Here’s a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on June 13, 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: 95 degrees (1956)
- Low temperature: 40 degrees (1985)
- Precipitation: 4.64 inches (1976)
- Snowfall: Trace (2022)
1888: For the sum of $3,000, Lincoln Park Zoo bought an 8-year-old female elephant — the zoo’s first — later named “Duchess,” one camel, one lioness, one Bengal tiger, two leopards, one zebu, one llama and one ibex from the Barnum & Bailey Circus.
Today, the zoo does not sell any animals, and nearly all acquisitions are noncommercial.
1940: The Chicago Cubs faced the Boston Red Sox in the inaugural Hall of Fame Game in Cooperstown, New York. The Cubs defeated the Red Sox 10-9 in a seven-inning game that was shortened by rain as 3,500 fans looked on. Ironically, the traditional game’s effort in 2008 — Cubs vs. San Diego Padres — was also upended by rain.
1957: Most baseball fights produce a little shoving, occasional hugging, some dancing and pulled powderpuff punches. This one was an exception. The benches cleared after New York Yankees pitcher Art Dittmar threw close to the White Sox’s Larry Doby, and some big-time punching followed.
In the center of things was veteran Yankee outfielder Enos Slaughter, who broke into baseball with some pretty tough guys playing for the old St. Louis Cardinals’ Gashouse Gang. Never one to walk away from a rumble, Slaughter went after the biggest opponent he could find, Sox first baseman Walt “Moose” Dropo, a 6-foot-5-inch, 240-pound former college tight end. When peacemakers finally pried apart Slaughter and Dropo, Slaughter had his jersey ripped, but Dropo had taken the more telling punches. Unofficial grandstand judges awarded Slaughter the decision. Once again, the Yankees had bested the Sox.
1986: A nearly five-hour parade dedicated to Vietnam veterans marched through downtown Chicago — 11 years after the war ended.
1994: Chicago Cubs second baseman Ryne Sandberg retired, saying he wanted to devote more time to his family and adding that he had “lost the edge it takes” to play.
After resolving matters in his personal life and remarrying, the future Hall of Famer returned to the Cubs after the 1995 season and hit 25 home runs with 92 RBIs in his comeback year.
Sandberg, who unveiled a statue of his likeness outside Wrigley Field in June 2024, announced in December of that year that his prostate cancer had relapsed and spread to other organs.
1997: The Chicago Bulls won their fifth NBA championship.
2006: Former Chicago City Clerk James Laski was sentenced to two years in prison after he pleaded guilty earlier to one count of bribery in the federal probe of the city’s Hired Truck Program. He served about one year in prison.
2022: On Flag Day, Cook County officials unveiled a new flag known as the “I Will Banner.” Created by Glenbrook South High School student Drew Duffy, the new flag features a circle of seven-point red stars on the left and a sideways blue, green and white Y-shaped stripe to the right.
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