Film review flashback:<\/strong> May 16, 1986<\/p>\n 1986:<\/strong> Tribune film critic Gene Siskel<\/a> wrote, \u201c\u2018Top Gun\u2019 is going to be the hit that \u2018The Right Stuff\u2019 should have been. They are not in the same class of films, but this much must be said: The aerial sequences in \u2018Top Gun\u2019 are as thrilling \u2014 while remaining coherent \u2014 as any ever put on film.\u201d<\/p>\n Siskel gave \u201cTop Gun\u201d 3 out of 4 stars.<\/p>\n Vintage Chicago Tribune: What our critics wrote about the first \u2018Top Gun,\u2019 \u2018Jurassic Park,\u2019 \u2018Toy Story\u2019 movies<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Weather records <\/strong>(from the National Weather Service, Chicago<\/a>)<\/p>\n 1925:<\/strong>\u00a0Union Station<\/a>\u00a0opened.<\/p>\n 1929:<\/strong> Ben Hecht<\/a> won an Oscar \u2014 though the figurine wouldn\u2019t be called that until the 1930s \u2014 for Distinguished Achievement in Writing the Original Story for the 1927 film \u201cUnderworld\u201d during the very first Academy Awards ceremony. The former Chicago newspaperman\u2019s script for the silent film was only 18 pages long.<\/p>\n Creator of \u2018Scarface,\u2019 champion of Israel\u2019s statehood: How Ben Hecht lived life the Chicago way<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Hecht\u2019s Oscar is housed at the Newberry Library<\/a> and is its most requested artifact<\/a>. Anyone with a card can ask to see nearly any object in their collection, Tribune reporter Christopher Borrelli wrote.<\/p>\n The statuettes were formerly made in Chicago<\/a>.<\/p>\n 1984:<\/strong> White Sox catcher Carlton Fisk<\/a> busted out of a 0-for-18 slump and became the third franchise player to hit for the cycle \u2014 meaning a single, double, triple and home run \u2014 in a 7-6 loss to the Kansas City Royals at Comiskey Park.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t know it until somebody told me,\u201d Fisk said after the game. \u201cCatching 25 innings in that marathon game<\/a> (referring to earlier in the month), well, it took something out of me and I have had to recover. That\u2019s one reason my hitting hasn\u2019t been real sharp.\u201d<\/p>\n 1985:<\/strong> Michael Jordan was named NBA Rookie of the Year<\/a> after averaging 28.2 points and playing all 82 games. He received the award the following month.<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe I\u2019ll never have another season like this with all the hype and all the attention on my career,\u201d Jordan told reporters.<\/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![\"Tribune](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/CTC-L-TOP-GUN-GENE-SISKEL-REVIEW-1986-01.jpg\")
Tribune film critic Gene Siskel enjoyed the aerial sequences in the 1986 film “Top Gun,” but called the romance between Pete Mitchell (Tom Cruise) and Charlotte Blackwood (Kelly McGillis) “phony.” (Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n\n
\n
![\"Chicago's](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/ctc-union-station-18jpg-CT0136866120.jpg\")
Chicago\u2019s Union Station as it appeared when it opened in 1925. It was hailed as \u201cAmerica\u2019s latest triumph in railroading.\u201d The concourse building is in the foreground along the Chicago River. The larger building behind is the Union Station office building and main waiting room. (Chicago Tribune archive)<\/p>\n![\"Alvaro](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/CTC-L-OSCAR-STATUE-CHICAGO-CT0122817850.jpg\")
Alvaro Landa of R.S. Owens in Chicago works on an Oscar statuette the company was making in March 2000, to replace 55 that were stolen. (Milbert O. Brown\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n\n
![\"At](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/CTC-L-CARLTON-FISK-CT0021584334.jpg\")
At age 36, Chicago White Sox catcher Carlton Fisk was one of the oldest players on the team in 1984. (Chicago Tribune archive)<\/p>\n![\"Michael](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/CTC-L-AP-MICHAEL-JORDAN-ROOKIE-OF-YEAR-1985-01-e1747334536797.jpg\")
Michael Jordan, left, receives the NBA’s Rookie of the Year trophy from an unidentified NBA official during NBA’s award ceremony in San Francisco on June 24, 1985. (Paul Sakuma\/AP)<\/p>\n