Today in Chicago History: Cubs catcher Michael Barrett punches A.J. Pierzynski during Crosstown Classic
Here's a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on May 20, according to the Tribune's archives.
Is an important event missing from this date? Email us.
Weather records (from the National Weather Service, Chicago)
1943: During bad weather, a United States Army Air Corps B-24 Liberator crashed into a 500-foot-tall gas storage tank at Municipal Airport (now known as Chicago's Midway International Airport). All 12 people aboard the flight, which originated in Fort Worth, Texas, died.
'There was an instantaneous explosion of terrific violence and flames shot high from the top of the circular steel structure,' the Tribune reported. Heat generated by the explosion was felt more than a mile away.
1970: University of Chicago physicist Albert Crewe, former director of Argonne National Laboratory in Lemont, announced he captured images in a specially built microscope of single atoms as they exist in molecules. It marked the first time scientists could 'see' the incredibly small world of atoms.
1987: Doris Fischer, her two daughters and a son-in-law pleaded guilty to running a prostitution ring out of their Buffalo Grove home as part of a probe by the FBI and Internal Revenue Service called 'Operation Safebet.'
1988: Laurie Dann shot six children at Hubbard Woods Elementary School in Winnetka killing 8-year-old Nicholas Corwin, during a rampage that ended in her own death in the North Shore suburb.
1992: Chicago aldermen frustrated with the proliferation of graffiti in their neighborhoods banned the outright sale of spray paint cans in the city, branding them 'weapons of terror.' Ald. Richard Mell, 33rd, resurrected the long-dormant proposal, which won approval 38-1. Only Ald. Dorothy Tillman, 3rd, dissented saying that aldermen should be more concerned with problems of unemployment and housing than keeping spray paint cans out of the hands of vandals. The ban is still in effect.
1994: The Chicago Bulls played their last game at Chicago Stadium — a 93-79 victory over the New York Knicks in Game 6 of the 1994 Eastern Conference Finals. The Bulls lost the series on the road in Game 7.
2006: Chicago White Sox baserunner A.J. Pierzynski's shoulder block into Chicago Cubs catcher Michael Barrett spawned a second-inning, bench-clearing brouhaha at home plate. The fight boiled led to four ejections — including Pierzynski and Barrett.
Pierzynski said he was simply trying to score and Barrett was in his way. Barrett conceded Pierzynski had 'every right' to slam into him and that he made a 'great play.' But he said he was 'irritated' when the Sox catcher walked toward him after the play.
'I hit Michael (who was blocking home plate) and I got up and my helmet was right behind him,' Pierzynski said. 'I went to get my helmet and the next thing I know I'm in a bearhug and he said, 'I didn't have the ball, b—.' The next thing I know I got punched.'
The Sox wound up beating the Cubs 7-0. Barrett received a 10-game suspension and undisclosed fine, while Pierzynski received only a $2,000 fine.
2012: Though President Barack Obama relocated a planned G-8 Summit to Camp David, a NATO summit took place as scheduled in Chicago, drawing thousands of protesters to the city's streets.
2017: The Cubs postponed an afternoon game against the Milwaukee Brewers because of the threat of inclement weather. When it didn't rain, Brewers General Manager David Stearns suggested the Cubs had ulterior motives.
Subscribe to the free Vintage Chicago Tribune newsletter, join our Chicagoland history Facebook group, stay current with Today in Chicago History and follow us on Instagram for more from Chicago's past.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Chicago Tribune
9 hours ago
- Chicago Tribune
One in custody, two injured in Saturday wreck in Malden
A Valparaiso man is in custody at Porter County Jail and being held without bond after police said he fled a crash scene on foot Saturday after reportedly striking a motorcycle, seriously injuring the driver of the bike and a juvenile passenger. Around 2 p.m. June 28, deputies with the Porter County Sheriff's Department responded to the area of Indiana 49 and County Road 400 South in Malden for a crash with injuries involving a motorcycle and a pickup truck, according to a release from Sgt. Ben McFalls, public information officer with the sheriff's department. Police determined the male driver of the motorcycle and his juvenile passenger had serious injuries and both were flown out via Lutheran Air for treatment. The driver of the pickup truck, 37, fled the scene on foot, police said. He was taken into custody around 3:30 p.m. Saturday on preliminary charges of leaving the scene of a crash/serious bodily injury while intoxicated, a Level 3 felony; operating while intoxicated/serious bodily injury, a Level 5 felony; operating while intoxicated with a prior conviction, a Level 6 felony; operating while intoxicated/endangering, a Class A misdemeanor; and two Class C misdemeanors, operating while intoxicated and leaving the scene of an accident. The Post-Tribune is withholding the man's name until he is formally charged. Police said an initial investigation shows a 1992 Harley-Davidson motorcycle was southbound on Indiana 49 when, for an unknown reason, a 2019 Ford F150 traveling northbound on Indiana 49 entered the motorcycle's lane, causing the crash.
Chicago Tribune
17 hours ago
- Chicago Tribune
Column: As summer heats up, Chicago's sports teams buckle down — and the NASCAR course just buckles
It was a hot start to summer in Chicago for our legacy sports teams. Up was down, down was up and our downtown streets buckled just in time for the Chicago Street Race. The first half of the Chicago Cubs season was like a good book you couldn't put down. Amazing comebacks, plenty of runs and the daily Pete Crow-Armstrong Show. Wrigley Field was packed, and for the first time since the Theo Epstein rebuild, there was reason to believe in the team's future. Whether the second half can match the start depends largely on whether Epstein's replacement as president of baseball operations, Jed Hoyer, can fill some rotation holes and shore up the bench. Hoyer fixed a shaky bullpen early in the season with low-key, underrated moves and now faces another obstacle. When Marquee Sports Network analyst Cliff Floyd pulled out a tiny red flag recently to signal the Cubs had starting pitching concerns, it signaled two things: The Cubs do have starting pitching concerns, and Floyd has a guaranteed contract. Through the fog of a team-owned network that often serves as a marketing tool for all things Cubs, Floyd's flag stood out. It's obvious to everyone that Hoyer needs to do something. But when Marquee joins in, you know it's serious. The return of Shota Imanaga on Thursday in St. Louis after seven weeks rehabbing a hamstring injury was a shot in the arm for the Cubs, who were 12-12 in June entering Saturday's game against the Houston Astros, slowing to a light jog after sprinting for the first two months. But it doesn't bail out the rest of the rotation, which is in a state of flux with Ben Brown back at Triple-A Iowa. Only Matthew Boyd and Jameson Taillon are assured of keeping their spots behind Imanaga, and Taillon has allowed an MLB-worst 2.08 home runs per nine innings. Rookie Cade Horton was roughed up Friday night in Houston, bluntly saying, 'I got my ass kicked.' Saturday night's starter, Colin Rea, allowed seven runs on 11 hits against the Seattle Mariners last week, serving up four home runs. True, the wind was blowing out at Wrigley, but it has blown in plenty of times for Rea, whom left-handed hitters are salivating over with a .952 OPS against the right-hander. If someone told you in March the White Sox would have a better rotation than the Cubs at the midway point, you would've laughed or cried, depending on your anxiety level. Justin Steele's season-ending elbow surgery and Imanaga's hamstring injury obviously have factored into the Cubs' rotation problems, but they were supposed to have starting depth. Instead, their starters ranked 23rd entering Saturday with a 4.31 ERA. Sox starters, meanwhile, were 18th at 4.20. Thanks in no small part to the offense, Cubs starters were a combined 30-21, while Sox starters, with no run support to speak of, were a combined 13-30. Would you swap rotations if you were a Cubs fan? The Sox likely will deal starter Adrian Houser before the trade deadline, in case Hoyer hasn't heard lately from his Winnetka Starbucks buddy, Sox general manager Chris Getz. Houser has a 1.90 ERA in seven starts for the Sox after throwing seven shutout innings in Saturday's 1-0 victory over the San Francisco Giants. He's affordable and shouldn't cost the Cubs more than a prospect. Lonzo Ball is out, and this time it's for good. The Cleveland Cavaliers accepted the challenge of trying to get Ball healthy enough to play in the NBA, acquiring him from the Chicago Bulls for Isaac Okoro, a disappointing top-five pick in the 2020 draft. When healthy, Ball can be a premier player. He was that player for only 35 games in the 2021-22 season before the knee injury that would sideline him for 2½ seasons. He came back with a new knee in 2024-25, only to be limited to 35 games by a wrist injury and other ailments. What if Ball had remained healthy? Would the Bulls have been competitive enough to be an annual playoff team the last four years? Probably not, but it doesn't matter anyway. Executive vice president of basketball operations Artūras Karnišovas, who reportedly is getting a contract extension for reasons that never will be publicly explained, wouldn't have made the necessary trade-deadline decisions even if Ball had been healthy on a winning team. Hopefully Ball can overcome his injuries and become the player many thought he'd be and not the Bulls version of former Cubs pitcher Mark Prior. Luis Robert Jr. has a 0.0 WAR, which seems almost impossible for a player with his talent. Getz said Monday it's still possible Robert could remain with the Sox after the trade deadline, which would be a shocking twist for a player who has been on trade-rumor watch for more than a year. 'We've never been out there making phone calls about Luis Robert,' Getz said. 'It's teams calling us and we have conversations. And (we've stuck) to the plan that we've been working (on) so far in which, if we feel like we can help the long-term health of the organization, so be it. 'We like having Luis Robert and I enjoy having him in the lineup on a nightly basis.' Three days later, Robert was out with hamstring tightness. The wait goes on … and on. Anton Frondell, the No. 3 pick in the NHL draft by the Chicago Blackhawks, could provide the organization with a much-needed personality boost, along with what he can do on the ice. His draft-day story of starting out as a 5-year-old wearing pink figure skates showed his sense of humor. Frondell compared himself to Florida Panthers star Aleksander Barkov, another 6-foot-3, 215-pound forward who can score goals and doesn't get pushed around. When the Hawks asked him whether he'd prefer to be a center or winger, Frondell replied, 'Whatever Connor (Bedard) doesn't play, I'll play.' Look for the Hawks marketing machine to put these two on billboards soon. It's what they do best. Our pick to click in next week's Chicago Street Race is Katherine Legge, the eighth woman in modern history to compete in NASCAR and the first since Danica Patrick in 2018 to race in the Cup Series. In its third year, Chicago's NASCAR race could use a nice storyline like a woman outdueling a field of men — and less rain. Buckling pavement on the pop-up course from the recent heat wave provided a realistic, Chicago-style driving obstacle. But crews quickly repaired the pavement, which of course never would happen to a normal Chicago street.
Boston Globe
a day ago
- Boston Globe
Lefthanded reliever Chris Murphy reinstated to roster after missing 2024 with torn elbow ligament
Murphy appeared in 11 games in a rehabilitation assignment that saw him pitch for Greenville, Portland, and Worcester. He allowed eight runs on 16 hits and nine walks over 14⅔ innings, striking out 17. Murphy can work consecutive days if needed, manager Alex Cora said. The Sox now have four lefthanders in the bullpen. Murphy replaced righthander Luis Guerrero , who landed on the injured list with an elbow strain. Guerrero allowed four runs on four hits and three walks over one inning in his last two appearances. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up That coincided with a dip in velocity. Advertisement Righthander Justin Slaten was moved to the 60-day injured list to create a spot for Murphy on the 40-man roster. That is a concern. Slaten was put on the 15-day IL on June 1 (retroactive to May 29) with what was described as shoulder inflammation. At the time, the Sox described the IL stint as a precaution because of soreness. 'He started playing catch [on Friday]. It was slower than expected. He wasn't feeling great,' Cora said. 'Every test he felt weak with his shoulder.' Slaten will not be eligible to return until July 28. 'Timing wise, he's going to take that,' Cora said. 'That's why we have to make the move.' Advertisement Bregman takes the field Alex Bregman added ground balls to his work as he continues to make progress coming back from a strained right quad. Bregman, who was not on the last road trip, also offered his first comments on the Rafael Devers trade. 'I really enjoyed every second of playing with him and being his teammate,' Bregman said. 'I think he's one of the smarter ballplayers I've ever played with. He's really good. 'Obviously, I was shocked. But it's well above my pay grade and what I'm supposed to do.' Hicks closer Jordan Hicks has a locker in the clubhouse — Devers's old one, actually — but not a place on the roster. That could change in the next day or two. Hicks was on the injured list at the time of the trade with an inflamed right big toe. He was sent to Worcester for rehab work and pitched in two games. He had a scoreless inning on Friday. 'He felt clean,' Cora said. Hicks could join the major league roster as soon as Monday. Yoshida ready to go Masataka Yoshida is set to start a rehab assignment on Tuesday with Worcester at Polar Park. 'We'll see how many at-bats he needs,' Cora said. 'He's moving well; his swing feels great.' Yoshida has been on the injured list all season recovering from shoulder surgery. They were preparing him to play the outfield, which is now less of a factor with Devers traded. 'When he feels comfortable, he'll be with us,' Cora said … Cora mentioned Bregman, Aroldis Chapman , Garrett Crochet , and Carlos Narváez as the only potential All-Stars on the roster. Bregman is a finalist at third base, but would likely not be able to play if selected. Advertisement Peter Abraham can be reached at
