10 Cents a Beer…A Dubious Anniversary in Cleveland

In 1974, on June 4th,  the Cleveland Indians had the worst attendance in baseball, sometimes drawing   as few as 15oo fans in a 80,000 seat stadium.  So, what do you do? Offer as many 8 oz. beers as fans could drink for 10 cents each. (47 cents in today's dollars.) Nothing could go wrong there, right?  They did draw over 25,000 to the game, but the results of all that swilling are infamous.

As the game progressed, fans ran on to the field, they pelted Rangers player Mike Hargrove with debris, and eventually, a full scale riot broke out, resulting in the Indians forfeiting the game.  The late host of Meet The Press, Tim Russert said he went to the game with 2$ in his pocket, "You do the math."