Here’s a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on Jan. 28, 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: 60 degrees (1914)
- Low temperature: Minus 13 degrees (1977)
- Precipitation: 0.71 inches (1909)
- Snowfall: 5 inches (2019)
1851: The charter for Northwestern University was passed by the Illinois General Assembly. The school opened four years later in Evanston.
1901: The American League formed in Chicago at the Grand Pacific Hotel with the White Sox as a charter member.
1922: Staleys no more — Chicago’s professional football team changed its name to the Chicago Bears.
1961: Temperatures were near zero the morning when a warehouse building shared by Hilker & Bletsch Co., a bakery supply firm, and P. & P. Blueberry Packing Co. went up in flames. Disaster struck when a team of firefighters trying to rescue two comrades trapped in the building were themselves imperiled by a collapsing wall. Nine firemen perished, including two battalion chiefs.
The emotional toll was heavy because one of them, George Rees, could be heard crying for help as firefighters struggled feverishly but in vain to reach him. It required more than 300 men, 67 pieces of equipment and two fireboats pumping water from the Chicago River to knock out the blaze. Even then, the rubble smoldered for days. The Tribune reported the sewers clogged with ice so that the area looked like an ice rink with water up to 18 inches thick surrounding the building.
1967: Though there was a massive snowstorm in which 23 inches of snow fell on the city, basketball fans still made it to Chicago Stadium to watch sensational UCLA sophomore Lew Alcindor, who would later change his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
On Saturday, Alcindor warmed up by scoring 35 points as UCLA beat Loyola 82-67. On Sunday, he scored 45 as the Bruins romped 120-82 over Illinois. UCLA ended the season 30-0, winning the first of a record seven straight NCAA titles.
2017: President Donald Trump’s crackdown on immigration set off a tumultuous day at O’Hare International Airport as frantic relatives, hundreds of protesters and volunteer lawyers gathered there.
U.S. authorities took more than a dozen travelers into custody at O’Hare in response to Trump’s order — but lawyers who came to their aid said all were set free after a federal judge temporarily barred deportations. Local immigration reform advocates denounced the order.
Want more vintage Chicago?
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@chicagotribune.com and mmather@chicagotribune.com
Here’s a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on Jan. 28, according to the Tribune’s archives.
Here’s a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on Jan. 28, 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: 60 degrees (1914)
- Low temperature: Minus 13 degrees (1977)
- Precipitation: 0.71 inches (1909)
- Snowfall: 5 inches (2019)
1851: The charter for Northwestern University was passed by the Illinois General Assembly. The school opened four years later in Evanston.
1901: The American League formed in Chicago at the Grand Pacific Hotel with the White Sox as a charter member.
1922: Staleys no more — Chicago’s professional football team changed its name to the Chicago Bears.
1961: Temperatures were near zero the morning when a warehouse building shared by Hilker & Bletsch Co., a bakery supply firm, and P. & P. Blueberry Packing Co. went up in flames. Disaster struck when a team of firefighters trying to rescue two comrades trapped in the building were themselves imperiled by a collapsing wall. Nine firemen perished, including two battalion chiefs.
The emotional toll was heavy because one of them, George Rees, could be heard crying for help as firefighters struggled feverishly but in vain to reach him. It required more than 300 men, 67 pieces of equipment and two fireboats pumping water from the Chicago River to knock out the blaze. Even then, the rubble smoldered for days. The Tribune reported the sewers clogged with ice so that the area looked like an ice rink with water up to 18 inches thick surrounding the building.
1967: Though there was a massive snowstorm in which 23 inches of snow fell on the city, basketball fans still made it to Chicago Stadium to watch sensational UCLA sophomore Lew Alcindor, who would later change his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
On Saturday, Alcindor warmed up by scoring 35 points as UCLA beat Loyola 82-67. On Sunday, he scored 45 as the Bruins romped 120-82 over Illinois. UCLA ended the season 30-0, winning the first of a record seven straight NCAA titles.
2017: President Donald Trump’s crackdown on immigration set off a tumultuous day at O’Hare International Airport as frantic relatives, hundreds of protesters and volunteer lawyers gathered there.
U.S. authorities took more than a dozen travelers into custody at O’Hare in response to Trump’s order — but lawyers who came to their aid said all were set free after a federal judge temporarily barred deportations. Local immigration reform advocates denounced the order.
Want more vintage Chicago?
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@chicagotribune.com and mmather@chicagotribune.com
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