Weather records <\/strong>(from the National Weather Service, Chicago<\/a>)<\/p>\n Chicago could\u2019ve ended up in Wisconsin. Here are 5 things you might not know about Illinois.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n 1818:<\/strong> Illinois entered the Union as the 21st state<\/a>.<\/p>\n 1919:<\/strong> Architecture firm Holabird & Roche<\/a> was chosen to design a U-shaped stadium as a memorial to U.S. soldiers who died in the war. It later was named Soldier Field<\/a>.<\/p>\n Flashback: If a football squad wanted bragging rights in Chicago, the Prep Bowl was what mattered<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n 1927:<\/strong> The first Prep Bowl<\/a>, which the Tribune dubbed \u201cthe football championships of all the Chicago high schools,\u201d took place at Soldier Field before 50,000 fans. \u201cMount Carmel froze out Schurz in the first interleague game ever staged,\u201d the Tribune wrote.<\/p>\n 1943:<\/strong> Pizzeria Uno opened in Old Town to little fanfare. The restaurant at Ohio Street and Wabash Avenue was not an overnight success. In the early days, bartenders distributed free sample slices to introduce customers to the establishment\u2019s now well-known food.<\/p>\n Vintage Chicago Tribune: Chicago-style pizza may owe its existence to a bad enchilada<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The restaurant opened in 1943 as The Pizzeria, became Pizzeria Riccardo soon afterward, and settled in as Pizzeria Uno in 1955, when partners Ike Sewell and Ric Riccardo opened Pizzeria Due in another mansion at Wabash and Ontario Street. Pizzeria Due\u2019s manager was Luciano \u201cLou\u201d Malnati<\/a>.<\/p>\n 1957:<\/strong> Seven-year-old Maria Ridulph<\/a> was playing in front of her Sycamore home when she accepted a piggyback ride<\/a> from a stranger named Johnny. Five months later, a couple hunting for mushrooms found her body. She was stuffed under a tree trunk in a forest about 100 miles from her home.<\/p>\n Former Washington state police Officer Jack McCullough<\/a> was convicted in DeKalb County in 2012 of murder, infant abduction and kidnapping and sentenced to life in prison. A new prosecutor in DeKalb County found flaws in the case, determined McCullough\u2019s alibi was solid<\/a> and concluded that McCullough couldn\u2019t have committed the crime. He asked another judge to throw out the conviction and all charges were dismissed. McCullough sued officers in Illinois and Seattle<\/a> over allegations of \u201cpervasive misconduct.\u201d<\/p>\n 1967:<\/strong> The 20th Century Limited<\/a> \u2014 once called \u201cthe greatest train in the world\u201d \u2014 left Chicago\u2019s LaSalle Station for New York on its final run<\/a>.<\/p>\n In the 1930s, Ben Hecht and Charles McArthur produced the Broadway play, \u201cThe 20th Century Limited,\u201d and later Alfred Hitchcock filmed \u201cNorth by Northwest\u201d on the train. Lucius Beebe made the train the subject of a book, and Norman Rockwell once painted its diner for a Saturday Evening Post cover.<\/p>\n 2009:<\/strong> Jonathan Toews, Duncan Keith and Patrick Kane<\/a> signed contract extensions with the Chicago Blackhawks.<\/p>\n The trio won the Stanley Cup with the Hawks in 2010, 2013 and 2015.<\/p>\n 2018:<\/strong> The Chicago Bulls fired coach Fred Hoiberg<\/a>, who compiled a 115-155 record with one first-round playoff exit.<\/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
\n
![\"This](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/CTC-L-SOLDIER-FIELD-RENDERING-1920-01.jpg\")
The planned U-shaped stadium for Grant Park, as published in the Tribune on March 18, 1920, was produced by architecture firm Holabird & Roche. (Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n\n
![\"Lou](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/CTC-oped-things-uno-0620-mh_181880331.jpg\")
Lou Malnati, right, serves his father, Rudy Malnati, proprietor of Pizzeria Uno, the 2 millionth pizza his two restaurants had turned out in 23 years of business on June 10, 1966, in Chicago. (Luigi Mendicino\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n\n
![\"Sycamore](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/CTC-L-CTHIST-maria-ridulph-005_229054829.jpg\")
Sycamore Mayor Harold Johnson, left, and Assistant State’s Attorney James Boyle view a color page of the Chicago Tribune on Dec. 13, 1957, showing the important facts in the disappearance of Maria Ridulph. (Weldon Whisler\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n![\"New](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/CTC-L-CTHIST-Scan-12_229058563.jpg\")
New York’s Golden Gloves winners arrive in Chicago at the LaSalle Street Station on the 20th Century Limited, circa 1930. (Swain Scalf\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n![\"Chicago](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/CTC-L-1204HAWKS-4COL_189184007.jpg\")
Chicago Blackhawks players Jonathan Toews, left, Duncan Keith, center, and Patrick Kane meet with reporters on Dec. 3, 2009, after signing contract extensions with the team at the United Center. (Phil Velasquez\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n![\"Chicago](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/CTC-L-CT-bulls-pistons036_182041225-e1764704655609.jpg\")
Chicago Bulls head coach Fred Hoiberg gives direction to his team in the second half of the team’s home opener against the Detroit Pistons at the United Center in Chicago on Oct. 20, 2018. (Chris Sweda\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n