BALTIMORE -- A roast turned into an angry confrontation in front of a crowd of 1,100 Thursday night when former Baltimore Orioles manager Earl Weaver lashed back at Jim Palmer, the team's former star pitcher, who had been teasing Weaver about his height and reputation for drinking.

	Earl Weaver's combativeness seemingly hasn't eased since his retirement.

The Baltimore Sun reported a steaming Weaver shocked the crowd attending the Sports Boosters of Maryland Headliners Banquet in his honor by telling them that Palmer had cost the team a lot of games by claiming injuries he didn't have. Then he went around the dais and confronted Palmer directly, screaming at the stunned pitcher before being led away by former Orioles star Lee May.

"It was unbelievable," Jay Harris, executive director of the sports boosters, told the Sun. "These were fans, people who liked Weaver. A lot of people stayed because they wanted to hear his retaliation, but this wasn't what they wanted."

Harris said Weaver, the star attraction of the annual boosters' dinner this year, had been teased for nearly three hours by a succession of former teammates and friends from baseball.

Weaver would interrupt occasionally to say he had heard enough of a particular story.

"At first, I thought he was being funny," said Harris. But Palmer's comments clearly set Weaver off.

Weaver reportedly told Palmer that he would never forgive him for the remarks. According to Harris, Palmer said, "What are we supposed to do? That's what we are here for," as Weaver shouted at him.

Neither Palmer nor Weaver could be reached for later comment.