Have you ever been involved in a food fight at any kind of stadium?

For the vast majority of you, the answer is probably no.

Well, Phillies’ fans turned a traditional Dollar Dog Night into a fiasco on April 11. There was a situation in the lower tier that eventually evolved in the upper tier. It was a splattered mess like one may believe, but it escalated on a larger scale with plastic water bottles.

In this week’s episode of my Yesterday column - reminiscing about sports events from the 1960, 70s, 80s, 90s and beyond - I’ll take a look at some famous baseball promotions that went awry. I’ll also look at some other prominent figures in sports as well as some pop-culture memories.

What happened on a Beer Night and a Disco Sucks Night in the 1970s? And what was FYE? For information on those items and more, check out this week’s Yesterday column.

Hot Dogs Aren’t Meant to Fly ... On the aforementioned Phillies’ Dollar Dog Night, team officials estimated that 58,000 hot dogs were sold. It all started innocently before it spiraled out of control when hot dogs and water bottles began to hit the field, presumably after another bad outing from starter Aaron Nola. It gave Philly another national blemish.

There was another incident involving Phillies’ fans and hot dogs during their championship ride of 2008.

At the end of the second game of a doubleheader in Washington during their 2008 championship run, Phils’ fans threw hot dogs at their players after they lost a 1-0 decision to then lowly Nationals, nearly hitting reliever Ryan Madson.

In 1974, former and later manager Danny Ozark, known for his quirks and naps, hurled a bag of hot dog rolls in the clubhouse after a loss to the Dodgers. It didn’t apparently work, as the club continued in its slump.

Beer Isn’t Meant to Fly Either ... One of baseball’s most recognized promotional disasters was a 10-cent Beer Night in Cleveland during the 1974 season. The club offered an eight-ounce glass of Stroh’s (there’s an old beer name).

The game featured the same kind of mayhem you would expect from a WWF Battle Royal (remember those?).

Texas had staked itself to a 5-1 lead, and the crowd reacted in turn.

A woman flashed her breasts on the Indians’ on-deck circle, and a naked man ran onto the field and slid into second base. A father and son also ran into the outfield and mooned the fans in the bleachers (Anyone remember any of this?).

The night was capped when the fans threw hot dogs and began spitting in the direction of Rangers’ player Mike Hargrove. He reportedly almost was hit by a bottle of Thunderbird.

In the final inning, a fan tried to steal Rangers’ player Jeff Burroughs’ hat. When he confronted the fan, Burroughs tripped and fell to the ground.

Texas manager Billy Martin, in his own unique style, believed Burroughs was attacked and stormed the field with his players, some who wielded bats.

The fans charged the field with knives, chains, and portions of the stadium seats. Indians’ manager Ken Aspromonte told his team to grab bats and help their opponents.

In the end, the Indians won, 6-5, and bases were stolen. Rioters pelted the players with cups, rocks, bottles, hot dogs, radio batteries, popcorn containers, and the folding chairs.

If you’re interested, take a look on YouTube. It was a moment that has definitely affected beer sales today.

Disco Didn’t Make It ... In 1979, the White Sox decided to hold a ceremony between games of a doubleheader between the White Sox and Tigers to destroy disco records.

Instead of an anticipated crowd of 20,000 to 25,000, an overflow crowd of over 50,000 arrived at Comiskey Park for the “Disco Demolition Night.”

Local rock-shock DJ Steve Dahl blew out a huge pile of collected records and albums collected by stadium staff from the stands during a ceremony between the games, but it didn’t remain peaceful.

The fans stormed the field, and the second game was postponed and later forfeited by the White Sox by order of then AL president Lee MacPhail.

Many of you probably remember this one, as it was well publicized for several days and is still recounted every year.

Phillies Franks ... I do remember “Phillies Franks” being a new item on the market, but I can’t remember when they debuted back in our day. The information was hard to find online.

I also recall either the package having a voucher to purchase tickets, or a free one. If anyone has any info on it, feel free to let me know.

Fallen Eagle ... The Eagles’ Jalen Hurts recently became the league’s highest-paid player with his contract extension. Before Donovan McNabb and Ron Jaworski, the Eagles had another high-priced quarterback back in the day named Roman Gabriel.

Philly traded with the Los Angeles Rams for the 32-year-old, high-priced Gabriel in April 1973 for team-favorite wide receiver Harold Jackson, running back Tony Baker, a 1974 first-round pick, and a first- and third-round pick in 1975.

The 1974 pick turned out to be John Cappelletti, and the other picks were guards Dennis Harrah and Dan Nugent, both of whom became fixtures on the offensive line.

Gabriel threatened to accept a $100,000 contract with the Las Vegas Casinos of the Southwestern Football League, and the Rams decided to trade him after they acquired quarterback John Hadl.

In 1973, the Eagles slugged their way to a 5-8-1 record, but Gabriel was named the NFL Comeback Player of the Year, as he led the league in pass attempts (460), completions (270), yards (3,219) and touchdown passes (23). He earned his fourth trip to the Pro Bowl.

He had a fast start in 1974, but then the team went into a tailspin, losing five straight. Gabriel was benched in favor of rookie Mike Boryla, as the team finished with a 7-7 mark.

Gabriel bounced back in 1975, but an off-season knee injury dramatically slowed his Eagles’ career that ended after the 1977 season. In his final year, Gabriel was a then-expensive $150,000 backup.

Ironically, he rejoined the Rams in 1978 with his old coach, George Allen, who was still trying to revitalize veterans (Remember his Redskins’ Over-the-Hill Gang?)

What Did FYE Mean? ... If you went to the Lehigh Valley Mall in the late 70s and in the 80s, chances are you stopped at the FYE store. It was the place lined with records and eight-track tapes. The store also had an array of posters you could browse through to put on your wall. There were also some other items that were related to the rock scene.

But what did FYE stand for? We all should have figured it out that it was “For Your Entertainment.” Yet, we all used to call it the “FYE” store.

However, the parent company has experienced some hard times over the last 10-15 years, closing stores, and then reopening some after the pandemic of 2020. Last weekend, the FYE store closed n the Palmer Park Mall, leaving the Lehigh Valley Mall one as the lone location for the greater Lehigh Valley.

For most of us, it has been part of our youth and early 20s and 30s.

Another Classic Game ... In the mid-70’s, Ideal unveiled the “Hit and Run” pinball baseball game. It was a concept like a pinball machine where you would fire the ball from the spring mechanism, and hope the ball landed in either the columns marked “single, double, triple, and home run.” There was also an “out” column that controlled the innings.

I do remember having this because of the plastic men with tips on the bottom that would fit in peg holes on each base. It’s another example of how simple game playing was back in the day.

Items We Used ... Periodically, I will recall some item that all of us in our past. How about the emergency brake we pulled to park, preferably on a hill?

Today, they are hard to find, especially in models past 2010. Some cars will have the pedal you can push with your foot to lock your car, and there are the emergency brake electronic systems that will stop your car when needed, especially when someone suddenly stops in front of you, or you’re playing with your phone and have to stop. Trust me, it works.

Even though the older pull brakes could have been a nuisance between the seats, they did help save us from accidents.

Memory Lane ... Each week, I’ll briefly recall the career of a former player, coach, manager or media member who has been part of our yesterday.

Do you remember the Phillies’ Ron Jones? The stocky, left-handed swinging outfielder was believed to be a future superstar in the organization who was noted for a strong bat and his defense.

Jones broke in with the Phillies in 1988 and had eight homers and 26 RBIs with a .290 average in 33 games. Unfortunately, he would suffer two torn patella knee injuries that over the next two years limited him to 64 games over the next three seasons.

He never rebounded and played in 97 games with career mark of 13 homers and 40 RBIs with a .272 career average.

Jones passed away suddenly at the age of 41 in 2000.

Your comments are always welcome at phillyjets.jm@gmail.com