THE PERVY PROMO

July 11, 2023

Good evening. This is Dead Legends. The daily newsletter that loves baseball as much as Derek Bell loved his Jeep.

Let’s dive in.

Today’s story is about one of the nastiest promotions in baseball history.

Some people have referred to Charlie Finley as the “P.T. Barnum” of baseball.

To be honest, they’re not wrong.

Along with Bill Veeck, Finely was one of the most prolific promoters in the history of the game.

He paid bonuses to players who grew mustaches, made the team mascot a mule named Charlie-O, and even had a 14-year-old MC Hammer as his executive VP.

And just like Veeck, sometimes Charlie f**ked up.

On June 27, 1971, he ran one of his zaniest stunts of all time.

“Hot Pants Day” was a promotion that ran during a double header against the Royals.

Every woman who came to the ballpark in short shorts was let in for free.

Dudes had to pay, but they were given free cameras.

Put this on the list of things that would never happen in 2023.

From a financial standpoint, the promotion definitely worked.

That year, Oakland’s average attendance was a little over 11,000 fans per game, but on hot pants day, 35,000 people showed up to the ballpark.

There was over 10,000 women there, and the rest of the attendees were mostly horny dudes snapping pictures and taking videos.

Around 6,000 women participated in the “fashion show” between games.

Because the promotion drew so many fans, several other clubs implemented their own version of "hot pants day" over the next couple of years.

The Rangers did it in '72, and honestly, the interviews with the women are pretty cringy.

Especially the 72-year-old lady who says she was forced by her husband to enter the contest.

Don't get me wrong, I like beautiful women as much as the next guy, but this is a recipe for a creep fest; there's definitely better ways to get people out to the ballpark.

Our friends at Homage made a whole brand dedicated to celebrating the GOAT’s.

They’re inspired by movies, sports, and pop culture.

Here’s some of my top picks from the site:

Quick Links:

STRANGE NAMES

If you're just joining us, we play this game every day where we try to find the weirdest names throughout baseball history.

Why? Don't ask us, it's just something we like to do.

If you've been rocking with us for awhile now, you know what time it is.

Today's winner is:

Imagine being SO GOOD, that they just replace your first name with "Phenomenal."

Apparently, Smith got the nickname after throwing a no-no against Baltimore in ’85.

Thing is, his lifetime numbers were aiight - so it didn't age that well.

BUT, he did have an INSANE season for Newark in '86.

Just look at these numbers: 22 wins, 33 CG's, and a 0.74 ERA.

His most important accomplishment came as a coach.

Smith is credited with discovering Christy Mathewson in ’99, and helping to develop him into a star.

THE DEAD LEGENDS ARCHIVE

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