Ten Cent Beer Night

“Ten Cent Beer Night was a promotion held by Major League Baseball‘s Cleveland Indians during a game against the Texas Rangers at Cleveland Stadium on June 4, 1974. The promotion was meant to improve attendance at the game by offering cups of low-alcohol beer for just 10 cents each (equivalent to $0.62 in 2023), a substantial discount on the regular price of 65 cents (equivalent to $4.02 in 2023), with a limit of six beers per purchase but with 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 audience, many of whom threw lit firecrackers, 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 rushed the field. Players were forced to protect themselves with bats while retreating from the field. Chief umpire Nestor Chylak declared the game to be forfeited in Texas’s favor due to the mob’s uncontrollable behavior. The Indians had previously held such promotions without incident, beginning with Nickel Beer Day in 1971. However, a bench-clearing brawl during the teams’ last meeting one week earlier 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 walk to the Rangers’ Tom Grieve, followed by a Lenny Randle 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. The Indians retaliated in the bottom of the eighth when pitcher Milt Wilcox threw behind Randle’s legs. Randle eventually laid down a bunt. When Wilcox fielded the ball and tagged Randle out, Randle hit him with his forearm. Indians first baseman John Ellis responded by punching Randle, 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 had to be restrained from entering the stands to fight the fans. The game was not suspended or forfeited, no players from either team were ejected, and the Rangers won 3–0. …”
Wikipedia
NY Times/The Athletic: Fifty years later, the chaos of Cleveland’s 10-Cent Beer Night still shocks
YouTube: 10-Cent Beer Night: A look back