Disco Demolition Night

Disco Demolition Night was an ill-fated baseball promotion that took place on July 12, 1979, at Comiskey Park in Chicago, Illinois. At the climax of the event, a crate filled with disco records was blown up on the field between games of the twi-night doubleheader between the Chicago White Sox and the Detroit Tigers. Many of those in attendance had come to see the explosion rather than the games and rushed onto the field after the detonation. The playing field was damaged both by the explosion and by the rowdy fans to the point where the White Sox were required to forfeit the second game of the doubleheader to the Tigers.

In the late 1970s, dance-oriented disco music was very popular in the United States, particularly after featuring in hit films such as Saturday Night Fever (1977). Despite its popularity, disco sparked a backlash from rock music fans. This opposition was prominent enough that the White Sox, seeking to fill seats at Comiskey Park during a lackluster season, engaged Chicago shock jock and anti-disco campaigner Steve Dahl for the promotion at the July 12 doubleheader. Dahl's sponsoring radio station was 97.9 WLUP-FM, so attendees would pay 98 cents and bring a disco record; between games, Dahl would destroy the collected vinyl in an explosion.

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Latest News for: disco demolition

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MLB, New York Yankees should take heed of baseball visionary who left legacy

Usatoday 26 Mar 2025
(Gaedel walked on four pitches.) Or Disco Demolition Night, which in 1979 led to the destruction of countless disco records and chaos at Chicago's Comiskey Park ... There will be no Disco Demolition night, conceived by Mike Veeck.
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Daywatch: Chicago archdiocese alleges conspiracy to file false sex abuse claims

Chicago Tribune 25 Mar 2025
Good morning, Chicago ... LaSalle St ... A Chicago tale beginning with the infamous Comiskey Park Disco Demolition night and ending with the global rise of house music as sweet revenge opens the 10th edition of the nonfiction film festival Doc10 on April 30.
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Winning isn’t everything, as Chicago White Sox fans have learned in 125 years. But you ...

Chicago Tribune 23 Mar 2025
As the Sox celebrate their 125th season in 2025, they can look back at moments grand and ghastly, from the 1919 Black Sox to the Go-Go Sox of 1959, from Disco Demolition in 1979 to Winning Ugly in 1983.
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