Friday Flashback: Mayhem at the Madhouse on Madison

By Prescott Carlson in Miscellaneous on Jul 10, 2009 9:30PM

One good drunken brawl video deserves another, so for this week's Friday Flashback we're taking a look a the beer-fueled brouhaha that broke out at the Chicago Stadium in 1982. The Blackhawks, who had managed to squeeze into the playoffs by the skin of their teeth, had beaten the Minnesota North Stars in the first two games of the Division Semi-Finals and were looking for a sweep in game 3. Unfortunately, Minnesota had different plans and spanked the Hawks, taking a 7-1 lead by the third period.

Well, mass quantities of alcohol is the usual tonic for disappointment and letdown, and when you combine that with a packed-to-the-roof crowd of 21,000 people, it's not surprising that several fights broke out in the stands sending fans tumbling over chairs and Andy Frain ushers and off-duty police security scrambling to regain control. One announcer took particular delight at the thought of the troublemakers getting their comeuppance, and postulates that the cops would be roughing them up in the stadium corridor out of the public eye.