Episode 366:

High-Pitched Goodbye

The Mirabal sisters, Heroes of the Dominican Republic

Georgia

Cleveland's Infamous 1974 Ten Cent Beer Night

Karen

Episode 366: High-Pitched Goodbye

This week, Georgia tells the story of the Mirabal sisters, heroes of the Dominican Republic, and Karen covers Cleveland's infamous 1974 Ten Cent Beer Night.

Listen on Apple Podcasts.

The Mirabal sisters, Heroes of the Dominican Republic

The Mirabal sisters, Heroes of the Dominican Republic Notes:

Header Image Source: Photo by Mick Haupt on Unsplash

Other Images:

1. Minerva Mirabal, María Teresa Mirabal and Patria Mirabal

2. Dedé Mirabal

 

"On November 25, 1960, three sisters—Patria, Minerva and María Teresa Mirabal—were reported killed in an “automobile accident.” Reports said a car they were riding in plunged over a cliff in the Dominican Republic.

At least, that was the story in El Caribe, a newspaper sanctioned by the government of Rafael Trujillo, the brutal dictator who had seized control of the island nation in a military coup 30 years earlier. In reality, the Mirabal sisters were active members of the growing underground resistance against Trujillo’s regime, and everyone knew their deaths were no accident.

Growing Up in Trujillo's Dictatorship

As middle-class women, wives and mothers, the Mirabal sisters didn’t seem like obvious revolutionaries. Patria, Minerva and María Teresa, along with their sister Dedé, grew up in the town of Ojo de Agua, Salcedo Province, where their parents owned and operated a successful farm, along with a coffee mill and general store.

After attending the Colegio Inmaculada Concepción, a Catholic boarding school in the city of La Vega, Minerva headed to college in Santo Domingo, the capital, to study law. By that time, she had become increasingly aware of the injustices that existed in the Dominican Republic during the Trujillo era.

Known as “El Jefe” (“the Boss”) or “el Chivo” (“the Goat”), Trujillo was the commander in chief of the army before he seized power in 1930. The prosperity, modernization and stability his regime brought to the country came at a high price: Trujillo took over the country’s economy, including production of such goods as salt, meat, tobacco and rice, and channeled the profits to his own family and supporters. Civil and political liberties disappeared, and only one political party, the Dominican Party, was allowed to exist..."

Source: “How the Mirabal Sisters Helped Topple a Dictator” by Sarah Pruitt (History)

 

 

Cleveland's Infamous 1974 Ten Cent Beer Night

Cleveland's Infamous 1974 Ten Cent Beer Night Notes:

Other Images:

1. Cleveland Municipal Stadium (FAY 2018 / Alamy)

2. Members of the Texas Rangers running with bats to defend a teammate after fans rushed the field (Paul Tepley Collection / Getty)

 

"On June 4, 1974 the Cleveland [Gaurdians] held a promotion called Ten Cent Beer Night at Municipal Stadium during a game against the Texas Rangers. It was exactly what it sounds like: the [Gaurdians] gave unhappy people who rooted for a bad team unlimited quantities of nearly-free alcohol and it turned into utter chaos.

Ten Cent Beer Night has been much written about over the years so most of you probably know the broad details of it all. It’s pretty straightforward: the 1974 [Gaurdians] were a pretty miserable squad. They were actually an improvement, though, over the 1969-1973 clubs, but that wasn’t saying much. Either way, all of that losing and meant for tons of empty seats at the lakefront ballpark. As a result, the team’s front office was looking for any way it could to boost attendance.

Whenever people talk about the disaster that Ten Cent Beer Night became on that June 4 in Cleveland, they almost always add jokes such as “who could’ve seen that coming?” and “what could possibly go wrong?” The thing was, though, the riot that ensued in Cleveland was at least something of a surprise. The Rangers themselves had actually done a Ten Cent Beer Night in Texas recently and it went off just fine. So while, yeah, it was still probably ill-advised, it’s not like it was unprecedented. There was at least some reason to believe it’d work...."

Source: “Today in Baseball History: Indians Hold Infamous Ten Cent Beer Night” by Craig Calcaterra (NBC Sports) 2020

Georgia's Episode Sources

  1. “HISTORY OF THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC” by Bamber Gascoigne (History World)
  2. “How the Mirabal Sisters Helped Topple a Dictator” by Sarah Pruitt (History)
  3. “How the Murder of the Mirabal Sisters Ignited an International Movement to End Violence Against Women and Girls” by Courtney Andrews (University of Alabama at Birmingham Institute for Human Rights Blog)
  4. “LAS HERMANAS MIRABAL – THE MIRABAL SISTERS” (Guide to the Colonial Zone and Dominican Republic)
  5. “Mirabal sisters” (Wikipedia)
  6. “Oct. 2, 1937: Parsley Massacre” (Zinn Education Project)
  7. “Overlooked No More: Dedé Mirabal, Who Carried the Torch of Her Slain Sisters” by Gavin Edwards (New York Times)
  8. “Rafaell Trujillo” (History)
  9. “Remember the Mirabal Sisters, ‘Las Mariposas’” (New York Latin Culture Magazine)
  10. “Remembering the Mirabal Sisters” by Livia Gershon (JSTOR Daily)
  11. “SISTER MONTH 02: THE MIRABAL SISTERS” (Criminal Broads: The Podcast)
  12. “Taino” (Wikipedia)
  13. “The Mirabal Butterflies: 5 Facts About The Sisters Who Toppled A Dominican Dictatorship” by Melissa De Los Santos (Vibe)
  14. “The Mirabal Sisters” by Jason Porath (Rejected Princesses)
  15. “The Mirabal Sisters” (Stuff You Missed in History Class)
  16. “The Mirabal Sisters and the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women” by Luigi Morris (Left Voice)
  17. “The Mirabal Sisters: Patria (1924-1960) Minerva (1926-1960) Maria Teresa (1935-1960)” by Matt Clayton (Captivating History)
  18. “The Revolutionary Murder Of The Mirabal Sisters” by Allison Hinrichs (Jetset Times)
  19. “The Women (Real and Imagined) Resisting Caudillos” by Ena Alvarado (JSTOR Daily)
  20. “To be a woman: Gender and the death of the Mirabal Sisters” by Jynessa Mendoza (California State University Stanislaus)
  21. “United States occupation of the Dominican Republic (1916–1924)” (Wikipedia)

Karen's Episode Sources

  1. “The night beer and violence bubbled over in Cleveland” by Paul Jackson (ESPN) 2008
  2. “None Worse in 25 Years” by Richard Bilotti (Associated Press) 1974
  3. Beer Night: Punched in the Jaw (an excerpt from Crazy, with the Papers to Prove It) by Dan Coughlin (Cleveland Magazine)
  4. “Today in Baseball History: Indians Hold Infamous Ten Cent Beer Night” by Craig Calcaterra (NBC Sports) 2020
  5. 10-Cent Beer Night: A look back (ESPN) 2014
  6. “Cleveland Indians' Ten Cent Beer Night: The Worst Idea Ever” (Bleacher Report) 2009
  7. “Rangers History Today: '10-Cent Beer Night' in Cleveland” by Matthew Postins (Sports Illustrated) 2022
  8. “Indians ‘Beer Night’ brawl spurs probe” (Associated Press/The Evening Independent) Jun 5, 1974
  9. “Remember When 10 cents Led To Free-For-All in Cleveland?” by Jim Reeves (Fort Worth Star) June 8, 2008
  10. “The Infamous 10 Cent Beer Night Is Back In Cleveland” (The Jeremiah Show / 96.5 KissFM) 2022
  11. “The craziest baseball game in history” by thefeedski (TikTok)