Weather records <\/strong>(from the National Weather Service, Chicago<\/a>)<\/p>\n 1963:<\/strong> Firefighters and nuns worked quickly to evacuate 109 patients<\/a> during an extra-alarm fire at the hospital, which destroyed the roof and the fourth floor of the building. A human chain of doctors, nurses and aides safely removed 29 newborn infants and their mothers<\/a> from Mercy\u2019s obstetrics ward.<\/p>\n Flashback: Mercy Hospital\u2019s major milestones<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Surgeries \u2014 including brain, abdominal and gallbladder operations and a tonsillectomy \u2014 were quickly completed as \u201calarm bells rang thruout the hospital,\u201d the Tribune reported.<\/p>\n 1974:<\/strong> Chicago Today<\/a> \u2014 a descendant of the Chicago Courant<\/a> founded in 1853 \u2014 ceased publication. In its absence, the Tribune vowed to become a 24-hour newspaper with \u201cfresh news in each edition in the morning, afternoon, and evening.\u201d<\/p>\n More than 90 of the 175 Chicago Today staffers were offered jobs at the Tribune. William Decker, a Chicago Today photographer, didn\u2019t need it \u2014 he won a $300,000 lottery<\/a> the day before the publication ended.<\/p>\n 1995:<\/strong> Stable hand Kenneth Hansen<\/a> was found guilty of the 1955 slayings of Robert Peterson, 14, and brothers John and Anton Schuessler Jr., ages 13 and 11 on Chicago\u2019s Northwest Side. The three boys went to the Loop to watch a movie and were picked up by Hansen while hitchhiking home.<\/p>\n Police charged Hansen in 1994<\/a> with driving the boys to a stable where he sexually abused them, then strangled them and later dumped their bodies in a forest preserve ditch. Hansen\u2019s arrest was one development in an ATF investigation<\/a> into the 1977 disappearance of Helen Brach<\/a>, the multimillionaire candy heiress. Richard Bailey, an acquaintance of Hansen\u2019s, was charged with soliciting Brach\u2019s murder.<\/p>\n Hansen, serving a 200-year sentence<\/a> for the slayings,\u00a0died in prison<\/a>\u00a0of natural causes in 2007.<\/p>\n 1998:<\/strong> Chicago Cubs outfielder Sammy Sosa<\/a>\u00a0hit home runs No. 61 and 62 at Wrigley Field, matching St. Louis Cardinals slugger Mark McGwire in passing Roger Maris\u2019 single-season record of 61. Sosa hit 66 home runs during the 1998 season.<\/p>\n McGwire smashed 70 home runs to capture the record. Just three years later, however, Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants\u00a0hit 73<\/a>. No player since has threatened Bonds\u2019 total. All three players have been accused of using steroids to enhance their performance.<\/p>\n 2020:<\/strong> Cubs\u2019 starter Alec Mills<\/a> threw a no-hitter, walked three and struck out five, in a 12-0 win over the Milwaukee Brewers. It was the 16th no-hitter in franchise history.<\/p>\n Want more vintage Chicago?<\/p>\n Subscribe to the free\u00a0Vintage Chicago Tribune<\/a>\u00a0newsletter, join our\u00a0Chicagoland history Facebook group,<\/a> stay current with Today in Chicago History<\/a> and follow us on Instagram<\/a>\u00a0for more from Chicago\u2019s past.<\/p>\n Have an idea for Vintage Chicago Tribune? Share it with Kori Rumore and Marianne Mather at krumore@chicagotribune.com<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0mmather@chicagotribune.com<\/a><\/p>\n \t\t\t\n
![\"Firefighters](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/CTC-L-CTHIST-Mercy-hospital-010_229055331.jpg\")
Firefighters in snorkel baskets direct streams of water onto a fire on Sept. 13, 1963, at Mercy Hospital on the South Side. (Luigi Mendicino\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n\n
![\"There](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/CTC-L-CTHIST-AOP-896-CT_F_235543770.jpg\")
There was no joy in the Chicago Today city room on Sept. 13, 1974, the newspaper’s last day of publication. A disconsolate Alice Neal sits at a desk in the foreground and considers the future. (Edward Wagner Jr.\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n![\"Chicago](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/CTC-L-MURDER2-3C-6PM_OPED-1016-AJ_190608791.jpg\")
Chicago police investigators Richard Schak, left, and Louis Rabbit, right, lead Kenneth Hansen on Aug. 12, 1994, through the Grand Central Area Police Station. (Val Mazzenga\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n![\"On](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/CTC-L-PETERSON-SCHUESSLER-BOYS-KILLED-1955-01.jpg\")
On Oct. 16, 1955, Robert Peterson, 14, and John Schuessler, 13, took the bus from their Jefferson Park neighborhood to a Loop theater to see a Disney matinee, \u201cThe African Lion.\u201d They let John\u2019s 11-year-old brother, Anton, tag along. Hitchhiking was a rite of passage at the time and somebody around Milwaukee Avenue \u2014 later identified as Kenneth Hansen \u2014 offered them a ride. The boys were never seen alive again. Two days later, their bodies were discovered in Robinson’s Woods. (Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n![\"Chicago](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/CTC-L-SPT-PRISCHING-CUBS-93824-D_190853061.jpg\")
Chicago Cubs slugger Sammy Sosa watches his 62nd home run sail over the left field fence on Sept. 13, 1998, at Wrigley Field during the Cubs’ 11-10 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers. (Jim Prisching\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n![\"Chicago](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/CTC-L-AP-ALEC-MILLS-NO-HITTER-2020-01.jpg\")
Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Alec Mills is swarmed by teammates after throwing a no-hitter against the Milwaukee Brewers on Sept. 13, 2020, in Milwaukee. The Cubs won 12-0. (Morry Gash\/AP)<\/p>\n