I just now learned about Disco Demolition Night, am not a Chicago native. It’s insane to think this was even considered to be a good idea by the front office
November 18, 2024
I just now learned about Disco Demolition Night, am not a Chicago native. It’s insane to think this was even considered to be a good idea by the front office
6 comments
It was a great idea. It brought a lot of people to the park.
The problem was the execution and the lack of proper security.
If you haven’t seen it, “Saint of Second Chances” on Netflix is a great documentary all about Mike Veeck, who was the guy behind Disco Demolition.
Weren’t beers super cheap that night too?
Several factors were involved that precipitated this event:
-People hated disco and there was a growing movement to reject the music being accepted as mainstream. I believe disco was nearing an “end” to its popularity by the time this happened, but I wouldn’t know for sure.
-The White Sox were the originators of unique promotional events, due to owner Bill Veeck. He was desperate to stay afloat financially throughout his entire career, I think. He was the owner at the time, so it was on-par for White Sox culture as a matter of necessity. And because he had a sense of humor.
-The front office promotions manager was Mike Veeck, the owner’s son. Draw whatever conclusions you wish from that piece of information.
-They had minimal security precautions to keep crowds of people off the field.
It was a perfect storm to cause the last American League team in MLB to forfeit a game. It was total pandemonium and a promotional failure. However, we’re still talking about it 45 years later, so was it really a failure?
At the time people really thought the “disco is dead” thing was real and as it turns out disco was very not dead. ABBA is more popular now than they were in 1980.
6 comments
It was a great idea. It brought a lot of people to the park.
The problem was the execution and the lack of proper security.
If you haven’t seen it, “Saint of Second Chances” on Netflix is a great documentary all about Mike Veeck, who was the guy behind Disco Demolition.
Weren’t beers super cheap that night too?
Several factors were involved that precipitated this event:
-People hated disco and there was a growing movement to reject the music being accepted as mainstream. I believe disco was nearing an “end” to its popularity by the time this happened, but I wouldn’t know for sure.
-The White Sox were the originators of unique promotional events, due to owner Bill Veeck. He was desperate to stay afloat financially throughout his entire career, I think. He was the owner at the time, so it was on-par for White Sox culture as a matter of necessity. And because he had a sense of humor.
-The front office promotions manager was Mike Veeck, the owner’s son. Draw whatever conclusions you wish from that piece of information.
-They had minimal security precautions to keep crowds of people off the field.
It was a perfect storm to cause the last American League team in MLB to forfeit a game. It was total pandemonium and a promotional failure. However, we’re still talking about it 45 years later, so was it really a failure?
At the time people really thought the “disco is dead” thing was real and as it turns out disco was very not dead. ABBA is more popular now than they were in 1980.
Steve and Garry, scumbag, worm-meat, idiots.