By Rick Kaempfer
In This Weeks Historical Events
May 15th, 2024
0 Comments
5281 Views
May 18, 1920 Future Pope (and Saint) John Paul II is born in Poland. Grover Cleveland Alexander is on the mound at Cubs Park in Chicago, and he beats the Giants 4-2. He also knocks in the game winning run. Cleveland could have never guessed that this boy born in Poland would one day be […]...
By Rick Kaempfer
In This Weeks Historical Events
May 8th, 2024
0 Comments
6755 Views
May 9, 1873 Future Chicago mayor Anton Cermak is born. Throughout the last century many of Chicago’s mayors have been White Sox fans (most notably the Daleys), but there have been a few notable exceptions, and Mayor Cermak may have been the most famous. He loved the Cubs. When the Cubs and Yank...
By Rick Kaempfer
In This Weeks Historical Events
May 1st, 2024
1 Comment
6827 Views
May 1, 1893 The Columbian Exposition opens in Chicago. It is the biggest World’s Fair the world had ever seen, scheduled to begin on the 400th anniversary of Columbus’ discovery of the new world. It covers 600 acres, features 200 or so brand new structures and buildings (many designed by ...
By Rick Kaempfer
In This Weeks Historical Events
Apr 24th, 2024
0 Comments
4978 Views
April 29, 1997 Mike Royko passes away at the age of 65. As one final tribute to him, the Cubs win only their sixth game of the season (out of 24), 14-8 versus the Expos. Few Chicagoans were more closely associated with the Chicago Cubs than Mike Royko. As a columnist for the Daily News, […]...
By Rick Kaempfer
In This Weeks Historical Events
Apr 17th, 2024
2 Comments
9965 Views
April 21, 1986 It’s hard to imagine a more heavily hyped television program than Geraldo Rivera’s broadcast on April 21, 1986 from the former Al Capone headquarters (1928-1931) at the Lexington Hotel in Chicago. The hotel was about to be renovated, but not before Geraldo was allowed to in...
By Rick Kaempfer
In This Weeks Historical Events
Apr 10th, 2024
1 Comment
6718 Views
April 13, 1992 The city of Chicago was undergoing one of the strangest events in it’s colorful history. 250 million gallons of water were flooding the basements of Loop office buildings and retail stores because workers doing rehabilitation work on the Kinzie Street Bridge crossing the Chicago ...
By Rick Kaempfer
In This Weeks Historical Events
Apr 2nd, 2024
2 Comments
7131 Views
April 2, 1917 Less than one month after beginning his second term in office, President Woodrow Wilson asked Congress to declare war on Germany to keep the world “safe for democracy.” They obliged. The war didn’t immediately affect the national pastime. At first the American public rallied aroun...
By Rick Kaempfer
In This Weeks Historical Events
Mar 5th, 2024
0 Comments
5915 Views
Where Were The Cubs? March 5, 1982 On this day in 1982, famous Cubs fan John Belushi died at the way too young age of 33. His career was peppered with references to his favorite baseball team. On Saturday Night Live, he flipped “Cheesborgers” in a place eerily similar to the place that al...
By Rick Kaempfer
In This Weeks Historical Events
Feb 1st, 2024
0 Comments
7170 Views
Where were the Cubs? February 6, 1911 The most famous Cubs fan in history was born on this day. His name was Ronald Reagan. Reagan didn’t just grow up a Chicago Cubs fan. He owes much of his success to the team. Following college graduation, Reagan landed a job as a radio announcer at WOC [&hel...
By Rick Kaempfer
In This Weeks Historical Events
Jan 22nd, 2024
0 Comments
4659 Views
*On January 20, 2009, President Obama was inaugurated President of the United States in 2009. The Chicago Tribune was putting together the final details for their sale of the Cubs to Tom Ricketts and his family. The final price tag is $900 million. *On January 23, 1737, John Hancock was born. He late...
The Pothole Store | Eckhartz Press | Rick Kaempfer's Blog | Illinois Entertainer
Site construction by WorkSite, LLC