CHICAGO -- Thousands of unruly spectators set bonfires and slung record albums on the playing field at Comiskey Park Thursday night during an "anti-disco" demonstration.
Police in riot gear finally restored order about an hour after the melee erupted. About 35 police officers wealing blue helmets with face visors and carrying riot batons marched through the outfield to clear off stragglers from a mob that originally numbered about 7,000.
A handful of spectators were taken from the field in handcuffs. A police spokesman said "we are making arrests."
The incident forced the umpires to call off the second game of a double-header between the Chicago White Sox and the Detroit Tigers. White Sox officials issued rain checks and scheduled a doubleheader for Sunday to make up the game, but said American League President Lee McPhail still could declare the game a forfeit with Detroit the winner.
Detroit Manager Sparky Anderson had announced his team would play the second game under protest because of the condition of the field, which was pockmarked from numerous bonfires.
White Sox owner Bill Veeck, a veteran promoter, addressed the mob from a microphone placed behind home plate but failed to win their attention.
During the break between games, WLUP disc jockey Steve Dahl gathered thousands of the disco records and packed them into a large wooden box in center field. After denouncing the popular dance music, Dahl detonated an explosive charge that sent pieces of the records flying across the field.
Shortly thereafter, a handful of bare-chested youths from the center-field stands climbed the wall and ran on the playing field. They were followed by hundreds, then thousands, of others.
