Wednesday’s ad is the second baseball-themed one, which I’ll be continuing through the World Series. The ad is from 1958 and is by the now defunct trade organization for brewer’s malt, the Barley and Malt Institute. It features a number of men enjoying both beer and baseball. The text is great, too. “The goodness of Malt yours when you say , “Let’s make it beer.” It looks like beer at the ballpark in 1958 may have been $1. The man in the foreground is holding two beers, and the hand on the right appears to have just accepted two dollar bills. That, or it’s even cheaper and he just bought a round for the row.
He was buying a round for his pals in the row. In 1958, a ballpark beer from a vendor was 35-40 cents max, maybe less. I was 9 in 1958, but saw 6 Giants’ games in Seals Stadium that year & remember my dad paying in that range for a Falstaff (one of the Giants’ radio sponsors; Tareyton cigs were the other biggie). In 1972, I paid 70 cents for a Schaefer at Yankee Stadium; similar ilk brew (Carling, National Boh) was cheaper in Baltimore. In 1979, it was still no more than a buck for Bud/Miller at both Candlestick & the Oakland Coliseum; in the early 80’s a 32-oz “big gulp” of Old Milwaukee was $2 (& it came w/a pour lid & small cups so you could share w/your pals).
Based on what I know about ball park beer prices 1958-onward (I was 9 when I saw 6 Giants’ games in Seals Stadium in 1958), that guy was buying a round for his pals. In 1958, my dad paid no more than 35-40 cents for a Falstaff (one of the 2 big radio sponsors; Dual Filter Tareyton cigs was the other). FF to the early 70’s, when I can buy beer legally (I lived in DC suburbs late 1962-late 1978). I paid 70 cents for Schaefer at Yankee Stadium in 1972; same ilk brew (Carling & National Boh) was a dime (or more) cheaper in Baltimore. 1st draft beer I saw was at the Vet in Philly – vendors sold 16-oz saran-wrap covered cups of Schmidt’s draft (godawful – I called it “Shits of Philadelphia”) for 6 bits or less. 1st games I saw in SF/Oakland in 1979 after moving back west, Bud/Miller/Coors from 12-oz bottle vendors hawked was no more than a buck; early 80’s at the Coliseum you could get a 32-oz cup of Old Milwaukee from a concession stand for $2, plus small cups & a lid w/pour hole so to share w/your friends.
These days, no ballpark on the West Coast has beer vendors in the stands (never were any in LA or SD; it stopped in SF & Oakland 1985/86). Except for Dodger Stadium (worst concessions in MLB – Im a baseball junkie & have been to damned near all of the parks), decent micros are available at most MLB parks, albeit at outrageous prices (SF is bad; NY is worse).
I have most of my “game day” brews outside the park – either tailgating or at a nearby pub (21st Amendment in SF; Goose Island Wrigleyville in Chitown; numerous choices in Denver).