Today in Chicago History: NBA Rookie of the Year Michael Jordan says, ‘Maybe I’ll never have another season like this’

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Here’s a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on May 16, 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: 94 degrees (1962)
  • Low temperature: 33 degrees (1997)
  • Precipitation: 1.38 inches (1974)
  • Snowfall: Trace (2019)
Chicago’s Union Station as it appeared when it opened in 1925. It was hailed as “America’s latest triumph in railroading.” 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)

1925: Union Station opened.

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)
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)

1929: Ben Hecht won an Oscar (though the figurine wouldn’t be called that until the 1930s) for Distinguished Achievement in Writing the Original Story for the 1927 film “Underworld” during the very first Academy Awards ceremony. The former Chicago newspaperman’s script for the silent film was only 18 pages long.

Creator of ‘Scarface,’ champion of Israel’s statehood: How Ben Hecht lived life the Chicago way

Hecht’s Oscar is housed at the Newberry Library and is its most requested artifact. Anyone with a card can ask to see nearly any object in their collection, Tribune reporter Christopher Borrelli wrote.

The statuettes were formerly made in Chicago.

At age 36, Chicago White Sox catcher Carlton Fisk was one of the oldest players on the team in 1984. (Chicago Tribune archive)
At age 36, Chicago White Sox catcher Carlton Fisk was one of the oldest players on the team in 1984. (Chicago Tribune archive)

1984: Chicago White Sox catcher Carlton Fisk busted out of a 0-for-18 slump and became the third franchise player to hit for the cycle — meaning a single, double, triple and home run — in a 7-6 loss to the Kansas City Royals at Comiskey Park.

“I didn’t know it until somebody told me,” Fisk said after the game. “Catching 25 innings in that marathon game (referring to earlier in the month), well, it took something out of me and I have had to recover. That’s one reason my hitting hasn’t been real sharp.”

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)
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)

1985: Michael Jordan was named NBA Rookie of the Year after averaging 28.2 points and playing all 82 games. He received the award the following month.

“Maybe I’ll never have another season like this with all the hype and all the attention on my career,” Jordan told reporters.

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