In the late 1970s, disco had a sizable number of vocal and venomous detractors. One notable critic of the genre was Chicago rock radio DJ Steve Dahl, who became popular for his “Disco Sucks” stance. Knowing that Dahl was popular and people genuinely didn’t like disco, the son of the owner of the Chicago White Sox, Mike Veeck, thought that it would be a good promotional idea to host a Disco Sucks night. On July 12, 1979, Dahl’s listeners could get into the doubleheader against the Detroit Tigers for 98 cents. They were also required to bring a disco record with them because Dahl was going to blow up a pile of disco records.
Veeck didn’t think the promotion would be that popular, so he hired enough security to handle about 35,000 people. But Veeck underestimated people’s hatred of disco. Over 60,000 people showed up. Some even brought ladders and climbed fences to get in.
During the first game, the crowd seemed rowdy. The Tigers won, but that wasn’t the spark that set everything off. That happened when Dahl blew up the records as planned. After the explosion, people poured out onto the field and started trashing the stadium. Both Dahl and Veeck tried to calm the crowd, but they failed. The rioters literally stole bases, tore apart batting cages, and set fire to banners.
Amazingly, during the riot, only one person was hurt: a vendor who broke his hip. Despite it being a destructive riot, it was relatively peaceful. Veeck believed this was due to the marijuana that people were smoking. He compared it to the much more violent beer promotion in 1974 in Cleveland, where they sold beer for 10 cents a cup. That somehow got out of hand.
In total, 39 people were arrested for the Disco Sucks riot. Veeck considered the promotion a success because people still remember it 30 years later.