Here’s a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on Nov. 20, according to the Tribune’s archives.
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Weather records (from the National Weather Service, Chicago)
- High temperature: 68 degrees (1930)
- Low temperature: 8 degrees (1873)
- Precipitation: 1.23 inches (1970)
- Snowfall: 4.2 inches (2015)
1848: The Galena & Chicago Union Railroad outfitted a couple of baggage cars with temporary seats and invited dignitaries, politicians and the press on this date to take a free inaugural run west from Chicago. The only locomotive that was available and affordable was a used, 12-year-old wood-burner called the Pioneer that was obsolete even by the standards of 1848. Returning from the area that became the suburb of Oak Park, the train hauled a farmer’s load of wheat and hides as a demonstration.
Thus began Chicago’s transformation into the largest railroad center on Earth.
1977: After suffering from flu symptoms that left him feeling weak, Chicago Bears running back Walter Payton set an NFL single-game rushing record at Soldier Field.
“In the greatest performance by a runner in National Football League history, Payton gained 275 yards in 40 rushes, dragging the Minnesota Vikings with his powerful legs and carrying the Bears on his broad shoulders to a 10-7 victory,” Tribune reporter Don Pierson wrote.
Payton’s 275 yards ranks fifth on the list of all-time rushing yards in a single game.
1984: Simeon High School basketball star Ben Wilson was considered the best high school basketball player in the country when he was gunned down.
On his lunch break from school, Wilson was walking with his girlfriend and another friend near a convenience store. Wilson reportedly bumped into William Moore, 16, a suspected gang member, who shot the basketball star. Wilson’s heart and liver were punctured by the gunshots, and he died the next day.
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attended Wilson’s wake inside Simeon’s gymnasium and his funeral.Moore and Omar Dixon, who attempted to rob Wilson, were convicted in October 1985. Moore was sentenced to 40 years and Dixon received 30 years in prison.
Former Tribune reporter K.C. Johnson — who played for the Evanston team that lost to Wilson’s team in the 1984 Class AA state championship game, and then played Simeon again the day after Wilson died — wrote a powerful piece to mark the 25th anniversary of his death in November 2009.
2010: Illinois beat Northwestern 48-27 in the first football game played at Wrigley Field since 1970.
Both offenses drove toward the same end zone to avoid the one on the east side, which was only a foot from the outfield wall.
2013: “Mr. Cub” Ernie Banks and Oprah Winfrey were awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the country’s highest civilian honor, by President Barack Obama.
Also in 2013: Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn put his signature on a historic measure making Illinois the 16th state to allow same-sex marriage, capping a 40-year push for gay rights that picked up major momentum the previous decade.
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