Of all of the promotions that Bill Veeck had during his time in baseball, Disco Demolition Night may be the most infamous. The White Sox disastrous event happened on this day in 1979.
Back in the 1970’s disco was the king of the music industry. A scourge like the Bubonic Plague or the Spanish Flu, only affecting our auditory functions, there seemed to be no end in sight to the bad hair, polyester suits and bell bottoms. We needed a hero to step up and save us from ourselves, as humanity had proven that their musical tastes were sorely lacking.
Fortunately, such a man was waiting for this opportunity. Bill Veeck, who was known for such brilliant marketing stunts as having Eddie Gaedel to being the first to integrate the American League with players like Larry Doby and Satchel Paige, was ready. Understanding the threat that America, and the rest of the planet, was facing from this musical menace, Veeck scheduled Disco Demolition Night, where disco albums would be blown up between games of a doubleheader between the Chicago White Sox and the Detroit Tigers.
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Well, Veeck’s plans to destroy disco once and for all certainly worked. Local disc jockey Steve Dahl had quit his job when his radio station switched to an all disco format, and as the head of the “Disco Sucks” movement, teamed with Veeck for the promotion. Over 60,000 fans attended the first game, attracted by a 98 cent ticket price if they brought a disco album with them.
However, the promotion quickly turned to chaos. 15,000 more fans camped out across the street, and when the collection bins for the albums began to overflow, fans brought them into the stands with them, using the records as Frisbees. Firecrackers and cherry bombs were set off in the stands, and empty beer and liquor bottles rained on to the field.
Yet, that was just the opening act for the true chaos. Between games, Dahl led the destruction of thousands of albums in center field, detonating those albums. That was the signal for the true rioting to begin, as fans stormed the field. They began tearing out the grass, building campfires, literally stealing the bases, and overturning the batting cage, amongst other shenanigans. The pleas of Veeck fell upon deaf ears, and when the White Sox and the police were unable to regain control of the crowd, the second game was postponed, eventually being forfeited to the Tigers.
However, if Veeck’s plan was to truly destroy disco, he did just that. Disco albums had six of the Top Ten selling albums at the time, but by the time that December rolled around, disco was out of the Top Ten entirely. The scourge had been defeated, and all it truly cost was Veeck’s dignity.
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Chicago White Sox owner Bill Veeck was the hero we all needed at the time. Unfortunately, it backfired on him when the fans took over Comiskey Park.