Ten Cent Beer Night: The Worst Promotion in Baseball History

On June 4, 1974, the Cleveland Indians sold beer for ten cents a cup. Six cups per trip, no limit on trips. By the ninth inning, players from both teams were holding bats to fight their way off the field, and the umpire forfeited the game.

25,134 fans showed up, about twice what the team expected. They brought a grudge left over from a brawl the week before.

In this video

• The beer math: a dime a cup, and fifty cents to get in the door
• The streaker, the firecrackers, and the flying hot dogs
• The moment Cleveland’s players grabbed bats to rescue the other team from their own fans
• The umpire’s review of the crowd
• What Cleveland did two weeks later (spoiler: more ten-cent beer)

Turns out they had plenty of fans. They just didn’t have enough cops.