Beer Glasses Thrown By An Angry Baseball Mob
At St. Louis yesterday the biggest crowd of the season saw the Browns beaten. The contest was full of disgraceful wrangling, in which players and spectators participated. Schafer of the (Athletics) knocked Wells of the Browns down at the home plate, and when Schafer took his place in the field, the police were summoned to protect him from beer glasses. There was a heap of dirty ball playing and several of the local players narrowly missed serious injury. Errors by Fuller and Cartwright lost the game for St. Louis. Hughes and Hart both pitched in fine form.-The New York Times, August 18, 1890
The more things change the more they stay the same. I can think of at least two instances, in my own lifetime, when St. Louis fans have pelted the field with foreign objects. Both of these happened to be Seat Cushion Night at the ballpark. There was also a game the Cardinals played in L.A. in 1995 where the Dodgers were giving away baseballs and, after some questionable umpiring decisions, Dodger fans pelted the field with their souvenirs, causing the Cards to leave the field and the Dodgers to forfeit the game. I guess we should be thankful that they don't hand out beer mugs at the ballpark anymore.
Here's a video of the second Seat Cushion Night:
