Disco Demolition Night at Comiskey Park

"Disco Demolition Night" at Comiskey Park, causes fans to go wild and causes White Sox to forfeit 2nd game of a doubleheader to Tigers on July 12, 1979

Disco Demolition Night was a promotional event that took place on Thursday, July 12, 1979, at Comiskey Park in Chicago, Illinois, during which a crate filled with records was blown up on the field.

It was held during the twi-night doubleheader baseball game between the Chicago White Sox and the Detroit Tigers. During the climax of the event, rowdy fans surged onto the field, and a near riot ensued. It would ultimately prove to be one of the most notable promotional ideas and one of the most infamous since "Ten Cent Beer Night" in Cleveland in 1974. The event has been characterized as the "emblematic moment" of the anti-disco "crusade"

The turnout for Disco Demolition Night far exceeded all expectations.

White Sox management was hoping for a crowd of 12,000, about double the average for a Thursday night game that year. But an estimated 90,000 turned up at the 52,000-seat stadium. Thousands of people climbed walls and fences attempting to enter Comiskey Park, while others were denied admission. Off-ramps to the stadium from the Dan Ryan Expressway were closed when the stadium was filled to capacity and beyond

White Sox TV announcers Harry Caray and Jimmy Piersall, who were broadcasting the game for WSNS-TV, commented freely on the "strange people" wandering aimlessly in the stands. Mike Veeck recalled that the pregame air was heavy with the scent of marijuana. When the crate on the field was filled with records, staff stopped collecting them from spectators, who soon realized that long-playing (LP) records were shaped like frisbees. Some began to throw their records from the stands during the game, often striking other fans. The fans also threw beer and even firecrackers from the stands.

After the first game (which Detroit won 4-1), Dahl, dressed in army fatigues and helmet, along with Lorelei Shark, WLUP's first "Rock Girl", and bodyguards, emerged and proceeded to center field. The large box containing the collected records was rigged with explosives. Dahl led the crowd in chants of "disco sucks" and a countdown prior to triggering the explosives. When detonated, the explosives tore a hole in the outfield grass surface and a small fire began burning. Dahl, Shark, and the bodyguards hopped into a jeep which circled the warning track before leaving the field through the right-centerfield exit. Thousands of fans immediately rushed the field. Some lit more fires and started small-scale riots. The batting cage was pulled down and wrecked, and the bases were stolen, along with chunks of the field itself. The crowd, once on the field, mostly wandered around aimlessly, though a number of participants burned banners, sat on the grass or ran from security and police.

Retro History for July 12 The 50s 60s 70s 80s

Retro History For The Decade 1980

1989 New York Yankee pitching great Ron Guidry retires (170-91 .651, 3.29 ERA)
1988 59th All Star Baseball Game: AL wins 2-1 at Riverfront Stadium, Cin
1988 All star MVP: Terry Steinbach for the Oakland A's
1988 Margo Adams alleges Red Sox Wade Bogg's had an affair with her
1988 U.S.S.R. launches Phobos II for Martian orbit
1987 15th du Maurier Golf Classic: Jody Rosenthal
1987 1st time in 20 years a delegation from U.S.S.R. lands in Israel
1987 50 white South Africans meets ANCers in Dakar
1987 8th U.S. Seniors Golf Open: Gary Player
1987 Phillies Kent Tekulve pitches his 900th game in relief
1985 "Singin' in the Rain" opens at Gershwin Theater New York City for 367 performances
1985 Doctors discover a cancerous growth in President Reagan's colon
1985 STS-51-F launch scrubbed at T -3s because of main engine shutdown
1984 Geraldine Ferraro, New York becomes 1st woman major-party Vice Presidential candidate
1983 Chad government troops reconquer Abeche
1982 Britain announces it is returning 593 Argentine POWs
1981 Debbie Austin wins LPGA Mayflower Golf Classic

Retro History For The Decade 1970

1979 Ian Palce joins Whitesnake
1979 Kiribati (formerly Gilbert Islands) declares independence from U.K.
1979 "Disco Demolition Night" at Comiskey Park, causes fans to go wild and causes White Sox to forfeit 2nd game of a doubleheader to Tigers
1978 Sun Bank Building opens
1978 U.S. performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1977 1st free flight test of space shuttle Enterprise
1977 John Edrich scores his 100th 100, Surrey vs. Derbyshire at The Oval
1976 Ian Dury and Kilburns disband
1975 104th British Golf Open: Tom Watson shoots a 279 at Carnoustie
1975 Bob Taylor catches 7 in an innings, Derbyshire vs. Yorkshire
1975 Sao Tome e Principe gains independence from Portugal (National Day)
1974 John Ehrlichman convicted of violating Daniel Ellsberg's rights
1971 Juan Corona, indicted for 25 murders
1970 99th British Golf Open: Jack Nicklaus shoots a 283 at St. Andrews
1970 Tanzania signs contract with China for building Tanzam-railway

Retro History For The Decade 1960

1969 98th British Golf Open: Tony Jacklin shoots a 280 at Royal Lytham
1968 Couve de Murville forms government in France
1968 U.S.S.R. performs nuclear test at Semipalitinsk, Eastern Kazakhstan U.S.S.R.
1967 23 die in Newark race riot
1967 5th Mayor's Trophy Game, Mets beat Yankees 4-0
1967 Blacks in Newark, riot, 26 killed, 1500 injured and over 1000 arrested
1967 Greek regime deprives 480 Greeks of their citizenship
1966 10.51" (26.70 cm) of rainfall, Sandusky Ohio (state record)
1966 37th All Star Baseball Game: NL wins 2-1 in 10 at Busch Stad, St. Louis
1966 All star MVP: Brooks Robinson for the Baltimore Orioles
1966 Race riot in Chicago
1966 U.S. Treasury announces it will buy mutilated silver coins at silver bullion price at Philadelphia and Denver mints
1964 19th U.S. Women's Open Golf Championship won by Mickey Wright
1962 1st time 2 manned crafts in space (U.S.S.R.)
1962 Rolling Stones 1st performance, Marquee Club, London
1960 Congo, Chad and Central African Republic declare independence
1960 Echo I, 1st passive satellite launched
1960 Joyce Ziske wins LPGA Hoosier Celebrity Golf Tournament
1960 U.S.S.R.'s Sputnik 5 launched with 2 dogs
1960 XEWT TV channel 12 in Tijuana-San Diego, California (IND) begins broadcasting

Retro History For The Decade 1950

1959 NBC uses cameras to show catchers signals during ankee-Red Sox game
1958 "Li'l Abner" closes at St. James Theater New York City after 693 performances
1958 U.S. performs atmospheric nuclear test at Bikini Island
1957 1st President to fly in helicopter - Dwight Eisenhower
1957 U.S. Surgeon General Leroy Burney connects smoking with lung cancer
1955 22nd All Star Baseball Game: NL wins 6-5 in 12 at County Stad, Milw
1955 Christian Democratic Party forms in Argentina
1954 Major League Baseball Players Association founded
1954 President Eisenhower put forward a plan for an interstate highway system
1953 KTVB TV channel 7 in Boise, Idaho (NBC/ABC) begins broadcasting
1952 East German SED decides to form East Germany army
1951 New York Yankees Allie Reynolds no-hits Cleveland Indians, 8-0
1950 ILTF re-admit Germany and Japan in Davis Cup, Poland and Hungary withdraws
1950 Hague Council of Annulment convicts German war criminals W Lages, FH Van de Funten and F Fischer to death

Have a groovy vintage retro day!


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Vintage Retro Music & Retro Pop Culture is our passion and what we LOVE. We keep it going everyday for the love of producing it for you to enjoy. Thanks for viewing. Much Peace! Disco Demolition Night causes fans to go wild on July 12, 1979.