Front page flashback:<\/strong> Feb. 16, 1933<\/p>\n 1933:<\/strong> Chicago Mayor Anton Cermak<\/a> was struck by an assassin\u2019s bullet<\/a> presumably intended for President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt in Miami; he died March 6.<\/p>\n Once at the hospital, Cermak reportedly uttered the line that is engraved on his tomb. Speaking to FDR, Cermak allegedly said: \u201cI\u2019m glad it was me instead of you.\u201d<\/a> The Tribune reported the quote without attributing it to a witness, and most scholars doubt it was ever said.<\/p>\n Weather records <\/strong>(from the National Weather Service, Chicago<\/a>)<\/p>\n 1932:<\/strong> Chicago-raised Billy Fiske<\/a> piloted the U.S. men to their second Olympic gold medal in bobsled<\/a> during Winter Games in Lake Placid, N.Y.<\/p>\n Fiske lived a brief but extraordinary life. Born into a wealthy banking family in Chicago in 1911 \u2014 that could trace its roots to the Mayflower<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 he was\u00a0educated overseas<\/a>\u00a0during his teen years.<\/p>\n Vintage Chicago Tribune: Our local Winter Olympians of Games past<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n That\u2019s where he was chosen \u2014 at age 16 \u2014 as the driver for the United States\u2019 five-man bobsled team in the 1928 Olympic games in St. Moritz, Switzerland. The team\u00a0won gold<\/a>.<\/p>\n 1990:<\/strong> \u201c<\/a><\/strong>Space chicken\u201d<\/a>\u00a0donated to Lincoln Park Zoo. Out of 67 billion chicken eggs laid in the United States the year before, 32 were sent into orbit aboard the space shuttle Discovery. One of the surviving embryonic space travelers \u2014 by then a 7-pound, 10-month-old white hen named \u201cDiscovery\u201d \u2014 was donated by Purdue University to the poultry barn at Lincoln Park\u2019s Farm-in-the-Zoo.<\/p>\n 2023:<\/strong> The Chicago Bears purchased<\/a> the former Arlington Park<\/a> site.<\/p>\n What to know about the Chicago Bears\u2019 possible move from Soldier Field<\/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![\"Chicago](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/CTC-L-CHICAGO-MAYOR-ANTON-CERMAK-SHOT-1933-01-01.jpg\")
Chicago Mayor Anton Cermak was in Miami on Feb. 15, 1933, hoping to meet with President-elect Franklin Delano Roosevelt when he was beckoned to Roosevelt’s car. Minutes later, Italian anarchist Giuseppe Zangara began shooting at the vehicle. Roosevelt was safe but Cermak was shot. Cermak died on March 6, 1933. (Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n\n
![\"Billy](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ctc-229056669.jpg\")
Billy Fiske, the champion of the Cresta run, noted bobsled slide, poses for the camera at the St. Moritz resort, circa 1937. (Acme News)<\/p>\n\n
![\"Crews](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ctc-l-arlington-international-racecourse.jpg\")
Crews demolish the grandstand at the former Arlington International Racecourse on Sept. 25, 2023, in Arlington Heights.\u00a0(Stacey Wescott\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n\n