Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
On July 12, 1979, thousands of fans packed Comiskey Park for what was billed as a between-games promotion during a Chicago White Sox doubleheader. For 98 cents and a disco record, attendees gained admission to "Disco Demolition Night," a stunt orchestrated by White Sox owner Bill Veeck and radio DJ Steve Dahl. When the records were blown up in center field, the spectacle quickly spiraled into a riot, forcing the White Sox to forfeit the second game. Join us as Professor Eric Allen Hall from Northern Illinois University lectures on this historic event. This lecture moves beyond the chaos to ask a larger question: What, exactly, was being destroyed that night?
On July 12, 1979, thousands of fans packed Comiskey Park for what was billed as a between-games promotion during a Chicago White Sox doubleheader. For 98 cents and a disco record, attendees gained admission to "Disco Demolition Night," a stunt orchestrated by White Sox owner Bill Veeck and radio DJ Steve Dahl. When the records were blown up in center field, the spectacle quickly spiraled into a riot, forcing the White Sox to forfeit the second game. Join us as Professor Eric Allen Hall from Northern Illinois University lectures on this historic event. This lecture moves beyond the chaos to ask a larger question: What, exactly, was being destroyed that night?
