Today in Chicago History: Cubs announcer Harry Caray dies

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Here’s a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on Feb. 18, according to the Tribune’s archives.

Is an important event missing from this date? Email us.

Weather records (from the National Weather Service, Chicago)

  • High temperature: 70 degrees (2017)
  • Low temperature: Minus 14 degrees (1936)
  • Precipitation: 1.15 inches (1908)
  • Snowfall: 11.1 inches (2000)
“The orphan from St. Louis, whose real name was Harry Christopher Carabina, died only a few days short of his birthday, March 1,” the Tribune reported after Chicago Cubs broadcaster Harry Caray died on Feb. 18, 1998. “According to Who’s Who in America, Caray was born in 1919, making him 78, but the Cubs’ media guide lists his birth date as 1920. Even with those dates, there was always speculation that he was a few years older.” (Chicago Tribune)

1998: Chicago Cubs announcer Harry Caray died in Rancho Mirage, Calif. He had been in a coma since he collapsed on Valentine’s Day in a Palm Springs, Calif., restaurant.

Shani Davis became the first Black athlete to win an individual gold medal in Winter Olympics history by finishing the 1,000-meter race in 1 minute 8.89 seconds on Feb. 18, 2006. (Chicago Tribune)
Shani Davis became the first Black athlete to win an individual gold medal in Winter Olympics history by finishing the 1,000-meter race in 1 minute 8.89 seconds on Feb. 18, 2006. (Chicago Tribune)

2006: Chicago native Shani Davis became the first Black athlete to win an individual Olympic gold medal with his 1,000-meter victory during the Winter Games in Turin, Italy.

Four years later, Davis became the first skater to defend his title in that event. He also won silver medals in the 1,500 both years.

When Davis competed in his fourth and final Olympics in 2018 in Pyeonchang, South Korea, the Tribune wrote: “Davis isn’t here to make you or U.S. Speedskating or the U.S. Olympic Committee comfortable. … He’s a complex man reminding us that athletes don’t have to come in perfectly wrapped packages to root for them.”

USA's Evan Lysacek, skates in the free skating program of the Men's figure skating at the Pacific Coliseum, in Vancouver , B.C. on Thursday, February 18, 2010. "2010 Winter Olympics " (Nuccio DiNuzzo/ Chicago Tribune) B58299311Z.1 ....OUTSIDE TRIBUNE CO.- NO MAGS, NO SALES, NO INTERNET, NO TV, NEW YORK TIMES OUT, CHICAGO OUT, NO DIGITAL MANIPULATION... (games, Canada)
Evan Lysacek celebrates during his final spin in the free skating program of the men’s figure skating competition at the Pacific Coliseum, in Vancouver, B.C., on Feb. 18, 2010. (Nuccio DiNuzzo/Chicago Tribune)

2010: Naperville’s Evan Lysacek won a gold medal at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver during the Winter Olympics.

Shaking off the suffocating pressure of the moment — which actually lasted four minutes and 30 seconds — Lysacek delivered a brilliant, career-best performance to become the first U.S. man to win the Olympic skating gold medal since Brian Boitano in 1988.

Before boarding a United Airline flight in Colorado after he was released from federal custody on Feb. 18, 2020, former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich thanked President Donald Trump for the commutation, saying he was eager to get home. (Chicago Tribune)
Before boarding a United Airlines flight in Colorado after he was released from federal custody on Feb. 18, 2020, former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich thanked President Donald Trump for the commutation, saying he was eager to get home. (Chicago Tribune)

2020: Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was released from prison in Colorado after President Donald Trump commuted his 14-year sentence.

Rod Blagojevich saga: From arrest to Donald Trump’s pardon

Nearly five years later, Trump granted a full pardon to the disgraced former governor.

Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan arrives for a meeting where his replacement, Angie Guerrero-Cuellar, was chosen as the new state representative on Feb. 25, 2021. Democratic committeemen in the 22nd House District met again to choose a replacement for Madigan in the Illinois House after the original appointee, Edward Guerra Kodatt, resigned three days into the job. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan arrives for a meeting where his replacement, Angie Guerrero-Cuellar, was chosen as the new state representative on Feb. 25, 2021. Democratic committeemen in the 22nd House District met again to choose a replacement for Madigan in the Illinois House after the original appointee, Edward Guerra Kodatt, resigned three days into the job. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

2021: A half-century after he was first sworn into the Illinois House from Chicago’s Southwest Side, State Rep. Michael Madigan announced his resignation, a little more than a month after he was deposed by fellow Democrats as the nation’s longest-serving statehouse speaker.

In a statement, the embattled 78-year-old lawmaker, ensnarled in a federal corruption investigation, lashed out at his critics as he sought to defend his actions during his 36-year reign as House speaker.

A federal jury convicted Madigan on Feb. 12, 2025, of multiple federal charges, including bribery conspiracy — but jurors deadlocked on other charges in the wide-ranging indictment, including the marquee racketeering conspiracy count.

The Dishonor Roll: Meet the public officials who helped build Illinois’ culture of corruption

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