A Wet T-shirt Contest by George Rose

Outside of a year or two, the Atlanta Braves struggled in the decades after moving away from Milwaukee. With a team destined for 101 losses, the Braves were already struggling to bring in fans. And their solution was to put a shameless spin on ladies day at the park with Wet T-Shirt Night.

Why did the Braves stop promoting wet t-shirt contests after 1977? :  r/baseballcirclejerk

On May 20, 1977, 11,451 fans—unsurprisingly mostly men—showed up to see the 13–24 Braves take on the Cubs. But really, most showed up for the main event taking place after the game. And they were committed as though Rain threatened the night, delaying the first pitch by two hours, absolutely no one was leaving.

They could’ve let the contestant stand outside and let nature do the work, but this was a real setup with a full panel of judges, who really wanted to do the work themselves. And the game itself was nothing to remember as the lowly braves would end up losing 13-4. And somewhere around the sixth inning, the Braves announced that registration for the contest was open—in full view of the fans, so everyone could watch the girls sign up. Unsurprisingly, It took a moment for the first brave volunteer to walk up, but once she did, 42 others followed.

And finally, after the last out, the entertainment that most came out for began. And The winner was allegedly the daughter of a Methodist minister—probably not an award she displayed in front of her family or talked about at Church. Braves owner Ted Turner tired many bold promotions such as ostrich races, wrestling matches and headlock day. But wet t shirt night goes down as probably the most desperate and again the most shameless, that I’m guessing won’t happen again.

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