Inhistoric: The Sports History Blog

This Day In Sports History: July 12th

noreply@blogger.com (Neros) — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 00:25:38 PDT

7/12/1979 - Disco Demolition at Comiskey Field

There are good ballpark promotions, there are bad ballpark promotions, and then there is Disco Demolition Night.

To read more about this story, click here for an in-depth Inhistoric article:

7/12/1979 - Disco Demolition Night

noreply@blogger.com (Neros) — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 00:26:18 PDT

Of all the wacky, out-of-control stunts pulled at a baseball game, and there have been a few, none are as infamous as Disco Demolition Night. The second game of a Thursday night doubleheader between the White Sox and the Tigers had to be forfeited in favor of Detroit when the White Sox faithful stormed the field and refused to leave.

The idea of an anti-disco night was first proposed to promotion director Mike Veeck, son of owner Bill Veeck. The White Sox had held a disco dancing competition that drew in 5,000 extra fans; someone suggested that doing the opposite, in smashing the records to kingdom come, would work as well. "It sounded like a terrific idea at four in the morning in Miller’s Pub," said Veeck, "but it got even funnier the more we thought about it."

One day, Mike got word that Steve Dahl, a local D.J. who had been fired from an all-disco station, was planning to destroy disco records at a shopping mall. "He was going to do it in front of 3,000 kids. It didn’t take long to convince him he could do it in front of 40 thousand kids," Veeck explained.

"Teen Night" (as it was originally called) allowed $0.98 entry if fans came equipped with a cannon fodder disco record. The records were to be collected and then destroyed in between the two games by Dahl himself. An incredible 50,000 fans packed into Comiskey Park with another 20-30,000 bystanders stuck outside the stadium. In contrast, the game on July 11th saw just 15,000 fans in attendance.

The first game was hardly flawless, and not just because a few stations ended their broadcast of the doubleheader early. Several signs saying "Disco Sucks" were clearly visible and some viewers were extremely offended. This was back when the word "suck" was an inappropriate swear and was taboo for television. Spectators later claimed that an unmistakable aroma of marijuana emanated from the stands, and that the fans who didn't deposit their records were hurling them like a Frisbee. It was an odd scene for a baseball game, though the real sideshow had yet to begin.

Before the start of the second game, Steve Dahl walked onto the field dressed in full army garb. When handed the microphone, the D.J. bellowed "Party!" and cued for the records to be demolished. The explosion left an area of the outfield charred and torn. Dahl yelled "Disco Sucks!" several times before the fans got in on the festivities. Thousands of fans littered the playing field and set fires and explosions. Debris littered the field and fans climbed the foul pole, stole the bases, let loose a fire hose, and destroyed the batting cages. The undersized security wasn't prepared for a capacity crowd and couldn't contain them. The players and managers simply watched in astonishment from the dugout.

Finally the police arrived 40 minutes later and at last cleared the field. When it was all said and done only a few civilians suffered minor injuries. Tigers manager Sparky Anderson refused to take the field and the game was called off. AL president Lee MacPhail ruled the game a forfeit, much to the dismay of Bill Veeck. Headlines in Chicago painted the stunt as a disaster and it received an enormous amount of coverage.

Dahl went on the air the next day and bared no responsibility. "Disco is a disease," he said. "It's a thing you have to be near-perfect to get into. You have to have perfect hair and a three-piece suit, and musically it's just the same song with different words." For his responsibility, Mike Veeck was blacklisted for years from major league teams. Veeck, who later work for the Devil Rars, planned to do a 20th anniversary Disco Demolition Night until he learned Dahl had trademarked the term "Disco Demolition."

Many believe that July 12th, 1979 is the day disco officially died, and if you hate it as much as Dahl, then it is a day worth celebrating. Dahl would later say that disco "was a fad and was on its way out, but (Disco Demolition Night) hastened its demise."

Further reading:
Fans who were in attendance

This Day In Sports History: July 11th

noreply@blogger.com (Neros) — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 00:19:36 PDT

7/11/1914 - Ruth makes debut

George Herman "Babe" Ruth makes his major league debut as a 19 year-old pitcher for the Boston Red Sox. Ruth pitched seven innings to earn the win as the Sox beat the Cleveland Indians 4-3. Just days earlier, the Red Sox had acquired Ruth in a trade with the Baltimore Orioles; the O's also offered to send Ruth to the Philadelphia Athletics and Cincinnati Reds, but both teams declined.

Ruth spent the first five seasons of his career primarily as a pitcher. Years later, after being traded to the rival New York Yankees, Ruth became a full-time hitter and the most famous baseball player of all time. Those who support the argument that Ruth is greatest baseball player ever cite his prowess in both hitting and pitching. Besides leaving the game with a .342 batting average, 714 home runs, and 2,217 RBI, Ruth finished with a pitching record of 94-46 and an ERA of 2.26. His record 29 consecutive scoreless World Series innings held up for over four decades, until Whitey Ford broke it in 1962.

This Day In Sports History: July 10th

noreply@blogger.com (Neros) — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 12:31:21 PDT

7/10/1999 - U.S. women win World Cup

In front of a Rose Bowl crowd of 90,185, one of the greatest moments in female athletics occurs, as the United States women's soccer team beats China to win the FIFA Women's World Cup. The score was tied at zero at the end of regulation, but on penalty kicks, the U.S. won 5-4. The game-winning kick, and one of the most replayed highlights in history, came from America's Brandi Chastain, who launched the soccer ball just right of Chinese goalie Gao Hong.

As the American crowd erupted, as the United States team raced onto the field in celebration, Chastain whipped off her shirt and twirled it in the air, revealing a black Nike sports bra. "Momentary insanity," Chastain later said. "I thought, 'This is the greatest moment of my career,' and I lost control." The image of Chastain's celebration would grace the cover of Time Magazine, Sports Illustrated, and Newsweek.

It was a phenomenal moment in women's sports. Soccer was said to be irrelevant in America, and women's team sports had been nothing but obscure. But here was a case where a combination of the two had somehow worked. The crowd of 90,185 was the largest for a women's sporting event ever, while an additional 40 million people watched the World Cup Final on ABC, the largest TV audience ever for a soccer game in America. The team was so huge that even president Bill Clinton was on hand for the final match. The men's soccer team, which had never even come close to winning the World Cup, couldn't approach that if they tried. The women were undeniably better than the men.

Just two years later, the Women's United Soccer Association, the world's first female professional soccer league, played its first game. The league was founded in an attempt to capitalize on the success of the U.S. women's team; some believed that the championship game proved that an all-women soccer league could be legitimized in this country. However, even though the league featured many of that team's players, such as Mia Hamm, Briana Scurry, and Chastain, the WUSA failed to reach its expectations. The league icurred zero mainstream attention, and in 2003, the league was forced to fold after accumulating close to $100 million in losses.

7/10/2001 - Cal rises, Lasorda falls

The Seattle Mariners were well represented at the 2001 All-Star Game. Eight members of the team that would win a record 116 games played at hometown Safeco Field, yet it was Cal Ripken Jr. who stole the show. Before the game, Ripken was offered his old shortstop position by Alex Rodriguez (Ripken had been a third basemen for several years). Then, in the third inning, Ripken sailed the first pitch he saw from Chan Ho Park over the left-field wall for a home run, making him the oldest player (40) to hit a homer in an All-Star game.

"That's the kind of magic that Cal brings to the field," said NL starting pitcher Randy Johnson. "That's what he has brought to the field. It would have been very fitting for it to be a 1-0 game, with Cal getting the game-winner."

The American League won 4-1 and Cal was named the MVP. It was both he and Tony Gwynn's final season, and the two were honored after the game. For Ripken it was the perfect sign off for what was a tremendous career in Baltimorel Gwynn had been named as an honorary All-Star and was unable to play in the game, to the disappointment of many.

Also making headlines was honorary third base coach Tommy Lasorda, the former Dodgers manager. In the sixth inning, Vladimir Guerrero's shattered bat flew out of his hands and right at Lasorda. It knocked the former Dodger to the ground, where he tumbled on his back. Initially, everyone was nervous when the old man hit the grass, but the masses erupted in laughter when they saw he was okay.

The humor in seeing Lasorda fall on his backside was that he was an explosive manager who, among other things, was not timid when it came to dropping obscenities.

This Day In Sports History: July 9th

noreply@blogger.com (Neros) — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 00:58:09 PDT

7/09/2003 - Simon's sausage assault

In the middle of the sixth inning, a Sausage Race would take place at every Milwaukee Brewers home game. People dressed up as a Polish sausage, an Italian sausage, a hot dog, and a bratwurst would race along the third base line, a tradition inspired by other ballpark JumboTron races. But on this day in 2003, something happened during the Sausage Race that wound up on the evening news.

Pirates first baseman Randall Simon was standing next to the dugout railing when the racers came by. Simon then used the bat in his hand to tap the back of the Italian sausage, causing 19 year-old Many Block to fall to the ground. The fall impeded the path of the Hot Dog, which also tripped, allowing the Bratwurst to claim an uninhibited victory. The Polish came over helped up the Italian, and every wiener finished the race.

After the game, Simon was arrested and forced to pay a $432 fine, then was suspended for three games. By knocking down two women who were 19 and 21 years old, many were willing to run Simon out of town. ''A lot of times you have fun with the mascots,'' explained Simon, who said he didn't mean any harm. ''They were just running by us. I just wanted to tap the mascot at that time, right at the end, so they can keep going and finish up the race. I didn't have no plans to hurt her, neither of the girls. First of all, because I'm not that type of person.''

Fortunately for Simon, the person he hit with the bat didn't feign outrage or injury, or try to exploit him for a million dollars. All Block asked for was the aforementioned bat to be autographed and given to her.

"It just seems ridiculous," she told a local station. "It's like a big sausage getting hit by a bat causes all this controversy. It just seems kind of funny to me. It wasn't that big of a blow. I think just because I'm so small and it's such a big costume that I tumbled."

7/09/2006 - Zidane headbutts Materazzi

In front of a global TV audience of a billion people, Italy beats France 5-3 on penalty kicks to win the 2006 FIFA World Cup. But the big story (at least in America) was what happened 110 minutes into the game, when Zinedine Zidane of France headbutted Marco Materazzi of Italy. A red card was called on the French superstar, ejecting him from what was the final game of his career.

Zidane was known as one of the best soccer players on the planet, and he scored France's only goal in regulation, yet he ended up walking off the field in disgrace. He was later voted the player of the tournament.

Afterward, everyone wanted to know what had provoked Zidane to eject himself from the biggest sporting event of the year. Zinedine claimed that Materazzi insulted his mother and sister, as well as calling him a "dirty terrorist." Materazzi admitted that he provoked him and even insulted his sister, but denied saying anything about his mother or that he called him a terrorist. "I exclude any insults to (his) mother," he said. "I lost my own mother when I was 15 years old. I would never insult anyone by having a go at their mother."

Various networks hired lip readers to determine what Materazzi had said. They all came to different conclusions, although there appeared to be a consensus that Marco did repeatedly insult Zidane before the headbutt occurred.

Further reading:
Sausage spices up with college

This Day In Sports History: July 8th

noreply@blogger.com (Neros) — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 12:24:44 PDT

7/08/1941 - Williams' homer wins All-Star Game

The 1941 All-Star Game was notable for bringing the Yankees' Joe DiMaggio and the Red Sox' Ted Williams together on the same team. The two Hall of Fame outfielders were rather friendly off the field (Joe's brother Dom played for the Red Sox), though on it they were fierce rivals. In 1941, Williams and DiMaggio had two of the greatest seasons of all time, with Williams batting over .400 and DiMaggio breaking the consecutive games hit record.

In this game, the two sluggers played in left and center field while also hitting back-to-back in the batting order. DiMaggio came in with his hit streak at 48 games; he would collect a base hit in this game as well, although it wasn't added to his total. In the bottom of the ninth, DiMaggio came to the plate with Williams waiting on-deck. The National League had Claude Passeau of the Cubs on the mound -- the NL was leading 5-3 with the bases loaded and one out.

DiMaggio grounded it to the shortstop, setting up what looked to be a game-ending double play. The NL collected the forceout at second, but Billy Herman's throw pulled the first baseman off the bag. With DiMaggio on base thanks to an error, Williams stepped to the plate with two outs and two on. Having struck out against him in the previous inning, Williams delivered in the clutch with a towering, three-run homer to the upper deck of Briggs Stadium (AKA Tiger Stadium).

Williams trotted home, even displaying a rare show of emotion, and was congratulated by DiMaggio. His three-run home run was one of the most memorable in All-Star Game history, and the one Williams described as the best of his career.

Filler: The Warriors need to bite the bullet on Curry

noreply@blogger.com (Neros) — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 12:19:02 PDT

In an already hectic NBA arms race, the Cavs have added Shaq, the Magic have added Carter, the Celtics have added Rasheed, and the Lakers, it now appears, are going to add Ron Artest. Teams around the league are getting significantly better, and the Warriors have the opportunity to be one of them. They have the opportunity to add perennial All-Star Amare Stoudemire to their team, via a trade with the Pheonix Suns, without giving up Monta Ellis, Stephen Jackson, or Corey Maggette.

All they would need to trade is Marco Belinelli, Brandon Wright, Andris Biedrins, and draft pick Stephen Curry (and maybe an extra draft pick or something). But they don't want to do it. They don't want to trade Curry.

This is the epitome of a bad management, which the Warriors assuredly have; they're hesitant to make moves when they should, and they're quick to hand fat contracts to people who don't deserve it. Somehow, the same team that gave Troy Murphy, Derek Fisher, and Mike Dunleavy max contracts was reluctant to give Baron Davis, the face of their team, $65 million. But they were more than willing to give that cash to Andris Biedrins, and then $50 million to Corey Maggette.

Golden State doesn't need Curry -- they already have a good rotation of guards and small forwards in Ellis, Jackson, Azubuike, and Maggette; they certainly don't need Belinelli, not when they have Anthony Morrow, who did more in less playing time than Marco has done in two years; they don't need Brandon Wright, not when they have another good-looking, left-handed, up-and-comer in Anthony Randolph; and if they can get Amare Stoudemire, they sure as hell don't need Biedrins -- Ronny Turiaf, who makes more than four times less money than Biedrins, can take his place.

The Warriors need to realize that they are never going to go anywhere as long as they continue to trot out 6'5 guys to play power forward -- not when the Lakers have the dominant front court of Artest, Gasol, and Bynum. Even if Stephen Curry becomes exactly as good a player as Baron Davis -- which isn't going to happen -- this team still isn't a contender. They would have three great perimeter players and nothing else down low -- they'd be the same damn team they were two years ago, when they missed the playoffs.

I don't understand how coaches and GM's think. I don't understand why the Warriors would rather keep a player who may be good one day, when they can get a player who is great, today, and they wouldn't have to give up that much. If they don't make the trade, they are just going to remain the way they are now, since they have pretty much run out of cap room. And even if Amare was to leave after one season, which is of course the fear, it would free up a lot of cap room.

In the NBA, you don't win with marginal players at your position -- you win with great players. Next season, Golden State can either pay big money to Amare Stoudemire, who is worth it, or they can give that money to Andris Biedrins, who is a pretty good player, but he's no Amare. This isn't the time to be hesitant. Steve Kerr knows that Amare is gone in a year, and he's looking to sell him off while he still can. The Warriors have the chance to steal the best big man suited for Don Nelson's up-and-down, play-no-defense style of ball.

I know it's tough to give away a promising rookie, but if they don't get Amare, they will remain in the dreaded purgatory of the NBA: good enough to just make the playoffs, but not bad enough to get a high draft pick. The best teams always win, and they have a chance to be one of them. If they don't get him, this team is going nowhere. And Andris Biedrins and Brandon Wright and Marco Belinelli will be along for the ride.