On this day 39 years ago the Chicago White Sox conjured up this fun event designed to attract fans to Comiskey Park for a summertime double header against the Detroit Tigers.

The promotion was simple: Bring in your favorite/most despised disco record and for $.98 you gained admission to the park. The records brought in were to be collected and gathered to be blown to bits between the two scheduled games.

The White Sox weren't doing so hot in 1979, and were looking to rejuvenate attendence - Comiskey Park had a capacity of under 45,000 at the time, and the club draw at that point of the season was averaging around 15,000. Principal owner and promoter extraordinaire Bill Veeck was hopeful to turn things around, and aided by his son (and White Sox promotions director at the time) Mike they took advantage of a previously rained out against the Tigers to seize the opportunity for a special event during the now rescheduled back half of the twin bill. The hope was bump up attendance for the night to around 25,000, and possibly sustain excitement around the club for the back half of the season (CWS was mired in 5th place in the AL West at the time, seven back of division leader California Angels).

The younger Veeck looked to capitalize on the growing anti-disco movement that had grown across the country as the 70's grew nearer to close. The disco craze had dominated the music and pop culture scene for a large part of the decade, peaking with 1977's Saturday Night Fever, and the opportunity to jump on the backlash with good intent seemed like a great idea to spice up game excitement and interest in the baseball club. The club had actually held a disco night to a degree of success in 1977.

For this event, Mike Veeck worked with personnel from local rock radio station WLUP and shock jock DJ and staunch anti-disco stalwart Steve Dahl. Marketing for the event was put in play shortly after the cancellation of the initial May game, and although hopes were high there was some speculation among those involved the event would not be a great success. Still Veeck took measures to ensure adequate preparations were in place - security to handle crowds of up to 35,000 were hired for the night. The Chicago Police Department had personnel on site and in proximity to aid in further crowd and traffic control.

The first game was scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. Fans participating were to drop off their respective records in large bins placed near entrance gates. An overwhelming turnout on a warm Thursday night soon found fans bypassing the bins and bringing their records with them to their seats. The Tigers won the first game, 4-1, but the buzz at Comiskey and a capacity plus crowd estimated at near 50,000 were ready for the main event. About a half hour after the first game, Dahl, dressed in army fatigues and a helmet, took the field in a Jeep. After a quick lap around the park, he arrived at the now gathered mound of doomed disco records and fireworks located in center field. Stepping up to a microphone placed nearby (but at a safe distance), Dahl addressed the brew-fueled crowd accordingly:

"This is now officially the world's largest anti-disco rally! Now listen—we took all the disco records you brought tonight, we got 'em in a giant box, and we're gonna blow 'em up reeeeeeal goooood."

From there, Dahl set off the explosion, destroying the records, a portion of the surrounding surface area. Due to oversight, security personnel were still manning the gates and areas within the park - leaving the baseball field unguarded. Fans immediately jumped their seats to rush the field - climbing foul poles, setting fire to their own records, tearing up grass, destroying the batting cages, and taking items from both the field and the dugouts. With chaos ensued, White Sox management scrambled with futility to control the mob. Messages asking fans to return to their seats flashed on the scoreboard, while game announcer Harry Carey attempted in vain to ask for calm. A rendition of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" was ignored as the onfield crowd carried on.

Chicago PD in full riot gear were dispatched to the field to retake control by force, whereas upon arrival the majority of the estimated 5,000 to 7,000 fans who did rush the park made their hasty retreat. Arrests and injuries were minimal, and the field was under control within an hour of the CPD's arrival.

However, due to the condition of the field and Tiger manager Sparky Anderson's concern over the safety of playing conditions from then on (refusing to allow his team to retake the field), the White Sox were forced to suspend the second game. An initial call to reschedule the game for the following Sunday was attempted, but rebuffed by Anderson, who demanded the CWS forfeit the game under the premise the home club were responsible for safe field conditions. Upholding Anderson's arguments to that point, AL President Lee MacPhall awarded Detroit the win by forfeiture (9-0).

In the aftermath, the event did little in way of accelerating disco's demise, nor alter Chicago's season (they held onto fifth place in a 73-87 finish, but dropped to 14 games out of first). Steve Dahl went back to radio, and is still working commercial air in the Chicago area today.

For the Veecks however, the event was a disaster. Bill wound up selling his stake in the White Sox by 1981, and passed away a few years later. Mike stuck with the White Sox until 1980, and found difficultly finding new work as a promoter for a few years afterwards, before settling into minor league ownership.

Baseball promotions, always about the