The dumbest night in
baseball history. (Along with Ten Cent Beer Night.) July 12, 1979, Comiskey Park,
Chicago, Illinois.
The game: Actually,
two games were scheduled; it was a doubleheader. Detroit won the first game, 4-1, and the second was canceled because of the mayhem. Chicago (which sucked that year) forfeited to Detroit.
What was intended: The blowing up of disco records in the stadium, as well as two White Sox/ Detroit Tigers games, in front of a crowd of perhaps 20000, with enough security for 35000. The park could hold 40000 or so.
What happened: Over 50000
people came, mostly
rock-music fans who didn't care about
baseball.
People jumped turnstiles in true 70s fashion. Security was sent to the gates, leaving stands undefended.
People threw records from the stands, chanted "DISCO SUCKS!", smoked pot, and interrupted play. At the end of the first game, folks drove onfield with a box of records and blew it up, cratering the outfield. Rockers invaded the field, wrecked the batting cage, overran the dugouts, and partied. The cops were called on the rock music folks, which led to more trampling of the field. The field was unplayable, so Chicago had to forfeit.
Why: Disco was reaching the end of its "golden age", and
baseball was at a popularity low. Furthermore, the White Sox were having a bad year. So the White Sox honchos decided to hold an anti-disco night. They invited disco haters to come into the stadium with a discount if they brought in a disco record.
