Cleveland Ucks up Again PT2

Cleveland, Akron & Medina Historical Blunders

Cleveland

• Ten-Cent Beer Night (1974): Indians held a promotion with 10-cent beer (3.2% ABV), no purchase limits. 60,000 cups served to 25,134 fans. Escalating chaos included streakers, a woman flashing the umpire, and projectiles thrown at Texas Rangers outfielders. In the ninth inning, a fan stole Jeff Burroughs' cap; Texas manager Billy Martin led his team onto the field armed with bats. Hundreds of fans stormed the field with stadium seats, chains, and knives. The game was forfeited to Texas. 123
• The Drive (1987): Browns led Denver 20–13 with 5:32 left; Elway engineered a 15-play, 98-yard drive in 5:02, capping it with a TD pass with 39 seconds left. Denver won 23–20 in OT. Scott was present at the game with his Boy Scout troop. 45
• The Fumble (1988): AFC Championship rematch in Denver. Cleveland rallied from 21–3 down to tie at 31, then trailed 38–31 with 1:12 left. Ernest Byner broke toward the end zone inside the 10-yard line; Broncos DB Jeremiah Castile stripped the ball at the 3-yard line; Denver recovered and took a safety for a 38–33 final. 67
• Bottlegate (2001): Referee Terry McAuley controversially reversed a completed fourth-down catch by Quincy Morgan after Tim Couch had already spiked the ball — a violation of the rule prohibiting review after a subsequent play. Thousands of plastic beer bottles were thrown onto the field; players fled to locker rooms. 789
• Art Modell Moving the Browns (1995): Announced mid-season that the Browns would relocate to Baltimore. The city had to install $2.5 million in protective equipment for coaches entering the stadium. Cleveland went 4–5 years without an NFL team. The last game saw fans ripping seats out of the stadium. 1011
• The 2018 "Perfect Season" Parade: After the Browns went 0–16 in 2017, fans held a parade around the stadium to celebrate the perfect losing season. 12
• Cuyahoga River Fire (1969): River so polluted with oil and industrial waste it caught fire — not for the first time, but the 1969 fire became national news and directly led to the creation of the EPA. Cleveland was previously the industrial mecca of the US and near a population of one million; now down to approximately 363,000. 1314
• Balloonfest (1986): City released 1.5 million helium balloons in an attempt at a world record. An unexpected storm pushed the balloons back down, covering Lake Erie, clogging airport runways, causing car accidents, and critically interfering with a Coast Guard search and rescue mission — two fishermen drowned because rescuers couldn't locate them. The city faced millions in lawsuits. 1516
• BP/Sohio Destruction: British Petroleum acquired Sohio (John D. Rockefeller's original company), dismantled it, and left a building that is now 80% empty in downtown Cleveland. Scott argued the US government's antitrust breakup of Rockefeller's empire, combined with BP's acquisition, effectively bankrupted a city. 1718
• Lakefront Mismanagement (100+ years): While cities like Chicago built parks and beaches on their lakefronts, Cleveland placed a highway, railroad, airport, and stadium directly on the water, making the lakefront nearly inaccessible from downtown. 19
• BP Rubber Stamp Sculpture: Standard Oil/BP commissioned a giant rubber stamp sculpture with "3" on it for their new headquarters, hated it upon delivery, warehoused it for years, and it eventually ended up in Willard Park as a confusing landmark — referenced in a Cleveland comedy song as "Cleveland thinks this is art." 17

Akron

• The Interbelt / Route 59 (1960s): A 6-lane freeway was planned to connect downtown to suburbs; an entire thriving neighborhood (West Hill) was demolished. Funding dried up after only ~4 miles were built, connecting to nothing useful. Eventually partially demolished starting in 2014 to be converted back to green space. Burke noted he once drove over 120 mph on it because it was perpetually empty. 2021
• Rubber Industry Decline (1970s–80s): Akron was home to the "Big Four" — Goodyear, Firestone, Goodrich, and General Tire. Executives dismissed the radial tire pioneered by Michelin as a fad; by the time they recognized their error, manufacturing had shifted away, leading to massive job losses and empty industrial buildings. 2223
• USS Akron & USS Macon Airship Crashes: Both dirigibles built at the Goodyear Air Dock crashed within years of construction. The 1933 Akron crash was the deadliest airship disaster in history — worse than the Hindenburg. 24
• Soapbox Derby Magnet Scandal (1973): 14-year-old Jimmy Gronin won the All-American Soapbox Derby; his uncle (an engineer) had installed an electromagnet in the car's nose. When Jimmy leaned his head back against a switch, the magnet pulled the car toward the steel starting plate for a jump start. He was stripped of his title; the story became a national joke. 2526
• Akron as Birthplace of Professional Female Mud Wrestling (1930s): A local arena promoter dumped Akron clay and water into a wrestling ring to boost ticket sales; it became a local sensation that spread nationally. 27
• Lost "Great Stone Face" Landmark: A prehistoric rock formation resembling a face was accidentally destroyed in a landslide triggered by 19th-century construction — Akron effectively lost its own version of Mount Rushmore. 28

Medina

• Repeated Town Square Fires (1848, 1870, 1877): The 1848 fire wiped out the business district entirely; the town had no firefighting equipment and relied on bucket brigades. Despite this, the council still hadn't budgeted for fire equipment by 1870 when another fire destroyed 45 buildings. Only after a third major fire in 1877 did the city finally purchase a fire engine. 2829
• Whitfield Scandal / Open Pantry Fire: A judge's son was on trial for a woman's asphyxiation death during sex. All evidence was stored above the "Open Pantry" building. Just before trial, the building caught fire and all evidence was destroyed. The Chief of Police (Homer C. Davis — a "friendly family member") ruled it spontaneous combustion. Whitfield was exonerated. Scott later encountered Whitfield managing a Domino's Pizza; Whitfield left immediately upon recognizing Scott. 3031
• Named Mecca, Then Renamed: Medina was originally named Mecca in 1818 but had to change its name to avoid mail delivery confusion with another Ohio town called Mecca — the hosts noted a pattern of Saudi Arabian city name preferences. 32
• Ghost of the Nightwalker: Local teenagers would drive out to spot a "ghostly hitchhiker" — who turned out to be a local man who enjoyed late-night walks. He eventually began yelling at ghost hunters to go home. 32
• AI Root / Bees Origin Story: Amos Root offered an employee a dollar to catch a passing swarm of bees as a joke, thinking it impossible. The employee succeeded. Root became obsessed with beekeeping, invented the centrifugal honey extractor (still used today), and built a global beekeeping supply empire. The AI Root Company became the sole supplier of beeswax candles to the Catholic Church and remains a Medina landmark. 333435

Personal & Off-Topic Updates

• Thomas the Cat: Scott's cat Thomas, owned since birth, was taken to the vet after showing distress. Initially placed on antibiotics for an enlarged bladder; later given morphine, after which he rapidly deteriorated. Scott received a call during the show confirming Thomas had a tumor and was being euthanized. Scott expressed strong opposition to morphine use based on experiences with his parents.
• Mama Spetty health update: Two doctor's appointments scheduled for Thursday — oncologist visit for a concerning breast condition (dark purple, hard) and rib X-rays. Scott noted improved energy and mobility but ongoing concerns.
• Fence construction: Scott built a new fence with help from Stefan (Sveti) and neighbor Chris. The boards were installed flush for privacy; within two days, an eighth-inch gap appeared due to Texas heat drying the wood — Scott noted this would self-correct with upcoming rain.
• City of Bedford code violation: Scott received a city code violation requiring fence replacement; noted the lawn across the street was equally tall but not cited. Expressed frustration with selective enforcement.
• Hurricane Polo / weather: A Pacific hurricane (Polo) was expected to push moisture through New Mexico into Texas, bringing 3 days of heavy rain. Scott noted the Atlantic season had