This graphic from Webstaurantstore was created in 2011 and is based on prices from 2010 and 2011. I doubt any of these prices have dropped in the last several years, and even back then, the “cheapest” beers and dogs were a bit pricey.
To give one can of beer to a thousand people is not nearly as much fun as to give 1,000 cans of beer to one guy. You give a thousand people a can of beer and each of them will drink it, smack his lips and go back to watching the game. You give 1,000 cans to one guy, and there is always the outside possibility that 50,000 people will talk about it.
~Bill Veeck
The Brooklyn-based plant for Rheingold Beer was forced to close on January 5, 1974 due to heavy financial losses. As a result, the brewery was also forced to end its position as the primary radio-TV sponsor for the New York Mets. Rheingold as a whole shut down operations in 1976, when they found themselves unable to compete with the large national breweries.
Not that this comes as a surprise to most of us, but beer at the ballpark can cost a pretty penny. Here’s an infographic from July 2015 by Vinepair depicting the cheapest beer available at every MLB stadium. If you want “cheap” stadium beer, looks like you’ve gotta head to the southwest portion of the country.
On 4 June 1974, it was ten-cent beer night at Cleveland Stadium as the Indians took on the Texas Rangers. As the game progressed, Indians fans grew increasingly inebriated, resulting in a riot during the ninth inning of play. As a result of the crowd’s unruly behavior, the game was interrupted and could not be resumed in a timely manner. Home plate umpire Nestor Chylak stopped the game, which was tied at five runs a piece, and pronounced a forfeit by the Indians, thus declaring the Rangers victorious.
