Ozzy Osbourne Infamously Urinated on Alamo Cenotaph 44 Years Ago

The rock star's drunken act at the historic San Antonio site led to his arrest and a ban from city venues.

Published on Feb. 25, 2026

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On February 19, 1982, heavy metal icon Ozzy Osbourne publicly urinated on the Alamo Cenotaph in San Antonio, Texas while intoxicated and wearing his then-girlfriend's green evening dress. Osbourne was arrested and briefly jailed, and the incident resulted in a City Council vote to ban him from performing in city-owned venues. A decade later, Osbourne returned to San Antonio and performed two shows, donating $10,000 to the Daughters of the Republic of Texas as an apology.

Why it matters

The Alamo Cenotaph is a revered monument in San Antonio, and Osbourne's disrespectful act was seen as a major offense against the city's history and culture. The incident highlighted Osbourne's struggles with alcohol addiction at the time and sparked controversy over whether he should be allowed to perform in the city again.

The details

In 1982, a drunken Ozzy Osbourne thought he was urinating on an old wall, but was actually relieving himself on the 56-foot tall Alamo Cenotaph. Police arrested Osbourne at 3 p.m. and took him to the Bexar County jail, where he stayed for a few hours until his concert promoters paid a $40 bond. Osbourne then went on to perform at his scheduled concert at Hemisfair Arena, where things turned chaotic, with two dozen people arrested and 11 full-sized windows smashed.

  • On February 19, 1982, Ozzy Osbourne publicly urinated on the Alamo Cenotaph.
  • A decade later, in 1992, Osbourne returned to San Antonio and performed two shows at the Freeman Coliseum.

The players

Ozzy Osbourne

A heavy metal icon who publicly urinated on the Alamo Cenotaph in 1982 while intoxicated and wearing his then-girlfriend's green evening dress.

Sharon Arden

Ozzy Osbourne's manager at the time, who is now his widow.

Nelson Wolff

The mayor of San Antonio in 1992 who previously said Osbourne was not welcome in the city, but later accepted his apology backstage.

Daughters of the Republic of Texas

The caretakers of the Alamo at the time, to whom Osbourne donated $10,000 as an apology.

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What they’re saying

“One of the wreckages of my past”

— Ozzy Osbourne (San Antonio Light)

The takeaway

Ozzy Osbourne's infamous act of urinating on the Alamo Cenotaph in 1982 highlighted his struggles with alcohol addiction at the time and sparked controversy over whether he should be allowed to perform in San Antonio again. The incident underscored the reverence for the Alamo monument and the city's history, and Osbourne's later apology and donation showed the power of acknowledging wrongdoing and making amends.