101. PHILLIES 23, CUBS 22
May 17, 1979, Wrigley Field
You guessed it. The wind was blowing out at Wrigley Field. The first inning tipped off what was coming. The Phillies scored seven runs on seven hits. The Cubs scored six on seven hits.
Mike Schmidt cracked his second home run in the top of the 10th to win it 23-22. There were 50 hits in the game, 26 by the Cubs, and 11 were home runs. Dave Kingman hit three homers for the Cubs. Bill Buckner, Steve Ontiveros and Jerry Martin had one apiece. Bob Boone, Gary Maddox and Randy Lerch homered for the Phils.
On cold nights in the winter of 1979-80, WGN-TV replayed the 23-22 game. Ratings were very good.
102. CLASS TELLS
June 30, 1973, Arlington Park
Triple Crown winner Secretariat ran against three other horses in a special 1 1/8-mile race at Arlington Park. Long-shot players had no chance. The great colt won the race and its $100,000 prize.
103. RYNO `DINGS’ SUTTER TWICE
June 23, 1984, Wrigley Field
St. Louis Cardinals manager Whitey Herzog (perhaps sarcastically) called Ryne Sandberg “the greatest thing since Babe Ruth.” On this sunny Saturday, it was easy to agree with Herzog.
Before a capacity crowd in Wrigley Field and a regional “Game of the Week” audience on TV, Sandberg hit two dramatic home runs off Bruce Sutter, the ex-Cub and millionaire Cardinals relief ace who was a master of the split-finger pitch.
The Cubs won 12-11 in 11 innings. Sandberg’s homers energized the club for its drive to its first postseason appearance since the wartime 1945 Cubs played in the World Series.
104. MINNIE ARRIVES, HOMERS
May 1, 1951, Comiskey Park
Orestes Minnie Minoso, destined to become the most popular White Sox player of his generation, became the first black man to play for the team. In his first at bat, Minoso hit a home run off Yankee star Vic Raschi.
105. CUBS WIN–NYAH, NYAH, NYAH
Sept. 24, 1984, Pittsburgh
Cubs fans could really crow at White Sox fans on this date. Cy Young winner Rick Sutcliffe pitched a two-hitter at Pittsburgh, and his 4-1 victory clinched the Eastern Division title for the Cubs juggernaut.
Thus the Cubs had reached postseason play after a wait of only 39 years (1945-1984). The Sox had to wait 40 years between postseason appearances from 1919-1959.
106: PIPPEN’S 1.8-SECOND BOYCOTT
May 13, 1994, Chicago Stadium
With the scored tied 102-102 in Game 3 of the Bulls’ second-round playoff series against the Knicks, Scottie Pippen refused to go on the court for the final 1.8 seconds because the play called by coach Phil Jackson was designed for rookie Toni Kukoc.
The Bulls played on without Pippen, and Kukoc drilled the basket to seal a 104-102 victory. Jackson chose not to discipline Pippen for the indiscretion. The Bulls went on to lose the series–thanks again, Hue Hollins–and the Knicks advanced to the conference finals.
107. IRISH REPEAT AS CHAMPS
Dec. 6, 1947, Los Angeles
Frank Leahy, in his heyday as Notre Dame coach, led the football world in victories, All-Americans, Heisman Trophy winners and crocodile tears.
“I don’t think our lads will be capable of making a first down,” Leahy once predicted. It may have been during the 1946-47 stretch when the Irish won back-to-back national titles and had a 17-0-1 record, marred only by a 0-0 tie with Army in 1946. The Irish finished the 1947 season beating USC 38-7 before 104,953 fans at the L.A. Coliseum.
Leahy spent the 1944-45 seasons in military service. In the other five seasons, 1943 and 1946-49, his teams had a record of 45-1-2 and won four national titles. 1943-46-47-49.
During this time, Leahy coached three Heisman winners. quarterbacks Angelo Bertelli in 1943 and John Lujack in 1947 and end Leon Hart in 1949. In these years, Leahy coached 10 consensus All-Americans: Bertelli, halfback Creighton Miller, end John Yonakor, guard Pat Filley, Lujack, tackle George Connor, guard Bill Fischer, Hart, fullback Emil Sitko and quarterback Bob Williams.
108. SOX WIN THE WEST
Sept. 17, 1983, Comiskey Park
Last half of the ninth inning in old Comiskey Park. Harold Baines’ sacrifice fly scores Julio Cruz. White Sox beat Seattle 4-3 and clinch a berth in postseason play for the first time since the 1959 World Series.
The 1983 Sox went on to win the Western Division by a record 20 games, but lost in the AL Championship Series to the Baltimore Orioles three games to one.
109: BO KNOWS DRAMA
Sept. 27, 1993, Chicago
Bo Jackson’s dramatic three-run home run sparked the Sox’s 4-3 victory over Seattle as the South Siders clinched the American League West title for the first time in 10 years.
After the game, Jackson came out of the clubhouse, returned to the field and circled the warning track in the outfield in a triumphant victory lap before thousands of celebrating fans.
110. IRWIN WINS THIRD U.S. OPEN
June 18, 1990, Medinah, Ill.
Hale Irwin, at 45, became the oldest man to win the U.S. Open when he beat Mike Donald in a 19-hole playoff at Medinah’s famed No. 3 championship course.
Irwin, who won Opens in 1974 and 1979, and Donald tied with 280 scores after 72 holes. Both pros shot 74s in the 18-hole playoff. Then they went to the No. 1 tee to begin a sudden-death showdown. Irwin birdied the first hole with a 3. Donald parred the hole.
111: LOTT’S SUMMER OF LOVE
Summer 1934
George Lott was Chicago’s greatest tennis player. Torn between modesty and honesty, he described himself as “the best doubles player ever.”
In 1934, Lott won his second Wimbledon doubles title and his fifth U.S. Championships doubles title. He was Big Ten champion at the University of Chicago in the 1920s. He competed on seven U.S. Davis Cup teams. He was a pioneer tennis pro before World War II. He coached tennis at DePaul for 25 years before his death at 85 in 1992.
Lott was a masters bridge player, horseplayer, author, teacher and member of seven Halls of Fame. He knew coaches Amos Alonzo Stagg and Knute Rockne and movie stars Charlie Chaplin and Will Rogers. He played tennis, golf, cards or just hobnobbed with baseball’s Ty Cobb, boxer Billy Conn, golfer Ellsworth Vines, wrestler Man Mountain Dean, sportswriter Grantland Rice and the Queen Mother of England.
Moreover, Lott provided fellowship, fun and sage advice to thousands of ordinary folks who were his doubles partners. His two most frequent coaching tips: “Get your first serve in. And have fun.”
112: WESTERN `DREAM’ PLAYOFF
July 29, 1963, Beverly Country Club
People’s choice Arnold Palmer, 23-year-old Masters champ Jack Nicklaus and U.S. Open champ Julius Boros treated Chicagoland fans to a dream playoff for the Western Open championship at Beverly.
When Palmer won the 18-hole playoff, members of his “Army” felt it was only fair. After all, Palmer had lost to Boros in a playoff for the Open title. And he fizzled to a final-round 73 in the Western to fall back into a tie with Nicklaus, who sizzled with 66, and Boros, who shot 67.
“There shouldn’t even be a playoff,” said Nicklaus after 72 holes. “This man sitting next to me should never have shot 73.”
Palmer, a model of gracious restraint throughout his poor fourth round, wordlessly punctuated Nicklaus’ remark. Palmer snapped one of his woods across his knee, then deposited both pieces of the club in his locker.
113: A NATION DISCOVERS DePAUL
Feb. 12, 1978, South Bend, Ind.
For weeks afterward, coach Ray Meyer remained a little stunned at the Demon-mania that gripped America’s sports fans after Gary Garland hit a 30-foot shot at the buzzer in overtime to beat Notre Dame 69-68 on Lincoln’s Birthday in 1978.
To be honest, almost 20 years later, Meyer, now 83, still marvels at the way a nation “discovered” the school next to the Fullerton Avenue “L” stop.
“I just didn’t think a game–any game–was that important,” said Meyer as he sorted out hundreds of letters and cards he received from around the nation in the days after Garland’s winning shot.
Television, of course, made the game “important.” The North Carolina-Providence national game had ended. So NBC switched to the regional game just as Meyer’s team began its surge from five points behind in overtime.
114: U.S. TEENS STUN BRITS
Aug. 20, 1961, Saddle & Cycle Club
The international press called it “a stunning upset.” Three American teenagers scored a 6-1 Wightman Cup victory at Saddle & Cycle Club over veteran British tennis stars Ann Haydon, Cristine Truman, Angela Mortimer and Deidre Catt.
The American teens were Karen Hantze and Justina Bricka, both 18, and bouncy 17-year-old Billie Jean Moffitt, who spurred on her own game by muttering “Come on, baby” to herself. Moffitt later played under her married name, King.
The American teens had lost to the same Britons at Wimbledon earlier in the year. They said that playing the established British stars before huge crowds helped them gain experience and confidence for the Wightman matches in Chicago.
115: BARBER FINISHES 20, 40, 60
July 30, 1961, Olympia Fields
Jerry Barber, a 5-foot-5-inch, 135-pound, 45-year-old father of five, sank putts of 20, 40 and 60 feet on the last three greens to tie Don January and force a playoff in the PGA Championship at Olympia Fields.
Barber went on to beat January in the playoff and became the oldest PGA champ.
Barber trailed January by four shots with three holes to play. He cut that lead in half when he birdied the 458-yard 16th and January bogeyed. But two more long par-4 holes of 428 and 436 yards remained.
Barber began No. 17 with a horrible drive, followed by two more poor shots. But his 40-footer salvaged par and matched January’s 4.
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At No. 18, Barber knocked down a snaky 60-footer for birdie. Then January missed a 12-foot try for par.
116: GIANTS `SNEAK’ PAST BEARS
Dec. 9, 1934, New York
Students of early NFL history know that the New York Giants upset the Bears 30-13 in the Polo Grounds for the 1934 title because the Giants donned sneakers to help their footing on the icy field.
But how many know that Abe Cohen was a hero in the “Sneakers Game?”
Cohen was a tailor, a fan, a sometimes-clubhouse attendant. Giants trainer Gus Mauch served a similar role at Manhattan College. When coach Steve Owen wondered where he could find enough gym shoes on a Sunday to outfit his club, Cohen was dispatched in a cab to Manhattan College. There, by hook or by crook, he entered the gym, opened lockers and returned with a cab full of rubber-soled shoes.
The Giants rallied from an early 10-3 deficit to score four unanswered TDs in the last 10 minutes and win going away.
Lewis Burton in the New York American wrote: “To the heroes of antiquity, to the Greek who raced across Marathon Plain and to Paul Revere, add now the name of Abe Cohen.”
117. WHIE STOCKINGS OPEN PLAY
April 25, 1876, Louisville
The White Stockings, forerunners of the Cubs, represented Chicago for the first time in Major League Baseball in the new National League. They lost 4-1 on a wet, muddy field in Louisville. Chicago’s only run was unearned.
118. `FIT’ ILLINI WIN ROSE BOWL
Jan. 1, 1964, Pasadena, Calif.
Trailing 7-3 at halftime, Illinois used second-half touchdowns by Jim Warren and Jim Grabowski to beat Washington 17-7 in the Rose Bowl.
Illini star Dick Butkus, irked at reports suggesting the Big Ten champs were not in top physical shape, led his team on a postgame sprint around the field to show their fitness.
Grabowski rushed for 125 yards and was voted the game’s MVP.
119: NU RALLY NIPS MICHIGAN
Oct. 5, 1996, Evanston
The favored Wolverines thirsted to avenge the previous year’s shocking 19-13 upset defeat in Ann Arbor. After three quarters, it appeared that Michigan, leading 16-0, had quenched that thirst. But led by quarterback Steve Schnur and a stifling defense, the Wildcats staged one of the most dramatic comebacks in school history and won 17-16 on Brian Gowins’ 39-yard field goal with 13 seconds to play. Gowins actually had to kick the field goal twice. Time had been called before his first successful boot.
120: FUN ON THE FOURTH
July 4, 1847
Wait until TV resurrects this idea. It comes from the first recorded sports competition mentioned in the pages of the Tribune.
About 5,000 spectators gathered to watch three contestants compete in a half-mile race: a quarter-mile to a pole, around the pole, then back to the starting point.
The three contestants were described as a barber named Louis Isbell, a Native American named White Foot and an unidentified “pioneer” atop a horse.
Isbell beat White Foot by inches. The horse finished third due to his inability to cut the corner at the quarter-mile pole. This cost the horse and its pioneer rider their early lead.
The report did not mention whether there was place or show betting.
121. JORDAN’s 63-POINT GAME
April 20, 1986, Boston
In later years, Michael Jordan’s dazzling playoff performances would lead to championship rings and puffs on victory cigars. Until the team jelled around him, however, Jordan often had to settle for individual achievements.
This one wasn’t bad. Jordan set an NBA playoff record by scoring 63 against the Celtics in Boston Garden. He hit two free throws with no time remaining in regulation to tie the game, sending it into the first of two overtimes.
The Bulls lost 135-131 in double overtime to the eventual NBA champs. But the rings and the stogies were coming.
122. JORDAN’S 69-POINT GAME
March 28, 1990, Cleveland
Numbers only begin to explain Michael Jordan’s performance in the Bulls’ 117-113 overtime victory at Cleveland. Here are the numbers:
Jordan played the entire 50 minutes. He hit 23 of 37 shots, 2 of 6 from three-point range, and 21 of 23 free throws for 69 points. He collected 18 rebounds, seven off the offensive glass. He dished off six assists, committed five fouls, made four steals and committed only two turnovers.
123: BABE COULD PITCH TOO
Sept. 5, 1918, Comiskey Park
Boston Red Sox lefty Babe Ruth outpitched Jim Vaughn of the Cubs to win 1-0 in Game 1 of the 1918 World Series at Comiskey Park. Ruth also won Game 4 by a 3-2 score over Phil Douglas in Boston as the Red Sox won the Series four games to two. It was the Red Sox’s last World Series title.
The Series was moved up to early September because the baseball season was shortened due to World War I. The Cubs played in Comiskey because of its larger seating capacity.
124: NU SWIMMER TAKES GOLD
July 20, 1924, Paris
Sybil Bauer, Chicago native and Northwestern sophomore, won the gold medal in the 100-meter backstroke in the 1924 Paris Olympics. Her time was a world-record 1 minute 23.5 seconds. Bauer went on to break every backstroke record from 50 to 440 yards. But she was stricken with cancer and died in 1927 at 23.
125: CUBS MAKE TV DEBUT
April 20, 1946, Wrigley Field
Patrons in bars across the city squinted at station patterns and marveled, “Ain’t it wonderful?” Then regular programming began, and history was made.
The Cubs, defending NL champs, appeared for the first time on the new-fangled gadget that would make its way into homes, as well as bars, in a few more years. Station WBKB carried the 2-0 loss to St. Louis. “Whispering” Joe Wilson was the play-by-play man.
126: NEVERS 40, BEARS 6
Nov. 28, 1929, Comiskey Park
The Chicago Cardinals had reason to offer thanks this Thanksgiving Day. They had coaxed Ernie Nevers, the former Stanford star, back into pro ball as a player-coach. And Nevers scored all of the Cards’ points in a 40-6 Comiskey Park thrashing of the archrival crosstown Bears.
Gaining much of his yardage behind the blocking of tackle Duke Slater, later a judge in Chicago, and guard Walt Kiesling, later inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Nevers scored an NFL record of six TDs, which has since been tied. He also kicked four PATs for a 40-point total that still stands as the league one-game record.
127: LOYOLA REACHES SWEET 16
March 16, 1985
When Alfredrick Hughes was a freshman, he cranked up so many bricks for jump shots that somebody produced T-shirts carring the message: “Save Loyola Basketball. Shoot Alfredrick Hughes.”
There was no comma between “Shoot” and “Alfredrick.”
By the time Hughes was a senior, however, there were exclamation marks after his name in headlines. He was Loyola’s all-time leading scorer and the nation’s leading scorer. He, Andre Battle and Carl Golston led the freewheeling, high-scoring team for coach Gene Sullivan that caught the imagination of Chicagoland fans.
The Ramblers fashioned a 27-6 record, won the Midwestern Collegiate Conference regular-season title and tournament, and then knocked off Iona and Southern Methodist to reach the Sweet 16 in the NCAA tournament. Loyola led defending NCAA champ Georgetown and Patrick Ewing at halftime before losing 65-53 to finish the school’s most successful season since the 1963 NCAA title.
128: REPEAT FOR NU WOMEN
Feb. 10, 1980, Madison, Wis.
Northwestern, coached by 27-year-old Mary DiStanislao, won its second straight Big Ten women’s basketball tournament, beating Minnesota 86-72 in the title game at Wisconsin.
The team was led by seniors Mary Murphy, Vicky Voss and Martha Megill. The Wildcats had an 85-18 (.825) record during their four years under DiStanislao.
The women’s NCAA tournament did not begin until 1982. The Cats played in 1979 and 1980 in the tournament of the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women, reaching the final eight in 1979.
129: DR. FAGER SETS MILE MARK
Aug. 24, 1968, Arlington Park
Dr. Fager, carrying 134 pounds, including jockey Braulio Baeza, set the world record for 1 mile on the dirt at Arlington Park. The Doctor’s time: 1:32 1/5.
130: THORNRIDGE REPEATS
March 18, 1972, Champaign
Discussions usually heat up when sports fans debate a “best of” subject. But when the subject is the best boys high school basketball team in Illinois history, the vote tends to be as solid as Democrats in Bridgeport during the terms of the first Mayor Richard Daley.
It’s hard to imagine a better high school team than the 1971 and 1972 Thornridge Falcons of south suburban Dolton. Coached by Ron Ferguson, now athletic director at Bradley, and captained by future Indiana star Quinn Buckner, these teams won state titles in both seasons and compiled records of 33-1 and 33-0.
Buckner scored 18 points when Thornridge edged a tough Oak Lawn team with Jim Bocinsky and C.J. Kupec 52-50 in 1971. In 1972, Thornridge breezed 104-69 over Quincy, as Boyd Batts scored 37 points, Buckner 28 and Greg Rose 26.
Mike Bonczyk and Ernie Dunn also started for the unbeaten state champs.
131: `TALL FIRS’ WIN NCAA TITLE
March 27, 1939, Evanston
Oregon beat Ohio State 46-33 at Northwestern’s Patton Gym to win the first NCAA basketball championship. The champs were nicknamed “Tall Firs” because two starters stood 6 foot 4 1/2 inches, and Urgel “Slim” Wintermute was a huge 6-9.
The entire tournament, consisting of regionals and the Final Four in Evanston, drew fewer than 15,000 fans. The first NCAA basketball tournament lost $2,531.
132: BEARS LEAVE WRIGLEY FIELD
Dec. 13, 1970, Wrigley Field
Jack Concannon has his best game as a Bear, throwing four touchdown passes and scoring a fifth, and the Bears beat the Packers 35-17 in their final game in Wrigley Field.
The Bears had played in Wrigley since George Halas moved the team from Decatur to Chicago in 1921. In 1971 they moved into their current home, Soldier Field.
133: SOX CLOSE OLD COMISKEY
Sept. 30, 1990, Comiskey Park
The White Sox beat Seattle 2-1 in the final game played in the 80-year old “Baseball Palace of the World” on the north side of 35th Street.
A short time later, the wrecking ball began demolishing the park where the Sox compiled an overall record of 3,024-2,926 for a .508 percentage.
134: SOX ROCKED IN NEW PARK
April 18, 1991, Comiskey Park
Folks who opposed the construction of new Comiskey and the demolition of the old park wore “I told you so” expressions when the Sox played host to the Detroit Tigers in the first game played in the new place.
There was a lot of hoopla. A sellout crowd of 42,191 fans turned out. But the Tigers did the celebrating. They whacked the Sox 16-0.
135. WHITE SOX, YANKEES BRAWL
May 23, 1958, Comiskey Park
Most baseball fights produce a little shoving, occasional hugging, some dancing and pulled powderpuff punches. This one was an exception.
The benches cleared after Yankee pitcher Art Dittmar threw close to the Sox’s Larry Doby, and some big-time punching followed. In the center of things was veteran Yankee outfielder Enos Slaughter, who broke into baseball with some pretty tough guys playing for the old St. Louis Cardinals’ Gashouse Gang.
Never one to walk away from a rumble, Slaughter went after the biggest opponent he could find, White Sox first baseman Walt “Moose” Dropo, a 6-foot-5-inch, 240-pound former college tight end.
When peacemakers finally pried apart Slaughter and Dropo, Slaughter had his jersey ripped off his body, but Dropo had taken the more telling punches. Unofficial grandstand judges awarded Slaughter the decision.
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Once again, the Yankees had bested the Sox.
136: LONDOS PINS LEWIS
Sept. 20, 1934, Wrigley Field
A crowd of 35,265, believed to be the largest ever to watch a wrestling match in the U.S. at that time, packed Wrigley Field to watch Jim Londos successfully defend his world heavyweight title by winning his one-fall match over Ed “Strangler” Lewis in 49 minutes 27 seconds.
Lewis had beaten Londos 14 times without a loss in previous matches, but the most recent was 10 years earlier.
The crowd included some 10,000 walkups who were caught up in the hype surrounding the match.
137: `DYNASTY THAT NEVER WAS’
Nov. 13, 1947
Contrary to widespread belief, Michael Jordan and the Bulls did not win Chicago’s first pro basketball title. The Chicago American Gears–featuring George Mikan and Bobby McDermott–did it by winning the National Basketball League playoffs over the Rochester Royals in the spring of 1947.
The Gears were cruising with an 8-0 record when the league declared bankruptcy and evaporated the next November. Thus the title of former Gear Dick Triptow’s book, “Dynasty That Never Was.”
Megabucks contracts did not destroy the NBL. Mikan signed what was considered a gigantic contract at $12,000 per year. Most players played for $5,000 or less. Gears tickets at Cicero Stadium or the Amphitheater ranged from 95 cents to $1.85. Players earned bonuses of $6 per basket and $3 per free throw or assist in winning games.
138: AVERY BRUNDAGE DIES
May 8, 1975
Until his death at 87, millionaire Chicagoan and controversial Olympics sport leader Avery Brundage remained an unshakable, uncompromising champion of the “simon-pure” amateur athlete. He opposed and fought what he deemed professionalism or commercialism in the Olympics.
Brundage won a Big Ten discus title for Illinois in 1909. He competed in the 1912 Olympics, the Games where Jim Thorpe was stripped of his medals for having played semipro baseball. Brundage was president of the Amateur Athletic Union and the U.S. Olympic Committee, and was the longtime president of the International Olympic Committee.
139: BEARS’ FIGHT SONG WRITTEN
1941
Jerry Downs was listed as composer of the Bears’ fight song, which was introduced in 1941. This was a pseudonym for Al Hoffman, who earned immortality for writing words and music to “If I Knew You Were Coming I’d ‘A Baked a Cake.”
Here’s are the words to the fight song, perhaps the only song that rhymes a word with Illinois:
“Bear down, Chicago Bears. Make every play clear the way to victory.
“Bear Down, Chicago Bears. Put up a fight with a might so fearlessly.
“We’ll never forget the way you thrilled the nation with your T-formation.
“You’re the pride and joy of Illinois, Chicago Bears, bear down.”
140: BULLS BORN, WIN OPENER
Oct. 15, 1966, St. Louis
Pro basketball had made several false starts in Chicago: Bruins, Stags, American Gears, Packers, Zephyrs, Majors, and so on. But with the arrival of this franchise, owned by Dick Klein and coached by Johnny Kerr, it was here for keeps.
The Bulls won their opener 104-97 at St. Louis on Oct. 15, 1966. Three days later Jerry Sloan scored 26 points, and they won their home opener 119-116 over San Francisco at the Amphitheater. Starting lineup: Bob Boozer and Don Kojis at forwards, Len Chappell at center, Guy Rodgers and Sloan at guards.
141: SOX WIN SERIES OPENER
Oct. 1, 1959, Comiskey Park
After a 40-year absence from World Series play, the White Sox mauled the Los Angeles Dodgers 11-0 in Game 1. Ted Kluszewski slugged two home runs at Comiskey Park.
The Sox ultimately lost the series four games to two. They have yet to return.
142: EDDLEMAN’S 88-YARD PUNT
Nov. 6, 1948, Champaign
This date and headline serve to introduce Dike Eddleman, the most versatile athlete in the history of the University of Illinois.
Eddleman, a native of Centralia, Ill., played for the 1947 Illini Rose Bowl champions. His 88-yard punt in a 14-0 win over Iowa was the longest in school history. He was the leading scorer on Illinois’ first Final Four basketball team in 1949. He won a silver medal in the 1948 London Olympics. He won 11 varsity letters as well as the Big Ten Conference Medal of Honor.
143: NU’S GOLDEN UPSET
Oct. 31, 1936, Dyche Stadium
Coach Bernie Bierman’s Minnesota Golden Gophers had played 28 games without defeat and were gunning for a third straight Big Ten title. But captain Steve Reid, linebacker Fred Vanzo and halfback Steve Toth led a 6-0 Northwestern upset in Dyche Stadium.
Vanzo’s linebacking held Gophers star Andy Uram in check. Toth plunged 1 yard for the game’s only score. The Wildcats went on to win their last Big Ten title before the 1995 and 1996 seasons.
144: BEARS, ALL-STARS TIE
Aug. 31, 1934, Soldier Field
A Soldier Field crowd of 79,432 fans saw the NFL champion Bears and College All-Stars play a 0-0 tie in the first in the series that kicked off the football season.
baiduhai Charities sponsored the game, which continued until 1975.
145: LISTON WINS ON QUICK KO
Sept. 25, 1962, Comiskey Park
Charles “Sonny” Liston knocked out champion Floyd Patterson at 2:06 of the first round and won the heavyweight title at Comiskey Park.
As he left Chicago, Patterson tried to disguise himself by wearing false whiskers.
146. STING WINS SOCCER BOWL
Sept. 26, 1981, Toronto
About 6,000 fans accompanied the Sting from Chicago to Toronto where they won the North American Soccer League title, beating the New York Cosmos 1-0 in a shootout before 36,971 fans.
The Sting outscored New York 2-1 in the shootout on goals by Karl-Heinz Granitza and Rudy Glenn. Dieter Ferner made the title-saving save.
Mayor Jane Byrne treated Lee Stern’s team to a civic parade when it returned home. Yes, this was before MJ hit town.
147. HUSTLE BOWS OUT PARTYING
April 15, 1979, Ankeny, Iowa
The Chicago Hustle didn’t win the title the first year of the Women’s Basketball League. The team was knocked out of the playoffs 118-117 by the Iowa Cornets in Ankeny, Iowa.
But the Hustle led the league in scoring, attendance, goodwill and having fun. Owner John Geraty, General Manager Chuck Shriver, coach Doug Bruno and pioneer pros such as Rita Easterling, Janie Fincher, Sue Digitale, Debbie Waddy-Rossow and Liz Galloway knew how to enjoy life.
For example, each team held separate parties after the Cornets’ victory moved them into the finals and the Hustle defeat ended its season. The staid and prim victory celebration broke up rather early. So several Iowa players went to the motel where the Hustle players were successfully easing the agony of defeat.
Before the party turned into an impromptu softball game, half-a-dozen Cornets were begging to be traded to Chicago.
The WBL folded after its second season. Nobody had more fun while it lasted than the Hustle and its fans.
148: MODESTY WINS AT WIRE
June 28, 1884, Washington Park
Modesty’s stretch drive won the first American Derby for 3-year-olds at Washington Park. Programs sold for 10 cents. The purse for the 12-horse race was $12,000.
149: GOTCH BEATS HACKENSCHMIDT
April 4, 1906, South Side Grounds
Frank Gotch was the No. 1 pro wrestler in the business. He made a huge $1,750 per week. He beat George “Russian Lion” Hackenschmidt in an exhibition match.
These were giants in their day, bigger than Hulk Hogan, or even Dennis Rodman, today.
150: COLLEGE HOOPS DEBUT
Jan. 18, 1896, Iowa City
Chicago beat Iowa 15-12 at Iowa City in the first five-on-five college basketball game under rules familiar to today’s game.
The game drew 400 fans. A newspaper reported: “The officiating was a source of intense dissatisfaction for the audience.”
Nine U of C undergrads made the trip. Four competed for the debate team that lost to Iowa. Iowa upheld the affirmative on the issue: “Further territorial expansion of the U.S. is undesirable.”
ABOUT THE SELECTION PANEL
To select the 150 most memorable moments in Chicago sports history requires a wealth of experience in sports and the ability to view this city with a long lens. And the committee that chose these special moments brims with such qualities. Among those who lent their knowledge and know-how to this task were some of the greatest names in Chicago sports journalism.
At top, former Tribune Managing Editor F. Richard Ciccone (left) listens as long-time Tribune sportswriter Bill Jauss makes a point. Former Associated Press Sports Editor Joe Mooshil (left, middle photo) is joined in discussion by Tribune baseball writer Jerome Holtzman and former Tribune Sports Editors George Langford and Cooper Rollow. And (bottom) famous WGN-TV broadcaster Jack Brickhouse studies reports as he makes his contribution to the selections.
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