Music Hath Charms

Chumley Wonderbar over at The Plastic Hallway reminds us that today is the 25th Anniversary of Disco Demolition Night.

For the blissfully unaware, the carnage happened in 1979, between games of a double header at Chicago's Comiskey Park. The report (and check out Chumley's site for the great picture links):

Unfortunately, this particular scheme was a little too successful; upwards of 50,000 fans showed up for the game, mostly male and mostly drunk. Another 15,000 or so milled around outside the stadium, burning effigies of John Travolta and trying to sneak into the game. The crowd spent the first game chanting "DISCO SUCKS!," whizzing records onto the field and throwing firecrackers at the opposing team.

When the records were blown up by Dahl with a fireworks bomb, the crowd went apesh*t. Several thousand members of Dahl's self-styled "Insane Coho Lips Antidisco Army" ran onto the diamond, ripped up the pitcher's mound, started a bonfire in centre field, tore down sections of the fence in the bullpen and sprayed sections of the crowd with the hose used to dampen the field. After almost half an hour of complete chaos the riot police showed up and restored order, but the field was completely wrecked and the Sox were forced to forfeit the second game. Newspaper columnists called the event "sickening" and "an unmitigated horror."

Veeck resigned in disgrace, started drinking and didn't get another job in baseball for twenty-five years.

Veeck, of course, refers to Mike Veeck, one of the owners of our beloved hometown St. Paul Saints. If he's not yet sober, at least it looks like he's finally over the stigma of that ill-fated promotion, as evidenced by the promotion at last Saturday's Saints game: Disco Demolition Revisited Night.

According to the Saints, things stayed calm throughout:

After the game, the team blew up disco records on the field with no problems reported.

Maybe it's the times that have changed, or maybe the Twin Cities just ain't Chicago when it comes to hosting a savage, drunken riot.