Front page flashback:<\/strong> Feb. 8, 1968<\/p>\n 1968:<\/strong> Nine people, including four firefighters, were killed when a series of late-afternoon explosions<\/a> ripped through the general offices of Mickelberry Food Products Co. on the South Side. The fire started when a gasoline tanker truck making a delivery in the alley behind the plant started leaking. The gas flowed through a doorway and into the basement, where the building\u2019s boiler was located.<\/p>\n Weather records <\/strong>(from the National Weather Service, Chicago<\/a>)<\/p>\n 1865:<\/strong> Gov. Richard J. Oglesby signed a bill repealing Illinois\u2019 1853 \u201cBlack Law\u201d<\/a> that prohibited Black people<\/a>\u00a0from coming into the state.<\/p>\n 1937:<\/strong> Su-Lin<\/a>, the first panda brought to the U.S. to live in captivity, arrived at Brookfield Zoo.<\/p>\n Vintage Chicago Tribune: How Brookfield Zoo became home to Su-Lin, the first live panda imported from China<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The animal died of pneumonia the following year. It is now part of the Field Museum\u2019s taxidermy collection.<\/p>\n 1969:<\/strong> Led Zeppelin\u2019s Chicago debut<\/a> at Kinetic Playground came less than two months after its first American gig and three weeks after its first U.S. show as a sole headliner that, of all places, happened in Iowa City, Iowa, when the band stepped up after Count Basie canceled his date at the students\u2019 union.<\/p>\n As \u2018Becoming Led Zeppelin\u2019 nears theaters, a look back at the pivotal shows the band played in Chicago \u2014 or almost did<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The two February performances at Kinetic Playground marked the first of eight the band played in 1969 alone at the venue that stood at 4812 N. Clark St. Sandwiched in the middle of a lineup that featured headliner Vanilla Fudge and opener Jethro Tull, Led Zeppelin drew positive reviews from the Tribune in its \u201cThe Sound\u201d column, branded \u201cmusic and radio: for young listeners.\u201d<\/p>\n 1987:<\/strong> Michael Jordan<\/a> soared to his first of back-to-back slam dunk-contest victories at the NBA All-Star Weekend in Seattle.<\/p>\n 1994:<\/strong> Jordan signed a minor-league deal<\/a> with the Chicago White Sox four months after he retired<\/a> from professional basketball.<\/p>\n Column: Michael Jordan\u2019s baseball fantasy \u2014 and his failure with the Chicago White Sox \u2014 is a big part of his legend<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\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![\"Flames](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/CTC-L-MICKELBERRY-FIRE-1968-CT0020107840.jpg\")
Flames engulf the Mickelberry Food Products Co. building on Feb. 7, 1968, in Chicago. (Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n\n
![\"Su-Lin,](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ctc-Su-Linjpg-CT0125359466.jpg\")
Su-Lin, a baby giant panda, and her captor, Ruth Harkness of New York, in 1936. Harkness sold Su-Lin to the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago for $20,000. Su-Lin died in 1938. (Chicago Tribune archive)<\/p>\n\n
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![\""As](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/CTC-L-MICHAEL-JORDAN-CHICAGO-WHITE-SOX-1994-01.jpg\")
“As cameras clicked and flashed and videocams videoed, Michael Jordan signed a baseball contract,” the Tribune reported about the retired basketball player’s move to the Chicago White Sox on Feb. 7, 1994. (Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n\n