Sunday will be the 30th anniversary of one of the most infamous nights in modern baseball history.

No - not the debut of the designated hitter.

It's the anniversary of the massive riot that caused the American League's last forfeit, on "Disco Demolition Night" at Chicago's old Comiskey Park.

It had seemed like a harmless idea - have fans bring an unwanted disco album to the park and have a local DJ blow them up between games of a doubleheader.

The White Sox figured they might draw an extra 5,000 or so fans.

But fueled by a weeklong promotion by the DJ's radio show, a massive crowd estimated at more than 75,000 crushed into the aging park, and thousands more clamored to get in. Police closed exits on the Dan Ryan Expressway to prevent thousands more from entering the parking lots.

When the crate containing the pile of disco albums was blown up in the outfield, it (predictably) tore a huge hole in the turf.

And at just that second, thousands of fans spontaneously jumped over the outfield wall and stormed the field. Thousands more followed.

Fights ensued, fires were lit, the bases were stolen, and the batting cage was torn to shreds.

Police in riot gear eventually cleared the field, arresting 39 fans.

The umpires decided that the condition of the shredded turf made it unplayable.

The game was forfeited to visiting Detroit on the grounds that Chicago had failed to provide a playable field.

In not much of a surprise, disco disappeared as a musical genre soon thereafter.

Quotable. Detroit named former 76ers assistant John Kuester its head coach, a conspicuous hot seat since the Pistons have had five coaches in eight years.

He also was the third choice of team president Joe Dumars, who had talked to veteran mentors Doug Collins and Avery Johnson.

"My wife told me that I was her sixth choice, and we've been married for 32 years," Kuester joked. "So Joe and I have a real chance."

Top off-season moves. With NFL training camps opening in a matter of weeks, Rick Gosselin of the Dallas Morning News rated the 10 best off-season moves.

The Eagles' obtaining veteran left tackle Jason Peters in a pre-draft trade with Buffalo was rated the third best move of the off-season by any team.

The best, Gosselin said, was Chicago's getting quarterback Jay Cutler in a trade with Denver. Second was Washington's adding defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth as a free agent.

Green Bay's drafting 330-pound nose tackle B.J. Raji was rated No. 4, and Atlanta's adding tight end Tony Gonzalez in a trade with Kansas City was ranked fifth.

Sharp-eyed fans will notice that the top five off-season moves were made by NFC teams.

Contact staff writer Don McKee at 215-854-4611 or

dmckee@phillynews.com.

This article contains information from the Associated Press.