Disco Demolition: A Riotous Anniversary

Sunday marked the 30th anniversary of the death of disco.  The explosive, riotous death of disco that started as a fun idea, and ended with Harry Caray pleading with fans on the loudspeaker and police raiding the field.

On July 12, 1979, the White Sox played a doubleheader against the Detroit Tigers at Comiskey Park. Between the two games, Sox marketing director Mike Veeck (son of then-White Sox owner Bill Veeck) and WLUP disc jockey Steve Dahl had planned a playfully mischievous event: Disco Demolition.

Price of admission that day was 98 cents and a disco record. In an act of music rebellion, the records would be collected, placed in center field, and blown up by Dahl.

"I shoplifted a Donna Summer's album from the Goldblatts on 47th and Ashland to get in for free. Steve Dahl was huge back then. He paved the way for Howard Stern," says Steve Szydelko, a Chicago native who was 16 at the time.

But Dahl, it seems, was not aware of his own popularity. Comiskey Park management had hoped the promotion would attract 12,000 fans, but an estimated 90,000 people showed up. The stadium only had 52,000 seats. When thousands of disco-hating teens had to be turned away at the entrance, many of them tried to climb the walls and fences to get in.

"Steve [Dahl] was really taking control of Chicago back then," said Jeff Schwartz, former head of promotions at WLUP, reports ESPN Chicago. "At the time, we didn't really know how big he was. After that night, we knew."

After the first of the two scheduled games, Dahl destroyed thousands of albums with a bomb in center field. Not only did the bomb tear a hole in the grass, but the blast sent flaming pieces of vinyl hundreds of feet in every direction.

Amidst chants of "Disco sucks!", thousands of teens rushed the field. They stole bases (literally) and danced around the scattered fires.

It was nothing less than chaos.

Bill Veeck and announcer Harry Caray pleaded with the riotous fans to return to their seats. "Can you hear me out there? OK! To make this an absolutely perfect evening, let’s say we all regain our seats, so we can play baseball again!" Caray bellowed over the public address system.

But the fans partied on, and soon the Chicago police, in full riot gear, had to get involved. They made 39 arrests, six injuries were reported, and the White Sox had to forfeit Game Two of the doubleheader because the field was unplayable.

To this day, the second game of this doubleheader is still the last game forfeited in the American League. (The last game forfeited in the National League was in 1995, when the L.A. Dodgers crowd, agitated by an umpire's call, began throwing their free promotional baseballs onto the field of play and at the opposing team.)

While the event, which earned global attention, was considered one of baseball's most embarrassing moments, rock fans felt vindicated and proud, declaring that disco was officially "dead."

Thirty years later, we have an incredible array of horrible fads that need to be demolished in a similar fashion. I, for one, would like to see the demise of Crocs and anything involving teen vampires. A few other ideas:

"Ooooooh, please add the Snuggie." –Trent Roode, 22

"Reality shows need to be added to the bonfire! Unfortunately, I think they are here to stay." –Jim Edberg, 39

"How about Miley Cyrus' autobiography?" –Roy Buckingham, 35

"How about anything having to do with Miley Cyrus?" –Wayne Sutton, 34

Which tired trend's demolition would you like to see? Leave your suggestions below.

Matt Bartosik, editor of Off the Rocks' next issue, would also like to add The Hills, Bluetooth headsets, and Paris Hilton to the blaze.

Copyright NBC Owned Television Stations / NBC Chicago

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