Watch the Rangers-Indians brawl from 1974 five days before the infamous 10-cent beer night fiasco

Forty-four years ago the Cleveland Indians and Texas Rangers had a week to remember.

First, the teams got into a major on-field brawl during a game at Arlington Stadium on May 29, 1974.

During the fourth inning, Rangers second baseman Lenny Randle bunted down the first-base line and knocked Indians’ right-hander Bob Johnson to the ground when he tried to tag him for the out. Randle was clearly out of the base path and the hit is purposelessly violent.

Earlier in the at-bat, Johnson threw a pitch behind Randle.

Randle never made it to first base. He was tackled by Indians’ first baseman John Ellis and both dugouts and bullpens rushed the field. Later, in the WFAA footage provided by the G. William Jones Collection at SMU, you can see Indians’ catcher David Duncan trying to climb up in the stands, angrily shouting at fans just above the visitor’s dugout. Duncan’s teammates had to forcibly prevent him from leaving the dugout.

Five days later, the Rangers game in Cleveland was cut short and the Rangers were awarded a forfeit win after fans attacked Texas outfielder Jeff Burroughs and the umpires. It was 10-cent beer night at Cleveland Stadium and things didn’t end well.

This story was originally published May 21, 2018 at 5:30 PM with the headline "Watch the Rangers-Indians brawl from 1974 five days before the infamous 10-cent beer night fiasco."