On July 12, 1979, the Chicago White Sox promotion department cooked up plans for an unusual sales promotion during a doubleheader against the Detroit Tigers: Disco Demolition Night. Fans of the rock radio station 98.9 FM WLUP, led by DJ Steve Dahl, could attend the game for just 98 cents if they brought a disco LP record to be destroyed in an on-field explosion between games. Records were blown to bits, fans stormed the field, and the second baseball game was cancelled due to the rowdy behavior of participants.
Amid objections to Thursday’s T-shirt giveaway commemorating the 40th anniversary of Disco Demolition Night, a radio stunt going awry, the White Sox issued a statement saying the promotion is “only meant to mark the historical nature of the night 40 years later.