Andy Teach™

On June 4, 1974, the Cleveland Indians had one of the worst ideas in sports history: 10 cent beer night. A cup of Stroh's went from 65 cents down to a dime. Limit of six per trip to the counter, but you could go back as many times as you wanted. So basically unlimited beer. It gets better. A week earlier these same two teams had brawled in Texas, so Cleveland fans showed up already wanting blood. About 25,000 packed the stadium, way more than expected. By the middle innings it was total chaos. Fans were setting off firecrackers, throwing hot dogs and rocks, and running onto the field. A woman flashed the crowd. A father and son ran out and mooned the outfield. Streakers everywhere. Rangers manager Billy Martin just stood in the dugout blowing kisses at the drunks screaming at him. Then the Indians tied it 5-5 in the bottom of the 9th. That's when it fully broke. A kid ran out and grabbed Rangers outfielder Jeff Burroughs' cap. Burroughs stumbled, and Billy Martin thought his player was getting jumped. So he grabbed a bat and led the entire Rangers team charging onto the field to fight the crowd. Then the Indians came out with bats too, to protect the Rangers from thousands of drunk fans. A reliever got hit in the head with a steel folding chair. The umpire, Nestor Chylak, got cut by a thrown rock and a piece of a stadium seat, and needed stitches. He forfeited the game to Texas on the spot and called the fans "uncontrollable beasts," saying he'd never seen anything like it "except in a zoo." The best part? Cleveland had four more beer nights already scheduled that season.