Few people know that the Ramones' 1975 hit, Beat on the Brat (with a baseball bat), was actually a tribute to one of the greatest brawls in baseball history.
In 1965, San Francisco Giants pitcher Juan Marichal took umbrage with Los Angeles Dodgers Catcher John Roseboro after Roseboro had hummed a throw a little too close to Marichal's ear on a toss back to pitcher Sandy Koufax. Marichal proceeded to club Roseboro over the head with his bat igniting a bench clearing brawl in the midst of a pennant race.
Meanwhile, aspiring musicians Joey and Dee Dee Ramone, sat in Queens, New York watching it all unfold. Both still held allegiances to the Giants despite the club's decision to move west less than a decade earlier. Each of these future punk rock pioneers cheered for Marichal that day with fervor not seen since the gladiatorial celebrations of Rome.
Joey and Dee Dee always viewed John Roseboro as a bit of a punk for what he did so they penned a three chord assault to commemorate an incident seared into their childhood memories. But rather than call him a punk (which, after all, was their preferred nom de guerre) they opted for the more derogatory term associated with whiny children: a brat.
Thus, a punk rock tune of legendary* status was born. I give you The Ramones...
This story is TRUE or FALSE?
*And by legendary I mean the song.
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