Bill Veeck, has often been regarded as the master of promotions. During his years as a owner and promoter of baseball, he came up with various ideas and schemes to get fans to come to the ballpark, while at the same time making progressive steps to improve the game. Some of the promotional ideas and schemes that he came with during his years as an owner, have come into notoriety. Among them, was in 1951, when Veeck was the owner of the hapless St. Louis Browns, he signed 3 foot 7 inch tall Eddie Gaedel, the shortest player to play in a Major League game to a one day contract for the Browns. He would drawn a walk on four consecutive pitches against the Detroit Tigers, after the fourth pitch, Tigers’ pitcher Bob Crain fell off the mound in laughter. Another notable event done by Veeck, would be also with the Browns, where he had fans hold up signs with in-game decisions on them. These stunts were really done, to help the hapless Browns with attendance, but nevertheless were hilarious in their actions. Veeck was also owner of the Indians, during the 1940’s, which during his time as owner, saw the Indians win their second World Series title in 1948, which has also been the last time that Cleveland won a World Series. Later in the 1950’s, after selling his shares of ownership in the St. Louis Browns, which was part of the Brown’s move to Baltimore where they would become the Orioles, Veeck, became one of the principal owners of the Chicago White Sox. For most of the 1950’s, the Southsiders, were a mediocre team, but in 1959, around the time that Veeck became one of the principal owners of the White Sox, they caught lighting in a bottle, with hitting, speed, and defense of Nellie Fox and Nellie Fox, and the pitching of Early Wynn and Billy Pierce, the Southsiders captured the American League Pennant, for the first time since 1919. They ultimately fell short in the World Series against the Dodgers, but for a short time, the Go-Go Sox were among the most feared teams in the league.
For the remainder of the Veeck’s ownership, the Sox had some competitive teams, but ultimately fell short. Once again he turned to strange promotions to promote the team and the 1970’s would be host to many of his strange promotions, it was also during this time that his influence as in owner in baseball, began to wane as the era of free agency began. Ironically, Veeck, had been the only owner in baseball to speak on behalf of Curt Flood, who was trying to become a free agent, and whose case became the starting point for the discussion on free agency. Among the promotions, that Veeck did included, in 1976, the White Sox wore softball uniforms for a few games, but none would come close to what would occur on July 12, 1979. On a sidenote, the White Sox in the 70’s and the 80’s had some pretty ugly uniforms, but that’s just an observation of mine, the uniforms that they wore in the 50’s and 60’s were nice, but now back to the main focus of this post.
As Veeck, was looking for various things to promote at Cominsky Park, the music scene in the 1970’s was evolving. In the early 1970’s disco came onto the scene in inner city clubs in New York, by the mid-1970’s it was apart of the mainstream, with the success of the Bee Gees and the film Saturday Night Fever. For many (including this writer, despite not being born or alive in the 1970’s), disco was seen as too mechanical and artificial as music and despite its popularity, the mid-70’s would also see the beginning of the end of the disco, as stations began to switch from rock to playing disco the push back began.
Enter Steve Dahl, a disc jockey from Chicago, who in the winter of 1978, was fired from radio station WDAI as the station switched from rock to disco. Dahl, who was 24 at the time, would be hire by rival rock station WLUP, “The Loop,” and the anti-disco backlash began (on a side note, the mid to late 70’s would see the rise of punk and some excellent and underrated bands. The Sex Pistols would release Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols, during the this time.). With Dahl on the air wave, the anti disco backlash began with a firestorm, mocking WDAI, and organizing his listeners with the simple mantra: Disco Sucks, and generally mocked disco and disco albums over the radio. In the months leading under to the event known as Disco Demolition Night on July 12, 1979, Dahl and others promoted a number of anti disco events.
In weeks prior to the event taking place, Dahl invited his listeners to destroy a bunch of Disco records at Cominsky Park, but feared that the event would not draw, as the White Sox, weren’t particularly good at the time. Mike Veeck, Bill’s son hired security for 35,000 people. And so the day came, July 12, 1979, although attendance figures say 47,765 were in attendance, the number was much higher around 60,000 as people were sneaking into the ballpark for the event. In between a double header against the Detroit Tigers, which the Tigers won the first game 4-1, the destruction of Disco records would take place. At 8:16 the first game ended and at 8:40 Dahl emerged onto the field wearing military fatigues and a helmet, warming up the crowd with the chant, “Disco Sucks.” He told the crowd, that this is now officially the largest anti-disco rally and that they were going to blow up a bunch of records real good. Dahl set off the explosives, destroying the records, and creating a large hole in the outfield grass. Around this time the security guards who were hired for the event were no where near the field as they were guarding the entrances. Immediately after the destruction of the records, the first of what would be thousands rushed onto the field, ripping up grass and stealing the bases. Between 5,000 and 7,000 took to the field. Bill Veeck, stood at home plate, begging people to return to the stands, as he did this a bonfire raged in center field.
Harry Caray, also tried to restore order, by speaking over the PA system, telling people to return to their seats. Dahl offered his help on restoring order, but it was declined. At 9:08, the police showed up in full riot gear and finally order was restored, the second game of the double header would be a forfeit, the last time that would occur in the American League. In the day after, the Veeck’s faced severe criticism as did Dahl, but Dahl wouldn’t really be harmed by the criticism. White Sox’s pitcher Ron Wortham, would later say that this wouldn’t happen if it was Country Western Night. The following year, Bill Veeck, would retire from baseball, his son Mike Veeck, would be black balled from the game, but is now the owner of a successful minor league team. Steve Dahl would continue to be a disco jockey until 2008, he now is the host of a podcast. While Disco Demolition Night, was insanity at its finest, it is and was a strange promotion, but it also came at a time when Disco was in its decline, as rock and rock genres began to take back the radio waves. It would be in 1979 and in 1980, that Disco was on its deathbed, and band such as The Ramones were taking back the radio. While there hasn’t been anything like this in baseball, a few years ago someone held a Techno Demolition Night, in the same vein as Disco Demolition Night, but not as hectic. Ultimately, what this event should was the insanity of the 1970’s wrapped up in a single event, and the physical death of a music genre.
Scattered Thought 