Seattlest: Cancer Killed Bill Scott, Corporate Management Killed Bill the Beerman

Dan

Mon, 16 Apr 2007 15:37:53 -0800

I knew Bill for over 30 years. First as his advisor in college and then at the King Dome. As a 25year ticket holder from the start of the Sea Hawks, Bill used to come by our seat at each game and with his sweaty face and beard lean down and give my wife a kiss, shake my hand and then off he would go . We often ran into Bill around the area along with Rick "The Peanut Man". Both have been friends for many years. We will miss him.

Jessica Nace ( Scott)

Thu, 29 Mar 2007 19:15:25 -0800

It was loud and fun, but I was a little girl so it was overwhelming at times. I can remember sitting in the stands waiting for my dad to come and check on me and my brothers. When he would finally make it to us he would say in a loud voice these are my children. He was very proud and people would say is that your dad?. I was proud, but I do not think I realized as a little girl just how much of an impact Bill "the beerman" had on the fans at the Kingdome or any where. He will forever be immorilized in the Hearts of peopele in seattle.

Seth

Tue, 27 Mar 2007 13:42:11 -0800

I was at a Denver/Seattle game while that rule was in effect...I think it was the second year, and the officials had largely given up on enforcing it. I remember screaming for Rufus Porter to sack Elway, which he did, but not enough, and the Broncos won in ot, I think. Agreed, Charlie--the Kingdome was rarely loud, in fact, it was probably louder for Yankee games than any other time.

Clarke

Tue, 27 Mar 2007 12:55:34 -0800

From The Sporting News. Bill was a big part of this: The 12th Man began in 1984, when the Seahawks retired the jersey number 12 to honor their fans. Back then, the otherwise drab Kingdome was the loudest venue in the NFL, even though the team had just two winning seasons in its first seven years after beginning play in 1976. The league even briefly instituted a rule in the 1980s calling for a five-yard penalty on teams if their home crowds did not quiet enough for visiting teams to call plays. It was widely known as the "Kingdome rule." Davis said "the most amazing thing I had ever seen" was the day Denver's John Elway stepped away from his center amid the din. Elway turned his palms toward the Kingdome's concrete roof and pleaded to the referee that he could not call signals. The referee eventually flagged Seattle more than once that afternoon.

Clarke

Tue, 27 Mar 2007 12:52:37 -0800

you should have been there for a few seahawk games man. The NFL actually instituted a rule (granted, they never really enforced it, but I think the ruls is still on the books) allowing the referees to penalize a home team because of the crows being too loud because of how loud it got during the 1980's...

Charlie

Tue, 27 Mar 2007 12:44:12 -0800

I don't remember Bill as I spent most of my baseball youth in New York City attending Yankees games (please, hold the jeers. this isn't a NY vs. Seattle post at all) but I did visit the Kingdome a few times as a kid when I lived here for a few years and I was a rabid baseball fan back then (we're talking mid 80s here). I don't ever remember the Kingdome being loud or anyone wanting it to be. It was a cavernous space that seemed to intimadte people and defintely kept them quiet. Is the first commenter really sure that in the Kingdome "that it was my duty to lose my voice and made me abhor those who dared attend a game to sit on their hands?" It always seemed pretty quiet to me and Safeco is no different. I can't count the number of dirty looks I've gotten (as an adult) there when I cheered too loudly for the M's.

Clarke

Tue, 27 Mar 2007 12:16:53 -0800

A very sad story. For my generation of sports fans, you couldn't grow up in this town without knowing and loving Bill the Beer Man. He knew how to help us enjoy the game that much more without becoming the show himself. He taught me that it was my duty to lose my voice and made me abhor those who dared attend a game to sit on their hands. I'm glad he had his moment last year at Qwest Field and I'll always remember him when I think about those days inside the dome during my youth... By the way, there is a fantastic old picture of the Beer Man and Peanut guy on the Seattle Times website...priceless.