I first read this story in the Nov-Dec 2009 issue of Beatlefan magazine. I was so happy to see the "Meet the Beatles" section back. I checked out the website at the end of the article and found that the article was already online. So instead of me typing out the whole thing, I figured I might as well just copy it and let you know, that this information can be found at http://www.monsterbooks.net/about.html . This story was written my Hal Pollock.
Do you want to go with me to see the Beatles?"
The place was Cleveland, the afternoon of August 14th, 1966. Hal Pollock's father owned a trucking company that hauled equipment for big league sports teams and big name performers like the Rolling Stones and the Monkees. That night, the company was handling tons of equipment and arranging a customized trailer as dressing rooms and press centers for the most eagerly anticipated event in Cleveland's illustrious rock history - the Beatles were performing at Cleveland Stadium.
Like so many other American kids, Hal Pollock was an avid Beatle fan, had been since he first saw them in 1964 on the Ed Sullivan Show, staring wide-eyed as they sang "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and a theater full of girls screamed and fainted.
"Are you kidding?"
Hal Pollock grabbed the empty cover of his Meet the Beatles album (the LP was still on his hi-fi, the grooves on the vinyl record worn flat) and jumped in the truck.
With the concert hours away, the 80,000 seats in Cleveland Stadium were empty, but the field was swarming with activity. Workers were putting the finishing touches on the stage, set up at second base on the Cleveland Indians baseball layout. Technicians were running sound checks on the microphones. Managers, reporters and other VIPs were scurrying about the trailers in the outfield behind the stage. Vendors and ushers gathered in small groups in the quiet before the storm. Laborers secured fencing in a horseshoe from first to third base as a line of defense against intruders on the field. Behind the fence, a battalion of Cleveland police milled in the infield.
Pollock's dad walked him over to the third base dugout, where the opening acts assembled. "You can stay here for now," he said, "I'll come back as soon as I can."
That was fine with Hal - he had better than a front row seat and he was hanging with rock stars like the Ronettes (Be My Baby), Cyrkle (Red Rubber Ball) and Bobby Hebb.
Two hours later, the stadium was filled with teens eager to see the Beatles.
The Ronettes, Cyrkle, Barry and the Remains and Bobby Hebb all took their turns as the impatient crowd began to chant: We want the Beatles!
Finally, DJ's Johnny Canton and Jack Armstrong introduced the Fab Four: "And now, live from Liverpool, England - the Beatles!"
From the first moment they pranced out on stage, the sights and sounds were electrifying. A continuous barrage of flashbulbs lit the stadium like a thousand pulsing strobe lights. The cacophony of cheers, screams and squeals was the loudest noise Hal Pollock had ever heard. The Beatle voices were trumpeted through a hundred megawatt speakers and it was all but impossible to catch more than a note or two through the roar of the crowd.
It was a few songs into the set, just as the Beatles began "Day Tripper," when it happened. One fan jumped from the stands on the first base side, hurdled the fence, and sprinted for the stage. That fan was quickly collared. Then another fan jumped over the third base railing and darted toward the stage. The crowd cheered as he ran and booed as two cops tackled him near the pitcher's mound. Then an athletic kid skirted the fence in right field, zigzagged past police like a broken field runner and made it to the stage before the cops pounced on him. His successful dash sent a mass hysteria signal to the frenzied crowd. Thousands of kids poured out of the stands, swarmed past the outnumbered cops and rushed the stage.
Caught up in the excitement, Hal Pollock ran with them, one of the first to reach the stage. Up close and personal, he saw John and George laughing at the riotous scene as they continued to sing and play. Paul looked concerned as many fans climbed up on stage and the scene turned to chaos. Pollock looked over at Ringo, higher than the others at his perch on the drum stand. Girls clutched at his Beatles jacket and tugged at his hair. As Pollock watched in disbelief, Ringo was yanked off his seat, head over heels, tumbling into the crowd.
The music stopped.
Security men pushed their way through to rescue Ringo, grabbed the other Beatles and hustled them off stage to the safety of the dressing room trailer a few yards away.
A determined Big Jack Armstrong announced that the Beatles weren't coming back until everyone returned to their seats.
Pollock found his father behind the stage and accompanied him into the crowded trailer where the Beatles waited. John, Paul, George and Ringo were nonchalant, answering reporters' questions, joking about the near riot, drinking cokes and smoking cigarettes.
Standing with his father across the living room of the crowded trailer, Pollock's dad whispered, "Give me the album. I am going to try to get it signed." Pollock's dad pushed through the crowd. A few minutes later he emerged and handed Pollock the album. "Hang onto this," he said. "It might be worth something one day." Pollock looked down and saw the autographs of each Beatle scribbled in fresh blue ink on the front and back of the album. [Pollock's dad was right: the Beatles hardly ever rarely gave group autographs. An original Meet the Beatles album with all four autographs goes for well over $100,000 on e-Bay today. Hal Pollock's most prized possession is not for sale.]
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