Remembering Mets History (1986) Ron Darling, Bob Ojeda, Tim Teufel & Rick Aguilera Get Arrested at a Houston Nightclub
This attracted athletes from all sports to the club, catering to the home teams & visiting teams as well.
This custom certainly brought more girls into the place & that made more guys want to get in as well. Cooters was a landmark goldmine.
Tim Teufel, a rather quieter guy from the 1986 Mets team, was a new father & wanted to go out to celebrate.
Tim Teufel, a rather quieter guy from the 1986 Mets team, was a new father & wanted to go out to celebrate.
Pitcher Bob Ojeda said he heard of this place called Cooters. Mets relief pitcher Doug Sisk had been there before, he claimed he came out of the bathroom one night returning to his table, only to find the cops waiting for him. He said he had been roughed up a bit, insisting he did nothing to get himself into trouble. Doug Sisk warned Ojeda not to go to Cooters on this night in July of 1986. After dropping their second game in a row to the Houston Astros in the Astrodome, Mets; Bob Ojeda, Tim Teufel, Rick Aguilera, Ron Darling & Darryl Strawberry all hopped in a cab & went to Cooters Bar.
Strawberry didn't stay too long & left the four other Mets players drinking at a table. Tim Teufel, who was not a big drinker, celebrated a bit too much having way more alcohol than he was use too.After a night of drinking & partying, being noticed by Texas women as well as sports fans it was suddenly closing time. The Mets players were making some noise, attracting some attention that wasn't appreciated by everyone. Not everyone was a Mets fan or a fan of anyone from New York carrying on in their Texas bar.
At 2:00 AM the Mets were asked to leave as the place was closing down. They refused to go & stay on drinking for another half hour or so.
Eventually Ron Darling & Rick Aguilera went to use the men's room before leaving, Tim Teufel & Bob Ojeda went outside.
As Ojeda went to hail a taxi, two Houston Police officers, hired for that night's security duty stopped them.
As Ojeda went to hail a taxi, two Houston Police officers, hired for that night's security duty stopped them.
Teufel was carrying an open beer bottle which was against the state law. When Tim Teufel was questioned about the bottle, he told the cop to f' off. When the officer went to grab the beer, the intoxicated Teufel allegedly went to punch the officer. Two club bouncers pulled Teufel away & the officer punched him twice in the stomach. Teufel was hand cuffed, placed on the ground with the Police officer's knee in his back. Reports say someone was yelling to break Teufel's arm.
Ron Darling came out surprised to witness what was taking place. He went to go help his teammate pushing & throwing punches which got him hand cuffed as well.
.JPG)
Rick Aguilera & Bob Ojeda were eventually hand cuffed as well, although they were doing nothing except trying to make the peace.
Rick Aguilera & Bob Ojeda were eventually hand cuffed as well, although they were doing nothing except trying to make the peace. The four Mets were taken to a local Houston jail where they were booked & put in a holding cell for the next ten hours.
Bobby Ojeda called Arthur Richman the Mets travel secretary at the time who was asleep in his hotel room. Luckily, he knew the Houston vice Mayor, Frank Mancuso. Mancuso was a former St. Louis Browns baseball player & was the brother of former New York Giants catcher Gus Mancuso. Frank had known Richman from his playing days. When he got the call, he made some arrangements & got the four Mets players out of jail before the next morning.
Bobby Ojeda called Arthur Richman the Mets travel secretary at the time who was asleep in his hotel room. Luckily, he knew the Houston vice Mayor, Frank Mancuso. Mancuso was a former St. Louis Browns baseball player & was the brother of former New York Giants catcher Gus Mancuso. Frank had known Richman from his playing days. When he got the call, he made some arrangements & got the four Mets players out of jail before the next morning.
Quotes- Manager Davey Johnson: ''My main rule is, 'Don't embarrass me or the ball club.' This is embarrassing to the club, to their families & to me, so I'm forced to fine them.''
The players lawyer spoke through Mets P.R. man Jay Horwitz: ''The players involved have stated, on advice of their counsel, that because the case is presently in adjudication that it would be improper for them to issue any individual statement. However, the four players involved in the incident would it like made public that they feel they were unduly assaulted by police personnel on the scene and that one of the players, Tim Teufel, was in fact severely beaten by the police.''
There was no press waiting for them when they got out of the police station, but later the day the story was all over the New York media. Even late-night TV comedian David Letterman made a joke during his opening monologue.
 |
| Mets PR Man: Jay Horowitz |
There was no press waiting for them when they got out of the police station, but later the day the story was all over the New York media. Even late-night TV comedian David Letterman made a joke during his opening monologue.
The legend of the fighting rowdy 1986 Mets grew even bigger.
Roger McDowell the team's main prankster, put adhesive tape placed vertically along the four players lockers to resemble a jail cell. A bar of soap, a razor & one cigarette was put on each player's stool as well.
Roger McDowell the team's main prankster, put adhesive tape placed vertically along the four players lockers to resemble a jail cell. A bar of soap, a razor & one cigarette was put on each player's stool as well.
In January of 1987, the Mets lawyers settled the cases. Ron Darling & Tim Teufel paid a $200 fine & were to serve a year probation. The charges against Bob Ojeda & Rick Aguilera were dropped completely.
The Police Officers tried to sue the Mets for a million dollars but settled for $5000. Cooters Bar became a bigger tourist attraction for the next few years but closed down in the mid-nineties. The incident involving the Mets became known as "Cooter-Gate".The Mets would lose all four games in that weekend series in Houston. They would get their revenge in a much heated up NLCS later that year.
Rick Aguilera broke the four-game losing streak with a win in Cincinnati three days later.