| FANS GONE WILD Some fan confrontations with athletes and officials at pro sports events in the United States: |
| Nov. 19, 2004 |
One of the worst brawls in U.S. sports history took place near the end of the Indiana Pacers-Detroit Pistons game. Fans and players threw punches; spectators tossed a chair, beer, ice and popcorn. Four players -- Ron Artest, Jermaine O'Neal, Stephen Jackson and Ben Wallace -- were suspended indefinitely by the NBA for a fracas commissioner David Stern called "shocking, repulsive and inexcusable." |
| Sept. 13, 2004 |
Texas Rangers pitcher Frank Francisco threw a chair that hit a woman in the stands and broke her nose. |
| April 19, 2003 |
An Oakland Athletics fan threw a cell phone at Texas Rangers outfielder Carl Everett. |
| April 15, 2003 |
A man came out of the stands and grabbed umpire Laz Diaz around the legs during a game between the Chicago White Sox and Kansas City Royals. |
| Sept. 19, 2002 |
A father and son burst onto the field at Chicago's Comiskey Park and slammed Kansas City Royals first-base coach Tom Gamboa to the ground, punching and kicking him. |
| Dec. 16, 2001 |
Bottles thrown by Cleveland Browns fans hit players on both teams and other people in the stands. Most of the hundreds of bottles were plastic but many were filled with beer. |
| March 29, 2001 |
Tie Domi of the Toronto Maple Leafs wrestled with a fan in the penalty box in Philadelphia after Domi twice poured water on taunting spectators. The fan lunged against the glass and threw a punch at Domi that didn't connect. A glass panel separating the two collapsed, and the fan was pulled into the box by Domi. |
| May 16, 2000 |
A fight involving Los Angeles Dodgers players and Chicago Cubs fans at Wrigley Field began when a spectator grabbed the hat of Dodgers backup catcher Chad Kreuter in the bullpen. Kreuter went into the stands and several Dodgers followed, trading punches with fans. Suspensions for 16 players and three coaches totaled 76 games. Seven of the suspensions were overturned on appeal. |
| Nov. 24, 1999 |
Oakland Raiders were pelted with snowballs, some spiked with batteries, at Denver's Mile High Stadium. Charles Woodson allegedly threw a snowball that struck a female fan in the face, and Lincoln Kennedy went after a fan who hit him in the face with a snowball. |
| Oct. 3, 1999 |
A metal object thrown from the stands at Mile High Stadium in Denver hit Broncos cornerback Dale Carter in the cheek, causing blurred vision and a bruise. |
| Sept. 24, 1999 |
A fan attacked Houston right fielder Bill Spiers in Milwaukee. Spiers ended up with a welt under his left eye, a bloody nose and whiplash. |
| Dec. 23, 1995 |
Fans at Giants Stadium hurled dozens of snowballs at the Chargers' sideline, interrupting a game between San Diego and New York. One snowball knocked San Diego equipment manager Sid Brooks unconscious. |
| Sept. 28, 1995 |
Cubs reliever Randy Myers was charged by a spectator who ran out of the stands at Wrigley Field. Myers saw the man coming, dropped his glove and knocked him down with his forearm. |
| Feb. 6, 1995 |
Vernon Maxwell entered the stands and punched a fan who heckled him during a game at Portland. He was suspended 10 games without pay and fined $20,000. He later settled out of court with the fan. |
| Aug. 27, 1986 |
California Angels first baseman Wally Joyner was hit in the arm by a knife thrown from the upper deck at Yankee Stadium but was unhurt. |
| Dec. 23, 1979 |
Boston Bruins forward Stan Jonathan was hit in the face by an object thrown by a fan, and right wing Terry O'Reilly was harassed by a stick-wielding fan at the end of a 4-3 victory at the New York Rangers. Several Boston players, including O'Reilly and Mike Milbury, went into the stands to fight with spectators. Milbury removed a shoe from a fan and beat him with it. |
| July 12, 1979 |
A radio DJ blew up disco records in the outfield at Comiskey Park, and a riot nearly ensued at "Disco Demolition Night" against the Detroit Tigers. Some of the 50,000 fans got into the park for 98 cents if they brought a record. They tossed them on the field, threw beers, cherry bombs and started fires. Game 2 of the doubleheader was called off. |
| April 25, 1976 |
Chicago center fielder Rick Monday took an American flag from two fans who tried to set it on fire in the outfield at Dodger Stadium during the fourth inning of the Cubs' 5-4, 10-inning loss to Los Angeles. |
| April 2, 1969 |
Toronto's Pat Quinn knocked out Boston Bruins great Bobby Orr with a vicious check during an NHL playoff game. A brawl broke out on the ice and in the stands, with Quinn leaving Boston Garden under a heavy police escort. |
| Sept. 10, 1961 |
Cleveland center fielder Jimmy Piersall was attacked by two fans who ran out of the right-field stands onto the field at Yankee Stadium during the seventh inning of the second game of a doubleheader. Piersall punched and kicked them before teammates and police came to his aid. |
| Sept. 16, 1940 |
After an argument at Ebbets Field, which resulted in a suspension for Dodgers manager Leo Durocher, a fan punched umpire George Magerkurth. |
| Oct. 9, 1934 |
After the Cardinals' Joe Medwick slid hard into Mickey Owen at third base for a triple during World Series Game 7 at Detroit, fans threw tomatoes at Medwick when he took his position in left field for the bottom of the inning. |
| July 11, 1886 |
Umpire George Bradley was hit by a beer mug during mayhem in the sixth inning of the second game of a doubleheader at Cincinnati. |
|
|
|
Copyright 2004 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. |
|
