June 4, 1974: Ten-Cent Beer Night In Cleveland

Number 1 at the left is Billy Martin.

Number 36 at the right is Gaylord Perry.

This wasn't the kind of lubricant Perry was looking for.

June 4, 1974: The Cleveland Indians host the Texas Rangers at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. It's a promotion: Ten-Cent Beer Night. This turns into a problem.

Based on history, it shouldn't have been. In 1971, they held Nickel Beer Day, without incident, either on the field or in the stands. So, with individual cups of beer going not for the usual price of 65 cents, but for 10 cents -- with inflation factored in, about 60 cents in 2022 money -- they didn't expect to have an issue.

The problem was, the Rangers were then managed by Billy Martin. Although he had not yet managed the New York Yankees, the team with which he spent most of his playing career, he already had a reputation as a dirty manager.

A week earlier, at Arlington Stadium in the suburbs of Dallas, there was a brawl between the same 2 teams, followed by the Texas fans throwing things at the Indians. The Rangers won, 3-0, the game was not forfeited, and no one in uniform was ejected, or even fined.

After the game, a Cleveland reporter asked Martin, "Are you going to take your armor to Cleveland?" Martin said, "Naw, they won't have enough fans there to worry about." He had a point: The Indians were averaging 12,626 fans per home game up until June 4.

During the week, Cleveland sports-talk radio host Pete Franklin made inflammatory comments. The day of the game, Cleveland's biggest newspaper, The Plain Dealer, printed a cartoon showing mascot Chief Wahoo with boxing gloves on. The caption read, "Be ready for anything."

It should be pointed out that the beers being offered for a dime each were low-alcohol beers, 3.2 percent, with most beers being between 4 and 5 percent. And there was a limit of 6 beers per purchase. However, there was no limit on the number of purchases during the game. Drink enough low-alcohol beer, and it adds up. And this was before the era when beer sales were cut off at the 7th inning stretch.

Tim Russert, later the host of NBC's Meet the Press, came from Buffalo, nearly 200 miles away. He was a staunch Buffalo Bills fan, but the Indians were the closest Major League Baseball team to Buffalo at the time. (The Toronto Blue Jays arrived in 1977, and are now closer. During the COVID restrictions of 2020 and 2021, they even played "home games" in Buffalo.) Russert was then attending law school at Cleveland State University, and later said, "I went with two dollars in my pocket. You do the math."

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, dropping him to the ground. Fans in the upper deck of the stadium cheered, then chanted, as if they were at a football game, "Hit 'em again! Hit 'em again! Harder! Harder!" A woman ran out to the Indians' on-deck circle, flashed her breasts, and then tried to kiss umpire Nestor Chylak, who "was not in a kissing mood."

The Spring of 1974 was the time of the "streaking" craze: People taking off their clothes and running naked through public places. It even happened during the Academy Awards ceremony, on live national television, on April 2. In this game, as Rangers outfielder Tom Grieve hit his second home run of the game, a naked man ran to 2nd base, and slid in, "probably getting dirt in places unsuitable for speculation," in the words of Paul Jackson, writing an article on the incident for ESPN.com in 2008. An inning later, a father-and-son pair ran onto the outfield, and mooned the fans in the bleachers.

Hundreds of fans had brought firecrackers, which they set off in the stands at random. It was the 4th of June, not the 4th of July. As Jackson wrote in his ESPN.com piece, the firecrackers were "lending the game a war-zone ambiance that would seem increasingly appropriate."

As the game progressed, more fans ran onto the field and caused problems. Ranger 1st baseman Mike Hargrove -- later to play for the Indians, and later still to manage them to 2 Pennants -- was spit on, pelted with hot dogs, and, at one point, was nearly struck by an empty gallon jug of Thunderbird fortified wine.

The Rangers later argued a call in which Lee was called safe in a close play at 3rd base, spiking Jenkins with his cleats in the process, and forcing him to leave the game. The Rangers' angry response to this call enraged Cleveland fans, who again began throwing objects onto the field. Someone tossed lit firecrackers into the Rangers' bullpen. An atmosphere made hazy by "clouds of exploded gunpowder and marijuana smoke" contributed to the unsettling mood.

By the 7th inning, families and those fans who remained sober had mostly left the ballpark, while the remaining crowd continued to grow more inebriated. As Jackson described in his 2008 article:

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.

In the bottom of the 9th, the Indians managed to rally, tying the game 5–5, and had Rusty Torres on 2nd base, representing the potential winning run. However, with a crowd that had been drinking heavily for 9 innings, the situation, unlike the beers they were drinking, finally came to a head.

A 19-year-old fan named Terry Yerkic ran onto the field, and attempted to steal Texas outfielder Jeff Burroughs' cap. Confronting the fan, Burroughs tripped. Thinking that Burroughs had been attacked, Martin charged onto the field, with his players right behind, some wielding bats. A large number of intoxicated fans -- some armed with knives, chains, and clubs fashioned from portions of stadium seats that they had torn apart -- surged onto the field, and others hurled bottles from the stands. Two hundred fans surrounded the 25 Rangers, with more fans coming.

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. Hargrove, after subduing one rioter in a fistfight, had to fight another on his way back to the Texas dugout. The two teams retreated off the field through the dugouts in groups, with players protecting each other.

The teams fled into their clubhouses, and closed and locked the doors. The crowd pulled up and stole the bases and anything else it found. Rioters threw a vast array of objects including cups, rocks, bottles, batteries from radios, hot dogs, popcorn containers, and folding chairs.

Chylak, realizing that order would not be restored in a timely fashion, forfeited the game to the Rangers, since it was the home team's duty to keep the field playable. He, too, was a victim of the rioters, as one struck and cut his head with part of a stadium seat, 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."

The rioting continued for 20 minutes. As Joe Tait and former Indians pitcher Herb Score called the riot live on radio, Score mentioned the security guards' inability to handle the crowd. Tait said, "Aw, this is absolute tragedy." The Cleveland Division of Police finally arrived to restore order, arresting 9 fans. Indians players escorted the Rangers to the team bus.

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." American League President Lee MacPhail commented, "There was no question that beer played a part in the riot."

The Indians refused to cancel their next Beer Night promotion, on July 18. They needed the money, badly. They did, however, put on a limit of 2 cups per person. The opponents were the defending World Champions, Oakland, Charlie Finley's Swingin' A's. A crowd of 41,848 fans came out. There were no incidents. The A's won, 3-2.

Rusty Torres had been with the Yankees when they were the beneficiaries of the previous MLB forfeit, the last Washington Senators game in 1971, when fans rushed the field with 1 out to go, ruining what stood to be a Senators victory. And he would be a beneficiary of the next MLB forfeit, as a Detroit Tiger, following the Chicago White Sox' Disco Demolition Night at Comiskey Park in 1979.

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June 4, 1974 was a Tuesday. These other Major League Baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Chicago White Sox, 9-2 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Knuckleballer Wilbur Wood outpitched Pat "the Snake" Dobson. Dick Allen hit a grand slam for the White Sox. Future Yankee shortstop Bucky Dent also hit a home run. The Yankees got 7 hits, 3 of them from Rick Dempsey, a backup catcher they would later trade to Baltimore; and 2 by Jim Mason, whom Dent would replace at shortstop.

* The New York Mets lost to the Cincinnati Reds, 6-3 at Shea Stadium. In relief of Jerry Koosman, Ray Sadecki melted down in the top of the 10th inning, giving up a single to opposing pitcher Pedro Borbon, a double to George Foster, a triple to Cesar Geronimo, and a sacrifice fly to Pete Rose. Johnny Bench went 1-for-5.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 7-3 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. Hank Aaron hit a grand slam, his 723rd career home run. Mike Schmidt went 1-for-3 with a walk.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Baltimore Orioles, 8-0 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Al Fitzmorris pitched a 3-hit shutout, but, oddly, neither struck out nor walked a batter. George Brett went 1-for-3 with a walk. Brooks Robinson went 0-for-2.

* A doubleheader was split at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. The Oakland Athletics won the opener, 4-0. Ken Holtzman pitched a 3-hit shutout, outpitching Mickey Lolich. The Detroit Tigers won the nightcap, 4-1. Over the 2 games, Al Kaline went 2-for-7 with a walk, while Reggie Jackson went 1-for-6 with 2 walks.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the California Angels, 4-3 at Milwaukee County Stadium. Frank Robinson, then with the Angels, went 1-for-4.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Minnesota Twins, 4-3 at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota. Danny Carter singled home the winning run in the top of the 11th inning. Carl Yastrzemski went 0-for-4, and Harmon Killebrew went 0-for-3, although each drew a walk. Rod Carew appeared as a pinch-hitter, and had a sacrifice bunt.

* The Montreal Expos beat the Houston Astros, 5-0 at the Astrodome. Ernie McAnally (yes, that's how he spelled his name) pitched a 5-hit shutout.

* The San Diego Padres beat the Chicago Cubs, 6-5 at San Diego Stadium.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 5-0 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Tommy John pitched a 5-hit shutout. Soon, he would sustain the elbow injury that led to the pioneering surgery that bears his name. Willie Stargell went 0-for-4.

* And the San Francisco Giants beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 5-3 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco.

April 2, 1974: Streaking the Oscars

April 2, 1974: The fad of "streaking" -- taking off your clothes and running naked through a public place -- reaches its peak, at the Academy Awards.

By this point, the Awards, nicknamed the Oscars, were firmly established as the day the American film industry, inherently conservative in spite of the occasional innovation, celebrated itself. When things didn't go according to plan, the studio heads didn't like it.

It was bad enough in 1971, when George C. Scott declined his Best Actor award for playing the titular World War II U.S. Army General in Patton. It got worse in 1973, when Marlon Brando won Best Actor for playing organized crime boss Vito Corleone in The Godfather, and, to accept his award, sent Sacheen Littlefeather, a Native American activist, to plead her people's case, which Brando supported.

In June 1973, the press reported on a "streaking" trend at Michigan State University. The following December 1973, Time magazine called streaking "a growing Los Angeles-area fad" that was "catching on among college students and other groups."

In response to this Time article, a graduate of Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota wrote to the magazine that the term "streaking" was coined because the nude students ran across the campus primarily during the Winter months of January and February, and "unless one appeared as a streak against the landscape, the Minnesota winter was triumphant and streaker became a statue." The school's newspaper, The Carletonian, used the term "streaking" as early as 1967, but initially in negative terms: "Examples of [Carleton's social problems] are the large number of departing female students, the rise of class spirit, low grades, streaking, destruction, drinking, and the popularity of rock dances."

By February 1974, it had become an epidemic. On NBC's The Tonight Show, Johnny Carson began making jokes about it in his monologue. On CBS' Match Game, the fad began appearing in questions. On March 23, a middle-aged man named John Taylor ran onto the field at a soccer game between Arsenal and Manchester City at the Arsenal Stadium, a.k.a. Highbury, in North London. He was caught, forced into a pair of pants, removed from the stadium, and fined £10. (About £120, or $150, in 2022 money. Arsenal won the game, 2-0.)

On April 2, the Oscars were held at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles. The hosting duties were divided by 4: Singer Diana Ross, director John Huston, and actors Burt Reynolds (to attract younger viewers, especially women) and David Niven (to attract older viewers, especially women).

There were several notable moments, above and beyond what the night would become most known for:

* Future Star Wars boss George Lucas was nominated for the 1st time, for Best Director for American Graffiti. Setting an apparent record for quickest attempt at nostalgia (1962 to 1973), it was also nominated for Best Picture.

* Tatum O'Neal won Best Supporting Actress for her role in Paper Moon. She was only 10 years old, and remains the youngest Oscar winner ever.

* John Houseman won Best Supporting Actor for his role in The Paper Chase. He was 71, and although he wasn't the oldest Oscar winner ever, the 61-year gap between winners Houseman and O'Neal remains the biggest at a single ceremony.

* The Exorcist became the 1st horror film nominated for Best Picture. It was nominated for 10 awards, but won only 2: Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Sound.

* The Sting, a story about con artists during the Great Depression, won Best Picture. Since that award goes to a film's producer(s), that made Julia Phillips the 1st female producer to win one. George Roy Hill directed it, and won Best Director. Robert Redford was nominated for Best Actor, but co-star Paul Newman was not.

* Groucho Marx was presented with an Honorary Academy Award for his contributions to film.

At the time, Robert Opel, a 34-year-old Pittsburgh native, was an English teacher in Los Angeles, who had once been a speechwriter for actor-turned-Governor Ronald Reagan of California. But on this night, he posed as a journalist to gain entry to the stage at the Pavilion. He waited for Niven to begin a speech introducing actress Elizabeth Taylor. Opel took his clothes off, and ran naked past Niven, flashing not just himself, but also a peace sign.

After breaking into laughter momentarily, Niven regained his composure, turned to the audience and quipped, "Well, ladies and gentlemen, that was almost bound to happen. But isn't it fascinating to think that probably the only laugh that man will ever get in his life is by stripping off and showing his shortcomings?"

On May 18, country singer Ray Stevens, known for his novelty songs, hit Number 1 with his single "The Streak." It held the top spot for 3 weeks. ("Don't look, Ethel!" But it was too late.) By the end of the year, the fad had run its course, or so to speak.

Opel lost his job over the incident, and became an artist, a photographer, and a gay rights activist. On July 7, 1979, he was murdered during a robbery attempt at his studio in San Francisco. He was 39. Both robbers were imprisoned.

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April 2, 1974 was a Tuesday. The Major League Baseball season opened 2 days later. Football was out of season. The American Basketball Association scheduled no games for this date. The NBA scheduled 3:

* The New York Knicks lost to the Capital Bullets, 88-79 at Madison Square Garden. Known as the Baltimore Bullets from 1963 to 1973, this was the team's only season under the "Capital Bullets" name. For 1974-75, they became the Washington Bullets. For 1997-98, they became the Washington Wizards.

* The Buffalo Braves beat the Boston Celtics, 115-105 at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium.

* And the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Milwaukee Bucks, 98-96 at The Forum outside Los Angeles in Inglewood, California.

There were 3 games scheduled in the NHL:

* The New York Islanders beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 3-2 at the Nassau Coliseum.

* The Philadelphia Flyers beat the Minnesota North Stars, 6-3.

* And the St. Louis Blues beat the California Golden Seals, 5-3 at the St. Louis Arena.

And there were 2 games in the World Hockey Association. The Jersey Knights lost to the Chicago Cougars, 7-3 at the International Amphitheatre in Chicago. And the Toronto Toros beat the Edmonton Oilers, 3-2 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.