Here’s a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on Aug. 18, according to the Tribune’s archives.
Is an important event missing from this date? Email us.
Vintage editorial: A celebration of women’s suffrage: ‘It has been a long fight and a hard one’
Weather records (from the National Weather Service, Chicago)
- High temperature: 98 degrees (1947)
- Low temperature: 49 degrees (1963)
- Precipitation: 2.85 inches (1990)
- Snowfall: None
Arlington Park Race Track leaders Sheldon Robbins, from left, Joseph Joyce Jr. and Dick Duchossois shake hands on Aug. 18, 1983. (Phil Mascione/Chicago Tribune)
1983: Arlington Park was sold to a four-man group headed by Richard L. Duchossois.
Arlington International Racecourse: History of one of the ‘world’s most beautiful racetracks’
Duchossois assumed full control of the horse track after buying out his partners in 1986.
Police direct protesters on West Adams Street on Aug. 18, 1994, when about 1,000 people demonstrated outside an opening event at the new United Center. Protesters wanted more jobs to go to minorities. (Chuck Berman/Chicago Tribune)
1994: The United Center opened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony followed by a $1,000-a-plate black-tie gala. Inside, the guests danced to the Dick Judson Orchestra. Outside, nearly 1,000 demonstrators demanded more jobs and contracts for the Democratic National Convention to be held there two years later.
Chicago’s history with hosting Democratic and Republican conventions dates back to 1860
The first event open to the public came 11 days later, and it wasn’t a Chicago Bulls or a Chicago Blackhawks game. It was the WWE’s stars Bret “Hit Man” Hart, Lex Luger and the Undertaker mixing it up.
“Breaking the seal on this dolled-up barn was not the Rolling Stones, as originally rumored, but rather the sophisticated artistry of the World Wrestling Federation’s SummerSlam ’94,” the Tribune reported. “If the faux action in the center ring became tedious, seated patrons could bide their time counting United Airlines logos and listening for the opening strains of Gershwin’s ‘Rhapsody in Blue’ every time a cash register drawer opened.”
Sister Mary Jo Sobieck throws out a ceremonial first pitch before a baseball game between the Kansas City Royals and the Chicago White Sox on Aug. 18, 2018, in Chicago. (Nam Y. Huh/AP)
2018: Sister Mary Jo Sobieck threw a ceremonial first pitch for a perfect strike at Rate Field after bouncing the ball off her bicep. Then a teacher at Marian Catholic in Chicago Heights, Sobieck’s pitch was captured on a baseball card, a bobblehead and was even nominated for an ESPY Award.
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