Chisox73
07-09-2004, 08:37 PM
It was 25 years ago when thew White Sox were involved in one of the most memorable(or disasterous) promotions,depending on your point of view,in baseball history.
"Disco Demolition Night" was an idea concieved by Mike Veeck,the son of White Sox owner Bill Veeck.This would be a night for those people that hate the entire disco scene that was running rampant in the late 1970s.
Those attending the White Sox twin bill against the Detroit Tigers that night who bright a disco record with them would be admitted for only 98 cents! That tied in with the local radio station,"The Loop",WLUP-FM 97.9,who was the sponsor of this event.
The disco records would then be placed in center field,and would be lit into a "bonfire" in between games of the doubleheader between these 2 also rans.
The Sox figured that maybe 30,000 tops would be there,but with the paid attendance of over 47,000 fans,there were well over 55,000 in the park alone.There was also anywhere between 10 to 20,000 outside the park that were turned away,and a huge traffic jam on the Dan Ryan Expressway near the ballpark,that backed up traffic all the way to O'Hare International Airport.
The 1st game wwas interrupted several times as records were being used as frisbees and had been hurled onto the playing field.The Sox ended up losing the 1st game 4-1 to drop thier record to 40-47 in the AL West.
Between games,the records were hauled out into center field,and radio personality Steve Dahl,who had been making a name for himself in Chicago in 1979 as a leader in the anti-disco movement which he had promoted on his morning drive show on WLUP,came out in army fatigues,and whipped the crowd into a frenzy as the sellout crowd chanted "Disco Sucks!".
Then,Dahl,accompanied by Lorelei,a blond beauty who was featured in the TV advertisements for "The Loop"(those of a certain age in Chicago know who Lorelei was. :D ),blew up crates of records in center field,after that,thousands of fans rushed the field,causing the field to be unplayable.
After pleas by Bill Veeck and White Sox announcer Harry Caray over the Comiskey Park public address system,the crowd finally dispersed after about 90 minutes of mayhem.The batting cages were destroyed,fires wrere set in the outfield,the grass was all torn up.
Bill Veeck and his people surveyed the damage with the umps and determined that the playing field was deemed too dangerous to play Game 2.
The following day,Major League Baseball ordered that Game 2 would be forfieted.It was MLB's 1st forfiet since Cleveland's 10 Cent Beer Night promotion in 1974.
For more stories about Disco Demolition Night,click here (whitesoxinteractive.com/History&Glory/DiscoDemolition.htm) and click here (www.suntimes.com/output/sox/cst-spt-disco09.html)
"Disco Demolition Night" was an idea concieved by Mike Veeck,the son of White Sox owner Bill Veeck.This would be a night for those people that hate the entire disco scene that was running rampant in the late 1970s.
Those attending the White Sox twin bill against the Detroit Tigers that night who bright a disco record with them would be admitted for only 98 cents! That tied in with the local radio station,"The Loop",WLUP-FM 97.9,who was the sponsor of this event.
The disco records would then be placed in center field,and would be lit into a "bonfire" in between games of the doubleheader between these 2 also rans.
The Sox figured that maybe 30,000 tops would be there,but with the paid attendance of over 47,000 fans,there were well over 55,000 in the park alone.There was also anywhere between 10 to 20,000 outside the park that were turned away,and a huge traffic jam on the Dan Ryan Expressway near the ballpark,that backed up traffic all the way to O'Hare International Airport.
The 1st game wwas interrupted several times as records were being used as frisbees and had been hurled onto the playing field.The Sox ended up losing the 1st game 4-1 to drop thier record to 40-47 in the AL West.
Between games,the records were hauled out into center field,and radio personality Steve Dahl,who had been making a name for himself in Chicago in 1979 as a leader in the anti-disco movement which he had promoted on his morning drive show on WLUP,came out in army fatigues,and whipped the crowd into a frenzy as the sellout crowd chanted "Disco Sucks!".
Then,Dahl,accompanied by Lorelei,a blond beauty who was featured in the TV advertisements for "The Loop"(those of a certain age in Chicago know who Lorelei was. :D ),blew up crates of records in center field,after that,thousands of fans rushed the field,causing the field to be unplayable.
After pleas by Bill Veeck and White Sox announcer Harry Caray over the Comiskey Park public address system,the crowd finally dispersed after about 90 minutes of mayhem.The batting cages were destroyed,fires wrere set in the outfield,the grass was all torn up.
Bill Veeck and his people surveyed the damage with the umps and determined that the playing field was deemed too dangerous to play Game 2.
The following day,Major League Baseball ordered that Game 2 would be forfieted.It was MLB's 1st forfiet since Cleveland's 10 Cent Beer Night promotion in 1974.
For more stories about Disco Demolition Night,click here (whitesoxinteractive.com/History&Glory/DiscoDemolition.htm) and click here (www.suntimes.com/output/sox/cst-spt-disco09.html)