing was outfielder [[Rusty Torres]], who experienced three major-league baseball riots. In addition to this game, he had been with the [[New York Yankees]] at the [[Texas Rangers (baseball)#Washington Senators (1961–1971)|Senators' final game]] in Washington in 1971, and he was later with the [[Chicago White Sox]] during the infamous [[Disco Demolition Night]] in 1979.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Castle |first=George |date=July 11, 2016 |title=New book takes a new spin on historic Disco Demolition night |url=https://chronicleillinois.com/news/cook-county-news/new-book-takes-new-spin-historic-disco-demolition-night/ |url-status=live |access-date=May 14, 2020 |website=Cook County Chronicle |language=en-US |archive-date=June 25, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200625120420/https://chronicleillinois.com/news/cook-county-news/new-book-takes-new-spin-historic-disco-demolition-night/}}</ref>

[[NBC]] newscaster [[Tim Russert]], then a student at the [[Cleveland–Marshall College of Law]], attended the game and later commented, "I went with $2 in my pocket. You do the math."<ref>{{cite web |last=Eaton |first=Sabrina |date=February 23, 2008 |title=Russert returns to Cleveland State for debate |url=http://blog.cleveland.com/openers/2008/02/russert_returns_to_cleveland_s.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090608135526/http://blog.cleveland.com/openers/2008/02/russert_returns_to_cleveland_s.html |archive-date=June 8, 2009 |access-date=July 5, 2011 |work=[[Cleveland.com]] |publisher=Cleveland Live}}</ref>

==Beer Night II==
Cleveland held a second Beer Night promotion on July 18, which was completed without incident, attracting 41,848 fans with beer again selling for 10 cents per cup. This second promotion had a limit of two cups per person at the reduced price, with 200 police officers at the ballpark.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Campbell |first1=W. Joseph |last2=Daniels |first2=Robert |date=July 19, 1974 |title=Sanity reigns at Beer Night II |page=1–A |newspaper=[[The Plain Dealer]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-plain-dealer-sanity-reigns-at-beer-n/148749544/ |via=newspapers.com}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Baseball|History}}
<!--do not include any wikilinks already appearing in the article-->
* [[Bottlegate]], a 2001 [[Cleveland Browns]] game ended early due to unruly fan behavior
* [[Hooliganism]]
* [[List of nicknamed MLB games and plays]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
* {{Cite news |last=Withers |first=Tom |date=June 4, 2024 |title=50 Years Ago, 10-Cent Beers Helped Turn a Cleveland Baseball Game into a Bloody Riot |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/06/04/nation/10-cent-beer-night-anniversary-cleveland-chaos-baseball-game/ |url-access=limited |website=[[The Boston Globe]] |agency=[[Associated Press]] |access-date=June 5, 2024}}
* {{Cite book |last=Jarrett |first=Scott |year=2024 |title=Ten Cent Beer Night: The Complete Guide to the Riot That Helped Save Baseball in Cleveland |publisher=BookBaby |isbn=979-8-35095-510-1 |oclc=1436456072}} Self-published.

==External links==

* {{Baseball game links |mlb=166875 |br=CLE/CLE197406040 |retro=B06040CLE1974 |almanac=197406040CLE}}
{{Sporting fiascos}}
{{Cleveland Indians}}
{{Texas Rangers}}

[[Category:1974 in sports in Ohio]]
[[Category:1974 Major League Baseball season]]
[[Category:1970s in Cleveland]]
[[Category:Alcohol abuse in the United States]]
[[Category:Cleveland Guardians]]
[[Category:Drinking culture]]
[[Category:Hooliganism]]
[[Category:June 1974 sports events in the United States]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball controversies]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball games]]
[[Category:Riots and civil disorder in Cleveland]]
[[Category:Sports riots]]
[[Category:Texas Rangers (baseball)]]