The Indians Had to Forfeit a Game Because of Their Fans
A wasted fan jumped into the field in the 9th inning, grabbed an outfielder’s cap, and ran around wildly. When he finally dropped the cap, the livid outfielder kicked him. That was the Rangers’ manager Billy Martin, a known hothead, grabbed a baseball bat. He turned to his players, rallied them like a Civil War colonel pumping up regiment for a bayonet charge, and his team: “Boys! Let’s get em!” The Rangers stormed the field with their bats, to fight the fans who by then had knives, chains, and other improvised weapons. Things started out well for the Rangers, but soon, the locals’ numbers began to tell.
Billy Martin’s routed men fled the field, pursued by hostile fans. The Indians manager, realizing that the Texans were about to get slaughtered, got his own players to arm themselves with bats, and rushed them onto the field to protect the Rangers. In the end, riot police and a SWAT team arrived to break it up. The tally for the night was over 60,000 beers consumed, almost 20 streakers, about 10 trips to the emergency room, and 9 arrests. The game could not be resumed in a timely manner, so the Indians were forced to forfeit.
