Latest news with #inChicago
Chicago Tribune
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Today in Chicago History: Northwestern basketball coach shot and killed by white supremacist
Here's a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on July 3, according to the Tribune's archives. Is an important event missing from this date? Email us. Weather records (from the National Weather Service, Chicago) 1933: An estimated 125,000 people attended 'The Romance of a People' Jewish pageant. It was one of many cultural or religious events Soldier Field hosted during its early years. 1999: Northwestern University men's basketball coach Ricky Byrdsong died after being shot while walking with his two young children in Skokie. The lone gunman, white supremacist Benjamin Smith, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound after a short police chase in southern Illinois. Smith was wanted in a spree of apparent hate crimes across Illinois and Indiana. 2015: The Grateful Dead returned to Soldier Field for the first time since Jerry Garcia's death. 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.
Chicago Tribune
05-06-2025
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
Today in Chicago History: ‘Princess Di arrived in Chi and the town went gaga'
Here's a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on June 5, according to the Tribune's archives. Is an important event missing from this date? Email us. Weather records (from the National Weather Service, Chicago) 1854: The Rock Island Railroad connected Chicago to Lockport and the Mississippi River. 1913: The first in a series of auto-polo matches took place at Comiskey Park. Chicago lost to New York 9-8. But Chicago won the night match 10-8. 'No competitor was injured, which was the most remarkable feature of the contest,' the Tribune reported. 1946: A fire at the LaSalle Hotel, on the northwest corner of LaSalle and Madison streets, killed 61 people and injured more than 200, making it the worst hotel fire in the city's history. The building was demolished in the 1970s. 1989: The Chicago White Sox drafted Auburn first baseman Frank Thomas seventh in the first round of baseball's amateur draft. The 'Big Hurt' played for the White Sox from 1990 to 2005 as part of a 19-season career. The two-time AL MVP hit 521 home runs, including 448 for the Sox. He was elected to the Hall of Fame on the first ballot in 2014. Michael Jordan: Top moments and stats in the life and career of the Chicago Bulls and NBA legend1991: NBC play-by-play man Marv Albert announced 'Oh! A spectacular move by Michael Jordan!' after the Chicago Bulls star rose for a right-handed layup, encountered the long-armed Sam Perkins, then switched to his left hand and kissed the ball into the basket off the glass on the other side of the rim. 1996: Princess Diana hit the ground running on her first — and only — visit to Chicago. Her priority was clear — to raise money and awareness for the plight of cancer victims. In just 46 hours, she helped raise more than $1 million for cancer charities here and in London. On her first day, Princess Diana spoke at a breast cancer symposium at Northwestern University in the morning, toured Cook County Hospital's trauma unit, children's emergency room and pediatric intensive care unit in the afternoon, then attended a black-tie fundraising dinner with dancing — her first dance with talk show host Phil Donahue — at the Field Museum. The epic affair rivaled the Bulls' first game in the NBA Finals against the Seattle SuperSonics at the United Center. Vintage Chicago Tribune: Princess Diana's visit to Chicago in 1996Subscribe 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.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Today in Chicago History: Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb commit ‘perfect murder' in killing of Bobby Franks
Here's a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on May 21, according to the Tribune's archives. Is an important event missing from this date? Email us. Weather records (from the National Weather Service, Chicago) High temperature: 92 degrees (1977) Low temperature: 31 degrees (2002) Precipitation: 1.96 inches (2018) Snowfall: Trace (1969) 1924: Friends Nathan 'Babe' Leopold Jr. and Richard 'Dickie' Loeb — the pampered sons of prominent Kenwood families — killed Robert 'Bobby' Franks after they offered him a ride home from school. To the public, Franks' death appeared to have been orchestrated for money and for thrill. But the two brilliant masterminds behind the crime simply referred to it as a 'perfect murder' — for which they believed they could outsmart the authorities and would never stand trial. After they dumped the boy's body near Wolf Lake in Indiana, they confessed to the murder and were brought to trial for what became the 'crime of the century.' 1927: Aviator Charles Lindbergh landed in Paris at 10:21 p.m. after flying for 33 hours and 29 minutes from New York. It was the first nonstop transatlantic flight executed by one person. 'Am I in Paris?' were Lindbergh's first words as he was dragged out of the cockpit of his plane, 'The Spirit of St. Louis.' 'You're here,' Tribune reporter Henry Wales — the first to greet the pilot — said. 1943: The Chicago White Sox won the fastest nine-inning game in American League history under the lights at Comiskey Park. The Sox beat the Washington Senators 1-0 in 1 hour and 29 minutes. The fastest complete game in MLB history lasted just 51 minutes. 2017: A jewel-encrusted Asprey & Co. mystery clock, valued at $425,000, was stolen from an antiques exhibition at Merchandise Mart. 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. Have an idea for Vintage Chicago Tribune? Share it with Kori Rumore and Marianne Mather at krumore@ and mmather@
Chicago Tribune
14-05-2025
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
Today in Chicago History: Michigan Avenue Bridge opens with floats, flowers and shots fired
Here's a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on May 14, according to the Tribune's archives. Is an important event missing from this date? Email us. Weather records (from the National Weather Service, Chicago) 1920: The Michigan Avenue Bridge (now known as DuSable Bridge) opened when Mayor William Hale 'Big Bill' Thompson and Chicago Plan Commission head Charles H. Wacker cut a ribbon. The grand occasion was almost marred by an accident, the Tribune reported. 'While bands were still playing and fireworks being displayed the lumber steamer Herman H. Hetler signaled for the opening of the bridge. Bridge Tender George B. McLaughlin started to raise the south span, unaware that four autos were on it. The cars slid backward and would have dropped through the opening made by the raising to the abutment of the bridge if policemen had not attracted the attention of the bridge tender by firing their revolvers. The machinery was immediately stopped and the occupants of the autos saved from injuries.' 1975: Golden State Warriors 83, Chicago Bulls 79. After blowing Game 6 of the Western Conference finals on Mother's Day at Chicago Stadium, the Bulls coughed up an 11-point halftime lead and were outscored 24-14 in the fourth quarter to lose Game 7 on the road. The Dick Motta-coached run featuring Norm Van Lier, Jerry Sloan, Chet Walker, Bob Love and Tom Boerwinkle ended in disappointing fashion, and the Bulls wouldn't get to the NBA Finals for another 16 years. 2010: More than 41,000 people witnessed an emotional homecoming performance by 'American Idol' finalist and Mount Prospect resident Lee DeWyze at Arlington Park. Arlington International Racecourse: History of one of the 'world's most beautiful racetracks'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.
Yahoo
21-04-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Today in Chicago History: Geraldo hosts ‘Mystery of Al Capone's Vaults' — looking for the gangster's riches
Here's a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on April 21, according to the Tribune's archives. Is an important event missing from this date? Email us. Weather records (from the National Weather Service, Chicago) High temperature: 88 degrees (1985) Low temperature: 27 degrees (1986) Precipitation: 1.08 inches (1973) Snowfall: 0.6 inches (1903) Chicago's Lager Beer Riot proved immigrants' power 1855: One person was killed and 60 more were arrested during the Lager Beer Riot, which protested a 600 percent increase in tavern license fees and Sunday closings. It was considered Chicago's first civil disturbance. 1955: Conjoined 8-month-old twin girls, Deborah Marie and Christine Mary Andrews, were separated during an almost five-hour surgery performed by Mercy Hospital neurosurgeon Harold Voris. Flashback: Mercy Hospital's major milestones It's considered the first successful separation of twins who were joined at the head. 1967: At least 10 tornadoes touched down in northern Illinois. The most severe of them hit Belvidere, Oak Lawn and Lake Zurich. It was the worst such storm in the area's history: Fifty-eight people were killed, including many children, and more than 1,000 were injured. A front-page story in the Chicago Tribune the next day captured the anguish of most Chicagoans: 'O, God, why did this happen.' 1986: Geraldo hosted 'The Mystery of Al Capone's Vaults' deep inside the former Lexington Hotel in Chicago. Spoiler alert: There weren't any jewels, money or cars inside — just a few old bottles and a sign. The real riches of the legendary boss of Chicago's organized crime syndicate were more than 2,000 miles west in northern California, quietly occupying the homes of his four granddaughters — Veronica, Diane, Barbara and Theresa. 1996: The Chicago Bulls (72-10) extended their NBA single-season record for victories — 72 — while closing out the regular season with an impressive 33-8 record on the road, second-best in league history, behind the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers. (The Golden State Warriors finished 73-9 during the 2015-2016 season.) The Bulls won their fourth NBA championship in six years on June 16, 1996, beating the Seattle SuperSonics 87-75. 2015: In a unanimous verdict, a three-judge panel in Denpasar District Court convicted Heather Mack and boyfriend Tommy Schaefer in the slaying of Sheila von Wiese-Mack. The Bali 'suitcase murder': Oak Park native Heather Mack's murder conviction, Indonesian imprisonment, deportation Mack was sentenced to 10 years in prison for killing her mother, while Schaefer, who admitted fatally beating von Wiese-Mack but claimed self defense, received an 18-year prison term. 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. Have an idea for Vintage Chicago Tribune? Share it with Kori Rumore and Marianne Mather at krumore@ and mmather@
