Here’s a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on Sept. 6, according to the Tribune’s archives.
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Weather records (from the National Weather Service, Chicago)
High temperature: 97 degrees (1960)
Low temperature: 42 degrees (1984)
Precipitation: 1.53 inches (1894)
Snowfall: None
About 45,000 spectators filled Grant Park Municipal Stadium, which was still under construction on Sept. 6, 1924, to watch Chicago police officers from the mounted division compete in chariot races. The event was the first hosted in the stadium, which is now known as Soldier Field. (Chicago Tribune)
1924: Though the facility was not yet complete, more than 45,000 people attended a competition in field events by Chicago police officers to open Municipal Grant Park Stadium. On Nov. 11, 1925 — Armistice (now Veterans) Day — its name was changed to Soldier Field. The stadium was dedicated on Nov. 27, 1926.
The hammer throw event was held a day earlier “to avoid any possibility of an accident,” the Tribune reported.
Passengers on the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad were able to choose their seats from two levels for the first time on Sept. 6, 1950. The bilevel train cars are still used by Metra. (Chicago Tribune)
1950: Chicago’s first bilevel commuter train debuted on the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad between the city and Aurora. The specialized steel coach — which was constructed by Budd in Philadelphia — was air-conditioned and offered seating for 96 passengers on the lower level and single seats for 52 upstairs.
“We know that the suburban service is with us to stay and we are going to make the best of it,” Burlington President Harry C. Murphy told the Tribune. “We think that the area we serve is going to be greatly developed and we are going forward on that basis.”
1955: WTTW (Window to the World) launched — briefly — on Channel 11 with a test transmission. The Chicago Board of Education aired orientation for its teachers hosted by Superintendent Benjamin Willis.
“Reports of good reception were received yesterday from points as distant as Lake Forest and Libertyville,” the Tribune reported. “Reception, both picture and sound, was poor in some steel framed structures, including Tribune Tower.”
The U.S. Olympic freestyle wrestling team for the Olympics in Rome, seen here Aug. 12, 1960, are, from left to right: trainer Ken Rawlinson; Gray Simons, 114 1/2; Terry McCann, 125 1/2; Lou Giani, 136 1/2; Shelly Wilson, 147 1/2; Doug Blubaugh, 160 1/2; Ed DeWitt, 174; Dan Brand, 191; Bill Kerslake, heavyweight; and coach Port Tobertson. (AP)
1960: Schurz High School grad Terry McCann won a gold medal in wrestling in the 1960 Rome Olympics. He defeated Nejdet Zalev of Bulgaria on point in the bantam-weight class. “My only disappointments over there were I didn’t get to see a single other Olympic competition and our rigid training program cost me a chance for an audience with Pope John XXIII,” he told the Tribune after returning home from the competition.
Vintage Chicago Tribune: Summer Olympians from the area who won gold
McCann later helped establish USA Wrestling, a national governing body for the sport; served in various posts with the U.S. Olympic Committee; helped start a wrestling program in the Mayor Daley Youth Foundation; and mentored dozens of people.
Drew Peterson was found guilty on Sept. 6, 2012, of killing his third wife, Kathleen Savio. Peterson’s fourth wife Stacy Peterson is still missing. (Chicago Tribune)
2012: Former Bolingbrook police officer Drew Peterson was found guilty of drowning his third wife, Kathleen Savio. He was later sentenced to 38 years in prison.
On the second day of deliberations, the jury was won over by a case that was largely circumstantial and, one juror said, hinged on the hearsay testimony that originated from Peterson’s missing fourth wife, Stacy.
Peterson was given an additional 40 years in prison in 2016 for trying to hire someone to kill the prosecutor who put him behind bars for killing his third wife.
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