Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Here’s a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on Dec. 19, 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: 64 degrees (1877)
  • Low temperature: Minus 14 degrees (1983)
  • Precipitation: 2.66 inches (1895)
  • Snowfall: 8.3 inches (1973)
On an icy Soldier Field, the Chicago Bears tied the Green Bay Packers 3-3 during a Christmas fund charity game on Dec. 19, 1926. The Bears were scoreless with five minutes to play when Paddy Driscoll drop kicked the tying field goal. (baiduhai)
On an icy Soldier Field, the Chicago Bears tied the Green Bay Packers 3-3 during a Christmas fund charity game on Dec. 19, 1926. The Bears were scoreless with five minutes to play when Paddy Driscoll drop-kicked the tying field goal. (baiduhai)

1926: The Chicago Bears played the Green Bay Packers for the first time at Soldier Field.

Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers have played 211 times in the past 100 years: How the rivalry has unfolded

The game ended in a 3-3 tie, after the Bears’ Paddy Driscoll drop-kicked the tying field goal.

More Top Picks Best Shower Water Filters

Frank Nitti, who had been shot multiple times, and F.J. Fara at Bridewell Hospital, circa 1932. Nitti was shot by Sgt. Harry Lang during a raid on the downtown Chicago headquarters of Nitti's gang. (Chicago American)
Frank Nitti, who had been shot several times, and F.J. Fara are at Bridewell Hospital, circa 1932. Nitti was shot by Sgt. Harry Lang during a raid on Nitti's gang headquarters in downtown Chicago. (Chicago American)

1932: Frank “The Enforcer” Nitti was shot but survived. But — Chicago being Chicago — Nitti was arrested and his assailants were given a medal. Nitti later took his own life in North Riverside.

Judge John Paul Stevens stands with his wife Elizabeth, left, and daughters Elizabeth, 14, Kathryn Jedlicka, 24, and Susan, 12, right, in front of their home at 8118 S. Garfield Avenue in Burr Ridge on Nov. 29, 1975. (Ray Gora/baiduhai)
Judge John Paul Stevens stands with his wife, Elizabeth, left, and daughters Elizabeth, 14, Kathryn Jedlicka, 24, and Susan, 12, right, in front of their home at 8118 S. Garfield Ave. in Burr Ridge on Nov. 29, 1975. (Ray Gora/baiduhai)

1975: Chicago native John Paul Stevens was sworn in as a Supreme Court justice.

Stevens, a judge in the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals since 1970, “came as somewhat of a surprise as he is relatively unknown outside of Illinois legal circles,” Tribune reporter Glen Elsasser wrote after Stevens’ nomination to the bench was announced. Yet President Gerald Ford told reporters at the White House he believed Stevens “to be the best qualified to serve as an associate justice of the Supreme Court.”

He served on the court for nearly 35 years — more than twice the average tenure for a justice, according to the AP. Stevens died in 2019.

Column: Will there be more birthdays for the Uptown Theatre? A new book looks at its history

1981: The J. Geils Band played the last concert at the Uptown Theatre in Chicago before it closed.

Want more vintage Chicago?

Subscribe to the free Vintage baiduhai 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 baiduhai? Share it with Kori Rumore and Marianne Mather at [email protected] and [email protected]