TYPE I Happy Felsch Chicago Black Sox Canada photo Kid Gleason Balmorals RARE

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Seller: memorabilia111 ✉️ (808) 100%, Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan, US, Ships to: US, Item: 176277808968 TYPE I Happy Felsch Chicago Black Sox Canada photo Kid Gleason Balmorals RARE. 5 excessively rare photos of the Canada Team REGINA BALMORALS with Happy Felsch of Chicago White (Black) Sox fame and a photo of Kid Gleason by Ray E. Garrison. Here is a description of 5 photos: Kid Gleason photo from 1922 measuring approximately 3.5x7.5 inches 2 Team photos of the Regina Balmorals measuring approximately each 8cmx4.7cm A lone photo of Happy Felsch in Regina Balmorals uniform measuring approximately 5.3cm x 2.9 cm A photo of someone from the team in plain clothing measuring approximately 6.8 cm x2.4 cm Team photo all standing: team photo of the 1927 Regina Balmorals.  This one before an August exhibition game at Mewata Park in Calgary. Oscar ”Hap” Felsch (third from right). Pat McNeally (far right).  Pamfil “Casey” Moroschan (fourth from right). Leo Dobbyns (second from left) Team photo one sitting:  Also taken at Park de Young, Regina.  Oscar ”Hap” Felsch (third from left).  Pat McNeally (extreme right). Pamfil “Casey” Moroschan (third from right).  Revere “Babe” Brossard (kneeling in front).  Leo Dobbyns (middle of back row). 1927 Regina Balmorals roster : Brossard Revere “Babe” SS/OF, Clink George P/OF, Cottingham P, Dobbyns Leo SS, Ellis P, Felsch Oscar (Happy) 1B/2B/MGR, Flannery OF, Gottselig Johnny 3B, Hay George 2B, McNeally Pat C, Meyers 3B, Moroschan Casey P/UT, Mulligan Andy OF/C, Porter Bill 3B, Rodgers Bill P, Ryan Lefty P, Snell OF, Turen 1B, Wagner Hans SS/OF, Woods 3B
Hap Felsch (right), the disgraced former major leaguer of the 1919 Black Sox scandal, was hired to manage the Regina Balmorals in 1927. The opening action was scheduled for May 25th at Park de Young in Regina against Wildrose of North Dakota. [Regina Leader-Post, May 25, 1927] The Balmorals’ name came from the Balmoral Cafe, adjacent to the LaSalle Hotel, both of which were the "in" places for gatherings in Regina during the 1920’s. Ironically, construction on the new luxury Saskatchewan Hotel built by the C.P.R finished in 1927 and would shove the Balmoral eatery and LaSalle inn down the ladder in rank and popularity. (August 12)   The Balmorals took the self-proclaimed provincial semi-pro championship series from the Rosetown Goose Lakers four games to two. In the four box scores (out of the 6 games) that were published in the Regina Morning Leader, Hap Felsch was 8 for 13 with 3 homers and 2 doubles. While the Balmorals were busy conquering Rosetown for the semi-pro crown of the wheat province, their senior amateur counterparts from the Queen City, the Northside League champion Regina Champs, were attempting to wrestle the 1927 Saskatchewan championship from the defending senior amateur champion Saskatoon Elks. The best-of-five provincial final series opened in the Hub City and saw the visitors, sponsored by the Champs Hotel, surprise their hosts by sweeping a Labour Day doubleheader. The following Saturday, the Elks stayed alive by winning one and tying the other as the clubs ventured south to the provincial capital. Then, a week later, the "Purple Hose", as they were affectionately called in the Bridge City, rose to the occasion and claimed their second consecutive title by knocking off the Hotelmen two games straight on the northerly return visit. The Prince Albert & District League Final Series - With the best-of-three final playoff series tied at one game apiece, the third game resulted in a forfeiture by Birch Hills when, holding a one-run lead, their management pulled the team off the field in the eighth inning claiming that it was too dark to continue. The game and 1927 league championship was then awarded to the Prince Albert Cubs. In October of 1917, Oscar “Happy” Felsch reached the pinnacle of the baseball world. Article content Felsch and his Chicago White Sox teammates won the World Series that year. Less than a decade later, in the spring of 1927, Felsch took over as the new player-manager of the Regina Balmorals. He was chasing the Saskatchewan provincial semi-pro baseball championship instead of victory in the Fall Classic. Regina Leader Post Headline News Banner Regina Leader Post Headline News Sign up to receive daily headline news from Regina Leader-Post, a division of Postmedia Network Inc. Felsch was 35 years old when the Balmorals opened their 1927 account. He had not played pro ball since 1920. The reason for his long absence was well known. In 1919, the White Sox had made it to the World Series again. Felsch and seven of his teammates accepted bribes from gangsters. In return, they “threw” the series to the Cincinnati Reds. In 1921, Felsch and his colleagues were banned from pro baseball for life. This was (and still is) one of baseball’s biggest scandals and the subject of the popular 1988 Hollywood movie, Eight Men Out. Article content The Balmorals played their home games at Park de Young, which eventually evolved into Mosaic Stadium. Felsch had played at Park de Young in 1926 as a member of the visiting team from Scobey, Montana. Felsch reportedly earned $600 a month to play for Scobey. That was a substantial salary in 1926. Felsch made his Regina debut on May 25, 1927, when the Balmorals played their season opener at home against a team from Wildrose, North Dakota. The Park de Young field was likened to a “sea of gumbo” by the Regina Leader-Post. Felsch batted third and played first base. He had usually patrolled centre field for the White Sox. Oscar “Happy” Felsch of the Chicago White Sox in 1919-20. Photo courtesy National Baseball Hall of Fame. Oscar “Happy” Felsch of the Chicago White Sox in 1919-20. Photo courtesy National Baseball Hall of Fame. Regina’s opening-day lineup included a few pro hockey players. Batting second and playing second base was George Hay. A former member of the Regina Capitals in the minor-pro Prairie Hockey League, Hay had recently completed his rookie season in the NHL. In 1958, he was voted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Johnny Gottselig, another Capitals alumnus, manned third base and batted fifth. His tenure with the Balmorals was short, but his pro hockey career was long. Gottselig made his NHL debut during the 1928-29 campaign. He played 590 NHL games, all with the Chicago Black Hawks. Batting seventh and playing centre field was Andy Mulligan. A defenceman, Mulligan played minor-league pro hockey for 16 seasons, but never made it to the NHL. Article content The Balmorals won their opening-day encounter by a score of 2-1 in only seven innings. Felsch hit a double and scored a run. Park de Young would later host one of baseball’s best-known barnstorming teams in a mid-June doubleheader. The visiting House of David club represented a religious group from Benton Harbor, Michigan. In accordance with their beliefs, the House of David players were celibate and teetotal. They did not shave or cut their hair. Their locks and beards were very long indeed. In the opening game of the twin bill, the House of David led 6-1 in the middle of the seventh inning. Regina stormed back, scoring four runs in the seventh frame and one more each in the eighth and ninth. Felsch scored the winning run. Article content In late June, the Balmorals went on the road and played games in Calgary, Edmonton and Saskatoon. In Edmonton, against a local team called the Selkirks, Regina was held to a 3-3 draw that was called after 10 innings. Edmonton pitcher Leroy Goldsworthy went the distance and logged an impressive 20 strikeouts. Just 18 years old, Goldsworthy was another hockey player who was playing baseball in the summer. A right winger, he eventually suited up for six different NHL teams and played 336 games. In late July, the Balmorals travelled to Moose Jaw to play in a Kiwanis Club tournament. The host club had fortified its squad by adding pitcher John Donaldson and catcher Sylvester “Hooks” Foreman. Both halves of the Moose Jaw battery were African Americans, playing with white teammates two decades before the big leagues began the process of integration. Donaldson allowed just five hits, struck out eight and defeated Regina 4-3 in one of the competition’s semi-finals. Foreman hit an inside-the-park homer in the contest. Donaldson is regarded as one of the best African American players (perhaps the best) who is not enshrined at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. Article content In 21 Regina games where Felsch appeared in a published box score, he failed to get a hit only once — in the above-mentioned game against Donaldson. In those 21 games, Felsch had 40 hits in 76 at bats (a .526 average) with seven home runs and 10 doubles. To put that into perspective, Mulligan and Hay batted .304 and .271, respectively, in the same set of games. Felsch played first base, second base, third base and centre field for Regina. Oscar “Happy” Felsch of the Chicago White Sox takes a practise swing. Photo courtesy National Baseball Hall of Fame. Oscar “Happy” Felsch of the Chicago White Sox takes a practise swing. Photo courtesy National Baseball Hall of Fame. In August OF 1927, Regina went toe to toe with Rosetown in a six-game series that would determine the unofficial provincial semi-pro championship. The Balmorals won the first two games, which were played at Park de Young. Felsch hit a pair of homers in the first game. The series then moved to Saskatoon, where the teams split a doubleheader. Then, in Rosetown, they shared the spoils in another twin bill. With Happy Felsch at the helm, the Balmorals won the series 4-2 and were named champs of Saskatchewan. Article content George Clink was a Balmorals pitcher who lived in Spokane during the off-season. A former minor leaguer who toiled with and against many players with big-league experience, Clink was full of praise for Felsch in a brief interview with the Spokane Chronicle a few weeks after Regina won the semi-pro title. “Hap Felsch would be a real star in Major League ball today,” said Clink. “He is a great hitter, and the lively ball now in use would just suit him.” Felsch returned to the USA after the 1927 season and joined a team in Plentywood, Montana. He came back to Park de Young in July of 1929 as player-manager of a visiting semi-pro team from Virden, Man. Felsch played for Virden in 1930 as well before going home to his native Milwaukee. He passed away on Aug. 17, 1964, just five days before his 73rd birthday. They went from big league ball players to big name barnstormers overnight, but not even a lifetime ban from Major League Baseball could keep them off the field. The eight men ousted from the American League by the Black Sox Scandal were left unemployed by baseball commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis when he issued the permanent MLB ban in early August of 1921, nearly two years after they were suspected of playing key roles in fixing the World Series. No longer able to suit up for the Chicago White Sox, the disgraced players sought the refuge of whatever teams would take them. Several Black Sox baseballers – including pitcher Eddie Cicote, shortstop Swede Risberg, third baseman Buck Weaver and outfielder Happy Felsch – suited up for an independent traveling squad called the Ex-Major League Stars in 1922. The team made headlines after wrapping up its trek through Wisconsin when Risberg and Cicote got in a fist fight that resulted in Cicote heading home prior to the Minnesota leg of the tour. Shoeless Joe Jackson made his way to the semi-pro South Georgia League, where the star outfielder helped attract large crowds and won a championship for Americus in 1923 while earning $75 a week. First baseman Chick Gandil – a ringleader of the 1919 fix who reportedly approached gambler Sport Sullivan to help broker the sale of the World Series – had $35,000 in bribes to bolster his financial security while he played in the Copper League in the mid-1920s. Gandil was joined in that league, which played out of Arizona, Texas and New Mexico, by fellow fixers Weaver, Hal Chase, and Lefty Williams. Infielder Fred McMullin, meanwhile, worked as a carpenter and later as a bailiff in Los Angeles after he was deemed ineligible as a major leaguer. Although there was money to be made at ballparks outside of the MLB, the infamous eight were unwelcome at certain diamonds and players were occasionally threatened with fines for playing with or against the outcasts. Some leagues also implemented their own bans on the tainted players. FAR FROM HOME That prompted some to travel even further away from home. Felsch and Risberg ended up in Scobey, Montana in the mid-1920s, where they dominated their competition and took home a monthly wage of $600, plus expenses. When semi-pro baseball was ditched in Montana in favour of amateur teams made up of local talent, Felsch traveled even further north to Regina, Saskatchewan. The Milwaukee product accepted a job as the manager of the Regina Balmorals, a squad that made road trips through Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Alberta and North Dakota. The Balmorals arrival in Alberta was highly anticipated. “High class ball is the order for this evening’s sport programme,” proclaimed the June 21, 1927 edition of the Calgary Herald, which previewed the matchup between Regina and the Calgary Athletics at Mewata Stadium. The “baseball treat” included another game between the Balmorals and the local Hillhurst Hustlers, with a stop in High River also on the schedule that week. “One of the features of the appearance of the Regina club will be the introduction of Happy Oscar Felsch, former big league ball star with the Chicago White Sox. He was regarded as one of the best only a few years ago, and fans here will welcome the chance to watch the big leaguer in action,” stated the Herald. In addition, the newspaper described Felsch as a player who was capable of “crashing out home runs with relentless regularity, as well as fielding his position in a manner that makes difficult catches look like apple pie.” June20,1927_Calgary Calgary Herald article announcing the arrival of Felsch in Cowtown in June of 1927 Felsch wasted no time impressing Alberta baseball fans. The 1917 World Series champion went three-for-four with a home run against the Athletics in a contest that was dubbed one of the best games of the season. Eddie Kilen struck out 12 Balmoral batters, but Felsch “knocked the ball clean out of the ball park” in the fifth inning. “For the past two years Calgary fans had not seen the ball given as long a ride as when Felsch registered his trot around the bases. The fielders just stood and watched the pill crash against the wall of the armories out of the park,” recounted the Herald. “It was a wonderful hit and he was given a big hand by the crowd.” The centre fielder also recorded two singles and was caught stealing during the 4-3 triumph for Regina, which was witnessed by a crowd of 4,000. After making a relief pitching appearance against High River (during a 7-7 tie), Felsch brought more heroics to his game against the Hustlers, belting a game-tying, ninth-inning home run over the left field fence. The Balmorals won the game – “a thriller from start to finish” – in the 10th inning, delivering another final score of 4-3 against their Calgary foes at Mewata Stadium. WEEKEND IN EDMONTON Following an undefeated week of baseball in southern Alberta, the “Felschmen” went north to the provincial capital for a series against the Edmonton Selkirks. HappyFelschHeadshotRegina won the first game of a Saturday doubleheader at Diamond Park easily, pounding the Selkirks 11-1. Felsch hit a second-inning triple off of pitcher Joe Baldwin that cashed in a pair of runs and increased the lead to 7-0 for the Balmorals. The swat knocked Baldwin out of the game and Regina never looked back. After scoring two runs and stealing a base in the first game, Felsch stole two more bags in the second contest. He also hit a “lucky homer” in the sixth inning that bounced off the top of the right field fence and out of play. The veteran of 749 MLB games was noticed on the base paths again in the eighth inning when he appeared “guilty of palpable interference” with Edmonton’s shortstop, who was attempting to field a ball. “Felsch intentionally got in his way and prevented him from making the play,” noted the Edmonton Journal in its June 27, 1927 edition. The controversial non-call on the play from the umpire allowed the tying run to score. Felsch was later picked off of third base for the final out of the inning. It was a play that “tickled the crowd and irritated the ex-big leaguer plenty,” according to the Journal. The final tally was a 3-3 tie that left the home side feeling they deserved a better result, but fans were treated to another strong effort from the visiting star and his squad. “Felsch, who played second, fielded faultlessly, and batted an even .500. He had eight official trips to the plate and connected four times, his hits including a homer and a three-cushion swat,” observed the Journal of Felsch’s two-game performance. As good as the Regina player/manager was on that day, Felsch was overshadowed by a 20-year-old starter who “pitched elegantly” for the Selkirks in game two. GOING FOR GOLDY “Young Leroy Goldsworthy was the hero. Goldy chucked an impressive brand of ball, held the Balmorals to four very scattered hits, fanned no less than twenty of his opponents, and was distinctly unlucky not to tuck away a win,” read the Journal article. “Felsch was the only one of the Balmorals who escaped the humiliation of whiffing.” Goldsworthy’s prowess on the mound earned him a tryout with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1928, but the Minnesota-born, Edmonton-raised athlete possessed greater skill on the ice. The right winger played 336 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Rangers, Red Wings, Blackhawks, Canadiens and Bruins. Goldsworthy won a Stanley Cup with Chicago in 1934, appearing in eight playoff games for the Blackhawks. Felsch and his Balmorals, meanwhile, were happy to leave Goldsworthy’s pitching behind. They hit the road for Saskatoon, where an all-star team assembled by Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Famer Bill Dunbar was preparing for a pair of games at Elks Park. The club consisted of several Alberta recruits, including Provost catcher Vern Washburn; Chauvin third baseman Con Bissett; Edmonton first baseman Don Conklin; and Sedgewick shortstop Bill Murray. ConBissett Bissett was one of the Alberta recruits who played against Felsch in Saskatoon Starting pitcher Archie Edwards struck out 11 batters to lead the All Stars to an 8-3 victory in front of 1,500 fans. It was the first loss the Balmorals suffered on their tour of the Prairies, but Regina bounced back with a 9-5 win the next day thanks in large part to Lefty Ryan’s 10 Ks. The Balmorals spent the bulk of July playing in Saskatchewan. Felsch continued to swing a hot bat and Regina cashed in at money tournaments. By mid-August, Felsch’s team claimed Saskatchewan’s semi-pro baseball title and they traveled back to Alberta for another barnstorming tour of Wild Rose Country. Regina split a doubleheader in Drumheller, losing the first contest 9-8 before Felsch “walloped out two home runs” in the second game. “His first clout was the longest ever recorded on a Drumheller diamond,” said a game recap in the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix on Aug. 15. Games in Claresholm, Vermillion and Calgary followed, with Calgary assembling an all-star squad that exacted a measure of revenge for losses in June by producing a 5-2 win over Regina. ADS_pagebreak LISTEN: Ian and Joe chat about this story and more in Episode #59 of Alberta Dugout Stories: The Podcast. When the 1927 summer season concluded, Felsch went back to the United States. He played in Montana in 1928 after the Wisconsin State Baseball League ruled Felsch would not be permitted to play in his home state. His team from Plentywood, Montana – which incidentally was a rival of his old team in Scobey – traveled north of the border for a four-game series at Wesley Park in Winnipeg that summer. The competition there included a team from Melrose, Minnesota that featured legendary pitcher John Donaldson, a star in the Negro Leagues and a former Kansas City Monarch. In the game Donaldson started, he pitched three clean innings before the Plentywood batters got to him. They struck for five runs in the fourth inning and chased Donaldson from the mound. But the Missouri-born hurler stayed in the game, playing in the outfield and at first base while going one-for-four at the plate. Felsch turned in his customary production – the centre fielder went three-for-five with a run scored during the 9-7 Plentywood win. MORE TIME IN CANADA Having experienced baseball in Manitoba, Felsch signed on for a more permanent playing arrangement in the province. In 1929, he joined forces with Risberg in Virden, a town 80 kilometres west of Brandon. Felsch was once again cast in the role of player/manager, while Risberg patrolled the middle infield for Virden. Felsch’s collection of all stars – which included Hall of Fame shortstop Honus Wagner – traveled across Saskatchewan and Manitoba and were capable of generating headlines and large crowds. “Virden is a town situated on the main line of the C.P.R. (Canadian Pacific Railway), 180 miles west of Winnipeg, inhabited by approximately 1,500 enterprising citizens, and one hard hitting ball club,” read a July 20, 1929 story in the Winnipeg Free Press. The article provided a detailed account of Virden’s 11-4 win over the Toronto Oslers in front of 2,000 on-lookers during exhibition play at Wesley Park. “The fine fielding of both teams and the terrific hitting of the Virden aggregation stood out like a brewery on a desert. Scarcely an inning went by that didn’t provide some merited occasion for a burst of applause, and the fans were not slow to recognize Hap Felsch and his merry men are just about the smoothest all-round combination that has invaded Wesley diamond for a long, long time,” said the Free Press report. A newspaper ad promoting the final two games of the series against Toronto proclaimed: “Here they are! The popular balltossers back again … This is a high class attraction. Don’t miss it.” Admission to the Saturday doubleheader – which Virden swept with 10-4 and 2-0 victories – was just 50 cents. Happy_Saskatoon Ad in the June 25, 1927 edition of the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix  After spending part of the summer of 1929 playing for Virden and achieving individual and team success with the club, Felsch decided to return for a second season in the town the following summer. The slugger continued to swing a heavy bat, collecting base hits and home runs with regularity, and he helped Virden win first place in five of the seven tournaments they entered in 1930. Felsch’s contributions to the club also helped make Virden a baseball hub in Western Canada and injected a dose of civic pride into the town. Felsch returned home in the early 1930s and continued playing amateur and semi-pro baseball now and then. The end of Prohibition allowed Felsch to open and operate a tavern in Milwaukee and he later found work as a crane operator. Felsch died in 1964 from a coronary blood clot at the age of 73. Risberg, meanwhile, continued to play baseball in the U.S. during the Great Depression. When he stopped playing, he moved to northern California and – like Felsch – opened a saloon, which he ran for several years.  He passed away in 1975 at 81 years of age. Like several of their Black Sox counterparts who remained in the U.S., Felsch and Risberg didn’t allow their banishment from MLB to prevent them from playing – and profiting from – baseball. The outcasts also continued to display the abilities that made them major leaguers long after their days at Comiskey Park had passed. Happy Felsch, star center fielder of the Chicago White Sox who was one of eight players barred from baseball after the 1919 World Series scandal, died today in St. Francis Hospital of a liver ailment. He was 73. A product of the Milwaukee sandlots, Oscar Emil Felsch played with the old Milwaukee Brewers before joining the White Sox at the close of the 1914 season. That year he led the American Association in home runs with 19. Felsch hit .300 three times in his six years with the White Sox, reaching his peak in 1920—his last season—when he batted .338 and drove in 115 runs. His life‐time major league batting average was .290. In the 1919 World Series with the Cincin­nati Reds, won by the Reds five games to three, Felsch got 5 hits in 26 at bats for an average of .192. After the Black Sox scandal, Felsch returned to the Milwau­kee sandlots, where he played for more than a decade. He worked as a crane operator and ran a tavern. Survivors include his widow, Marie; a son, Oscar, and two daughters, Mrs. Richard Meehan and Mrs. Earl Kraft. Acquitted in Court Felsch, six of his teammates and two others were tried for alleged conspiracy to defraud the public by throwing the 1919 World Series. All were found not guilty by a Chicago jury on Aug. 2, 1921. That decision capped a drawn‐out court ac­tion. The other Black Sox players on trial were Eddie Cicotte, a star pitcher; Shoeless Joe Jack­son, a left fielder and a power­ful hitter; Charles (Swede) Risberg, shortstop; George (Buck) Weaver, third baseman; Claude Williams, a pitcher; and Fred McMullin, utility player. Several hundred persons in the court room greeted the ver­dict with shouts of “Hooray for the clean Sox.” Judge Hugo M. Friend congratulated the jury, saying that he believed it a just verdict. While a Chicago Grand Jury was hearing the confession of Williams, Felsch told the story of his part in the bribery plot on Sept. 29, 1920. He sub­stantiated the confessions made by Cicotte and Jackson, and in expressing regret for his action, said he saw nothing left in life for him. “I'm going to hell, I guess,” Felsch said. “Well, the beans are all spilled and I think that I am through with baseball. I got my $5,000, and I suppose the others got theirs, too.” Although the players were acquitted in court, Judge Kene­saw Mountain Landis, the Com­missioner of Baseball, later banned them from baseball for life. Also indicted but never tried were Abe Attell, former boxer and alleged gambler; Hal Chase, a former baseball star; William (Bill) Burns, a former player and alleged go‐between; Rachel Brown, alleged New York gam­bler; John J. (Sport) Sullivan, alleged Boston gamber; Louis and Ben Levi, brothers, from Kokomo, Ind., and Arnold (Chick) Gandil, White Sox first baseman, who was also barred from baseball by Judge Landis. Felsch, Risberg and Jackson later sued the White Sox for back pay. On Feb. 9, 1925. Felsch was awarded $661 with interest in a suit alleging breach of contract. The sum was claimed as salary, and with interest amounted to $1,166. Oscar Emil "Happy" Felsch (August 22, 1891 – August 17, 1964) was an American center fielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Chicago White Sox from 1915 to 1920.[1] He is probably best known for his involvement in the 1919 Black Sox scandal. Contents     1 Early life     2 Major league career     3 Later life     4 See also     5 References     6 External links Early life Felsch was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to German immigrant parents. He dropped out of school in the sixth grade and played baseball on Milwaukee sandlots.[2] He began his professional baseball career in the Wisconsin-Illinois League in 1913. The next season, he batted .304 and slugged .512 for the American Association's Milwaukee Brewers,[3] and was purchased by the White Sox. Major league career From 1916 to 1920, Felsch was one of the best hitters in the American League, finishing in the top 10 in more than a few major batting categories. His 102 runs batted in was good enough for second place in 1917, as the White Sox won the World Series. He missed most of the 1918 season due to military service. Felsch continued his good hitting and fielding in 1919. He had a strong throwing arm and was highly regarded as a center fielder;[4] he led the AL in outfield putouts and assists in 1919. The White Sox won the pennant going away. That fall, Felsch agreed to join a group of White Sox players that planned to intentionally lose the 1919 World Series in exchange for monetary payments from a network of gamblers. He was reluctant to go along with the plan at first but then eventually did because of the money.[5] There was little doubt of Felsch's guilt on the field, as he not only hit poorly, but also misplayed flyballs in key situations. Chicago lost the series, five games to three. For his part in the fix, Felsch received $5,000, which was more than his entire regular season salary of $2,750.[1] However, after the scandal broke in late 1920, Felsch, along with five other players, was made permanently ineligible for organized baseball by Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis.[2] 1920, his last season in the majors, was his best. He hit .338 with 14 home runs and 115 runs batted in and it is possible that he would have put up more big numbers in the live-ball era. Felsch later said, as quoted by the Chicago American:     "Well, the beans are spilled and I think I'm through with baseball. I got $5,000. I could have got just about that much by being on the level if the Sox had won the Series. And now I'm out of baseball — the only profession I know anything about, and a lot of gamblers have gotten rich. The joke seems to be on us." Later life Felsch spent the next 15 years touring the country with various amateur and semi-pro teams, including Scobey, Montana Outlaws in 1925 and 1926;[6] Regina, Saskatchewan in 1927 (Regina Balmorals of the Southern Saskatchewan Baseball League), in Virden, Manitoba of the Winnipeg Senior League;[7] and finally in Plentywood, Montana in 1928. After his playing days ended, he opened up a grocery store as well as a number of drinking establishments.[5] Felsch died of a liver ailment in Milwaukee in 1964, just five days before his 73rd birthday. He was survived by his wife Marie and three children. He is buried at Wisconsin Memorial Park in Brookfield, Wisconsin.[2] In the 1988 film Eight Men Out, Felsch was portrayed by Charlie Sheen.[8] Black Sox Scandal "Black Sox" redirects here. For the American Negro League team, see Baltimore Black Sox. For other uses, see Black Sox (disambiguation). The eight "Chicago Black Sox" The Black Sox Scandal took place during the play of the 1919 World Series. The Chicago White Sox lost the series to the Cincinnati Reds, and eight White Sox players were later accused of intentionally losing games in exchange for money from gamblers. The players were acquitted in court but were nevertheless banned for life from baseball. Contents  [hide]  1 Background 1.1 Tension in the clubhouse 1.2 Planning the conspiracy 2 Series 3 Fallout 3.1 Grand jury (1920) 3.2 Trial (1921) 3.3 Landis appointed Commissioner, bans all eight players (1921) 3.3.1 Banned players 3.3.2 Joe Jackson 3.4 Aftermath 4 "Black Sox" name 5 Popular culture 5.1 Literature 5.2 Film 5.3 Television 5.4 Music 6 See also 7 References 8 Sources 9 External links Background[edit] Tension in the clubhouse[edit] 1919 Chicago White Sox team photo Club owner Charles Comiskey was widely disliked by the players and was resented for his miserliness. Comiskey long had a reputation for underpaying his players, even though they were one of the top teams in the league and had already won the 1917 World Series. Because of baseball's reserve clause, any player who refused to accept a contract was prohibited from playing baseball on any other professional team. Because of the clause, players were prevented from changing teams without permission from the owner of their team, and without a union the players had no bargaining power. Comiskey was probably no worse than most owners—in fact, Chicago had the largest team payroll in 1919. In the era of the reserve clause, gamblers could find players on many teams looking for extra cash—and they did.[1][2] In addition, the clubhouse was divided into two factions. One group resented the more straitlaced players (later called the "Clean Sox"), a group that included players like second baseman Eddie Collins, a graduate of Columbia College of Columbia University, catcher Ray Schalk, and pitcher Red Faber. By contemporary accounts, the two factions almost never spoke to each other on or off the field, and the only thing they had in common was a resentment of Comiskey.[3] Planning the conspiracy[edit] Third baseman George "Buck" Weaver was one of those who attended a meeting where a fix was discussed. However, he decided not to take part and played to the best of his ability during the series, batting .324 with 11 hits in 34 at-bats, which was higher than some of his batting averages in previous years. Weaver's career batting average was .272. A meeting of White Sox ballplayers—including those committed to going ahead and those just ready to listen—took place on September 21, in Chick Gandil's room at the Ansonia Hotel in New York. It was a meeting that would eventually shatter the careers of eight ballplayers, although whether all eight were actually in attendance is a matter of dispute. Weaver was the only player to attend the meetings who did not receive money. Nevertheless, he was later banned with the others for knowing about the fix but not reporting it. Although he hardly played in the series, utility infielder Fred McMullin got word of the fix and threatened to report the others unless he was in on the payoff. As a small coincidence, McMullin was a former teammate of "Sleepy" Bill Burns, who had a minor role in the fix. Both played for the Los Angeles Angels of the Pacific Coast League.[4] Star outfielder "Shoeless" Joe Jackson was mentioned as a participant, though his involvement is disputed. The scheme got an unexpected boost when the straitlaced Faber could not pitch due to a bout with the flu. Years later, Schalk said that if Faber had been available, the fix would have likely never happened, since Faber would have almost certainly gotten starts that went to Cicotte and/or Williams.[5] Series[edit] Main article: 1919 World Series This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2015) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Even before the Series started on October 2, there were rumors amongst gamblers that the series was fixed, and a sudden influx of money being bet on Cincinnati caused the odds against them to fall rapidly. These rumors also reached the press box where a number of correspondents, including Hugh Fullerton of the Chicago Herald and Examiner and ex-player and manager Christy Mathewson, resolved to compare notes on any plays and players that they felt were questionable. Despite the rampant rumors, gamblers continued to wager heavily against the White Sox.[clarification needed] However, most fans and observers were taking the series at face value. On October 2, the day of Game One, the Philadelphia Bulletin published a poem which would quickly prove to be ironic: Still, it really doesn't matter, After all, who wins the flag. Good clean sport is what we're after, And we aim to make our brag To each near or distant nation Whereon shines the sporting sun That of all our games gymnastic Base ball is the cleanest one! After throwing a strike with his first pitch of the Series, Eddie Cicotte's second pitch struck Cincinnati leadoff hitter Morrie Rath in the back, delivering a pre-arranged signal confirming the players' willingness to go through with the fix.[5] Claude Williams, one of the "Eight Men Out", lost three games, a Series record. Dickie Kerr, who was not part of the fix, won both of his starts. Cicotte bore down and won Game 7 of the best-of-9 Series; he was angry that the gamblers were now reneging on their promised payments, as they claimed that all the money was in the hands of bookies. Joseph J. "Sport" Sullivan, the gambler who initiated the fix, then paid infamous gangster Harry F to threaten to hurt Lefty Williams and his family if he did not lose the upcoming game 8.[6] The White Sox lost Game 8 on October 9, ending the series.[7] Whatever Williams had been told made its impression. In the first inning throwing nothing but mediocre fastballs, he gave up four straight one-out hits for three runs before manager Kid Gleason relieved him. Fallout[edit] Grand jury (1920)[edit] The rumors dogged the White Sox throughout the 1920 season as they battled the Cleveland Indians for the American League pennant, and stories of corruption touched players on other clubs as well. At last, in September 1920, a grand jury was convened to investigate; Eddie Cicotte and Shoeless Joe Jackson confessed their participation in the scheme to the grand jury on September 28.[8] On the eve of their final season series, the White Sox were in a virtual tie for first place with the Indians. The Sox would need to win all three of their remaining games and then hope for Cleveland to stumble, as the Indians had more games in hand. Despite the season being on the line, Comiskey suspended the seven White Sox still in the majors (Chick Gandil had not returned to the team in 1920 and was playing semi-pro ball). He said that he had no choice but to suspend them, even though this action likely cost the White Sox any chance of winning that year's American League pennant. The White Sox lost two of the three games in the final series against the St. Louis Browns and finished in second place, two games behind Cleveland. The grand jury handed down its decision on October 22, 1920, and eight players and five gamblers were implicated. The indictments included nine counts of conspiracy to defraud.[9] The ten players not implicated in the gambling scandal, as well as manager Kid Gleason, were each given bonus checks in the amount of $1,500 by Comiskey in the fall of 1920, the amount equaling the difference between the winners' and losers' share for participation in the 1919 World Series.[10] Trial (1921)[edit] Infielders Swede Risberg (left) and Buck Weaver during their 1921 trial. The trial began on June 27, 1921 in Chicago.[9] Player Shano Collins was named as the wronged party in the indictments, accusing his corrupt teammates of having cost him $1,784 as a result of the scandal.[11] Before the trial, key evidence went missing from the Cook County courthouse, including the signed confessions of Cicotte and Jackson, who subsequently recanted their confessions. Some years later, the missing confessions reappeared in the possession of Comiskey's lawyer.[12] The jury deliberated for less than three hours before returning verdicts of not guilty on all charges for all of the accused players.[9] Landis appointed Commissioner, bans all eight players (1921)[edit] Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis signs the agreement to become Commissioner of Baseball, 12 November 1920 Long before the scandal broke, many of baseball's owners had nursed longstanding grievances with the way the game was then governed by the National Commission. The scandal and the damage it caused to the game's reputation gave owners the resolve to make major changes to the governance of the sport. The owners' original plan was to appoint the widely respected federal judge and noted baseball fan Kenesaw Mountain Landis to head a reformed National Commission. When Landis made it clear to the owners that he would only accept an appointment as the game's sole Commissioner, and even then only on the condition that he be granted essentially unchecked power over the sport, the owners agreed to appoint him as the first Commissioner of Baseball with virtually unlimited authority over every person in both the major and minor leagues. Upon taking office prior to the 1921 Major League Baseball season, one of Landis' first acts as Commissioner was to use the unprecedented powers granted to him by the owners to place the eight accused players on an "ineligible list," a decision that effectively left them suspended indefinitely from all of professional baseball. Following the players' acquittals, Landis was quick to quash any prospect that he might reinstate the implicated players. On August 3, 1921, the day after the players were acquitted, the Commissioner issued his own verdict: Regardless of the verdict of juries, no player who throws a ball game, no player who undertakes or promises to throw a ball game, no player who sits in confidence with a bunch of crooked ballplayers and gamblers, where the ways and means of throwing a game are discussed and does not promptly tell his club about it, will ever play professional baseball.[13] Making use of a precedent that had previously seen Babe Borton, Harl Maggert, Gene Dale, and Bill Rumler banned from the Pacific Coast League for match fixing,[14] Landis made it clear that all eight accused players would remain on the "ineligible list," banning them from organized baseball. The Commissioner took the line that while the players had been acquitted in court, there was no dispute they had broken the rules of baseball, and none of them could ever be allowed back in the game if it were to regain the trust of the public. Comiskey supported Landis by giving the seven who remained under contract to the White Sox their unconditional release. Following the Commissioner's statement it was universally understood that all eight implicated White Sox players were to be banned from Major League Baseball for life. Two other players believed to be involved were also banned. One of them was Hal Chase, who had been effectively blackballed from the majors in 1919 for a long history of throwing games and had spent 1920 in the minors. He was rumored to have been a go-between between Gandil and the gamblers, though it has never been confirmed. Regardless of this, it was understood that Landis' announcement not only formalized his 1919 blacklisting from the majors, but barred him from the minors as well. Banned players[edit] Main article: List of people banned from Major League Baseball Eight members of the White Sox baseball team were banned by Landis for their involvement in the fix: Eddie Cicotte, pitcher, died on May 5, 1969, had the longest life; living to the age of 84. Admitted involvement in the fix.[8] Oscar "Happy" Felsch, center fielder, died on August 17, 1964, at 72. Arnold "Chick" Gandil, first baseman. The leader of the players who were in on the fix. He did not play in the majors in 1920, playing semi-pro ball instead. In a 1956 Sports Illustrated article, he expressed remorse for the scheme, but claimed that the players had actually abandoned it when it became apparent they were going to be watched closely. According to Gandil, the players' numerous errors were a result of fear that they were being watched.[15][16] He died on December 13, 1970, at 82. "Shoeless" Joe Jackson, the star outfielder, one of the best hitters in the game, confessed in sworn grand jury testimony to having accepted $5,000 cash from the gamblers. He later recanted his confession and protested his innocence to no effect until his death on December 5, 1951, at 64; he was the first of the eight banned White Sox players to die. Years later, the other players all said that Jackson had never been involved in any of the meetings with the gamblers, and other evidence has since surfaced that casts doubt on his role.[5] Fred McMullin, utility infielder. McMullin would not have been included in the fix had he not overheard the other players' conversations. He threatened to tell all if not included.[citation needed] His role as team scout may have had more impact on the fix, since he saw minimal playing time in the series. He had the shortest lifespan, dying on November 20, 1952 at 61. Charles "Swede" Risberg, shortstop. Risberg was Gandil's assistant and the 'muscle' of the playing group. He went 2-for-25 at the plate in the World Series. The last living player among the Black Sox, he lived on until October 13, 1975, his 81st birthday. George "Buck" Weaver, third baseman. Weaver attended the initial meetings, and while he did not go in on the fix, he knew about it.[9] Landis banished him on this basis, stating "Men associating with crooks and gamblers could expect no leniency." On January 13, 1922, Weaver unsuccessfully applied for reinstatement. Like Jackson, Weaver continued to profess his innocence to successive baseball commissioners to no effect. He died on January 31, 1956, at 65. Claude "Lefty" Williams, pitcher. Went 0–3 with a 6.63 ERA for the series. Only one other pitcher in baseball history – reliever George Frazier of the 1981 New York Yankees – has ever lost three games in one World Series, although it should be noted that the third game Williams lost was Game Eight – baseball's decision to revert to a best of seven Series in 1922 significantly reduced the opportunity for a pitcher to obtain three decisions in a Series.[citation needed] Williams died on November 4, 1959, at 66. Also banned was Joe Gedeon, second baseman for the St. Louis Browns. Gedeon placed bets since he learned of the fix from Risberg, a friend of his. He informed Comiskey of the fix after the Series in an effort to gain a reward. He was banned for life by Landis along with the eight White Sox.[17] The indefinite suspensions imposed by Landis in relation to the Black Sox Scandal remain the most to be imposed simultaneously in the history of organized baseball, and were the most suspensions of any duration to be simultaneously imposed until 2013 when thirteen player suspensions of between 50 and 211 games were announced following the doping-related Biogenesis scandal. Joe Jackson[edit] "Shoeless" Joe Jackson The extent of Joe Jackson's part in the conspiracy remains controversial. Jackson maintained that he was innocent. He had a Series-leading .375 batting average – including the Series' only home run – threw out five baserunners, and handled 30 chances in the outfield with no errors. However, he batted far worse in the five games that the White Sox lost, with a batting average of .286 in those games. Though this was still an above-average batting average (the National and American Leagues hit a combined .263 in the 1919 season),[18] Jackson hit .351 for the season, fourth best in the major leagues (his .356 career batting average is the third best in history, surpassed only by his contemporaries Ty Cobb and Rogers Hornsby).[19] Three of his six RBIs came in the losses, including the aforementioned home run, and a double in Game 8 when the Reds had a large lead and the series was all but over. Still, in that game a long foul ball was caught at the fence with runners on second and third, depriving Jackson of a chance to drive in the runners. But statistics also show that in the five games the White Sox lost, Jackson batted .385 (5/13) without runners in scoring position (bases empty or a runner just on first) but one for eight with runners in scoring position, the one hit- a two-run double- coming in the bottom of the eight inning of the Series finale with the White Sox already trailing 10-1. One play in particular has been subjected to much scrutiny. In the fifth inning of Game 4, with a Cincinnati player on second, Jackson fielded a single hit to left field and threw home. Chick Gandil, another leader of the fix, later admitted to yelling at Cicotte to intercept the throw. The run scored and the White Sox lost the game 2–0.[20] Cicotte, whose guilt is undisputed, made two errors in that fifth inning alone. Another argument, presented in the book Eight Men Out, is that because Jackson was illiterate, he had little awareness of the seriousness of the plot, and thus he consented to it only when Risberg threatened him and his family. Years later, all of the implicated players said that Jackson was never present at any of the meetings they had with the gamblers. Lefty Williams, Jackson's roommate, later said that they only brought up Jackson in hopes of giving them more credibility with the gamblers.[5] Aftermath[edit] After being banned, Risberg and several other members of the Black Sox tried to organize a three-state barnstorming tour. However, they were forced to cancel those plans after Landis let it be known that anyone who played with or against them would also be banned from baseball for life. They then announced plans to play a regular exhibition game every Sunday in Chicago, but the Chicago City Council threatened to cancel the license of any ballpark that hosted them.[5] With seven of their best players permanently sidelined, the White Sox crashed into seventh place in 1921 and would not be a factor in a pennant race again until 1936, five years after Comiskey's death. They would not win another American League championship until 1959 (a then-record 40-year gap) nor another World Series until 2005, prompting some to comment about a Curse of the Black Sox. Rumors also surfaced that some of the players later played minor league baseball under assumed names. In the final scene of the movie Eight Men Out, Buck Weaver is shown to be in the stands watching a minor league game in New Jersey in 1925. The center fielder for Hoboken, a player named "Brown," is playing well above the level of the others and a spectator near Weaver openly believes him to be Joe Jackson. While also not revealing himself, Weaver, who recognised his former team mate, kept Jackson's cover by telling the fan that while Jackson was the best player he had seen, he wasn't Brown.[21] "Black Sox" name[edit] Although many believe the Black Sox name to be related to the Dark and corrupt nature of the conspiracy, the term "Black Sox" may already have existed before the fix. There is a story that the name "Black Sox" derived from parsimonious owner Charles Comiskey's refusal to pay for the players' uniforms to be laundered, instead insisting that the players themselves pay for the cleaning. As the story goes, the players refused and subsequent games saw the White Sox play in progressively filthier uniforms as dust, sweat and grime collected on the white, woolen uniforms until they took on a much darker shade. Comiskey then had the uniforms washed and deducted the laundry bill from the players' salaries.[22] On the other hand, Eliot Asinof in his book Eight Men Out makes no such connection, mentioning the filthy uniforms early on but referring to the term "Black Sox" only in connection with the scandal. Popular culture[edit] Literature[edit] Eliot Asinof's book Eight Men Out: The Black Sox and the 1919 World Series is the best-known history of the scandal. Brendan Boyd's novel Blue Ruin: A Novel of the 1919 World Series offers a first-person narrative of the event from the perspective of Sport Sullivan, a Boston gambler involved in fixing the series. In F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby, a minor character named Meyer Wolfsheim was said to have helped in the Black Sox scandal, though this is purely fictional. In explanatory notes accompanying the novel's 75th anniversary edition, editor Matthew Bruccoli describes the character as being directly based on Arnold Rothstein. In Dan Gutman's novel Shoeless Joe & Me (2002), the protagonist, Joe, goes back in time to try to prevent Shoeless Joe from being banned for life. W. P. Kinsella's novel Shoeless Joe is the story of an Iowa farmer who builds a baseball field in his cornfield after hearing a mysterious voice. Later, Shoeless Joe Jackson and other members of the Black Sox come to play on his field. The novel was adapted into the 1989 hit film Field of Dreams. Joe Jackson plays a central role in inspiring protagonist Ray Kinsella to reconcile with his past. Bernard Malamud's 1952 novel The Natural and its 1984 filmed dramatization of the same name were inspired significantly by the events of the scandal. Harry Stein's novel Hoopla, alternatingly co-narrated by Buck Weaver and Luther Pond, a fictitious New York Daily News columnist, attempts to view the Black Sox Scandal from Weaver's perspective. Film[edit] In the film The Godfather Part II (1974), the fictional gangster Hyman Roth alludes to the scandal when he says, "I've loved baseball ever since Arnold Rothstein fixed the World Series in 1919." Director John Sayles' Eight Men Out, a 1988 film based on Asinof's book, is a dramatization of the scandal, focusing largely on Buck Weaver (played by John Cusack) as the one banned player who did not take any money. Also starring in the film were Charlie Sheen (Hap Felsch), Michael Rooker (Chick Gandil), David Strathairn (Eddie Cicotte), John Mahoney (Kid Gleason), Christopher Lloyd ("Sleepy" Bill Burns), Clifton James (Charles Comiskey) and D. B. Sweeney as Shoeless Joe Jackson. Sayles himself portrayed sports writer Ring Lardner. The 1989 film Field of Dreams, based upon the novel by W. P. Kinsella, discussed the scandal and featured two of the players involved, Joe Jackson (Ray Liotta) who played a large part in the film, and Eddie Cicotte (Steve Eastin). Field of Dreams starred Kevin Costner, Amy Madigan and James Earl Jones. The 2013 film The Great Gatsby, based on the novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, speaks of the man who fixed the 1919 World Series. Television[edit] In the first season of Boardwalk Empire and the second season, the scandal is a large subplot involving Arnold Rothstein, Lucky Luciano and their associates. Music[edit] Murray Head's 1975 album Say It Ain't So takes its name after an apocryphal question put to Shoeless Joe Jackson during the court case. On Jonathan Coulton's album Smoking Monkey, his song "Kenesaw Mountain Landis" greatly fictionalizes the commissioner's quest to ban Jackson from baseball, in the style of a tall tale. Charles August "Swede" Risberg (October 13, 1894 – October 13, 1975) was a Major League Baseball shortstop. He played for the Chicago White Sox from 1917 to 1920. He is best known for his involvement in the 1919 Black Sox scandal. Contents  [hide]  1 Background 2 Major League Baseball 3 Later years 4 See also 5 References 6 Other sources 7 External links Background[edit] Charles Risberg was born and raised in San Francisco, California. He had very little education growing up and dropped out of school in the third grade. However, he soon developed a reputation as a good semipro pitcher and began his professional baseball career in 1912. Risberg soon converted to shortstop. In 1914, he hit .366 in the Class D Union Association[1] and was acquired by the Venice Tigers of the Pacific Coast League. He was the club's utility infielder in 1915 and 1916, gaining acclaim for his defensive skills. He was then bought by the American League's Chicago White Sox in early 1917.[2] Major League Baseball[edit] Risberg made his debut on April 11, 1917 for the White Sox. He was a below-average hitter, but due to his superb defensive abilities, he won the full-time job at shortstop. Late in the season, though, Risberg went into a terrible slump, and he therefore only pinch hit twice when the Sox beat the New York Giants in the 1917 World Series.[2] The next season, Risberg briefly returned to California to work in a shipyard as part of the war effort. Although his job was termed essential and enabled him to avoid the draft, it consisted largely of playing baseball, as he batted .308 for the shipyard ballclub.[2] Risberg returned to the Sox for the pennant-winning 1919 season. In September, he received good press in the Atlanta Constitution, which labeled him a "miracle man" who had "blossomed out as a wonder" after making four plays that were "phenomenal."[2] Chicago was heavy favorites in 1919 World Series versus the Cincinnati Reds. However, a group of White Sox players, including Risberg, decided to intentionally lose the series in exchange for monetary payments from a network of gamblers. Risberg was one of the ringleaders, helping to convince some of his teammates to go along with the scheme. In the eight-game series, he went 2 for 25 at the plate and made a Series-record eight errors. Risberg received $15,000 for his role in the fix,[2] which was over four times his regular season salary. The scandal broke in late 1920, and though the eight players were acquitted in the trial that followed, they were all banned from organized baseball by Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis.[3] Later years[edit] Risberg continued to play semi-pro baseball for a decade after his banishment. According to one source, "he came to Minnesota in 1922 with a traveling team called the Mesaba Range Black Sox, which featured three other members of the 1919 Black Sox team: Happy Felsch and Lefty Williams."[4] He played throughout the midwest United States and Canada. Columbus, North Dakota newspaper reports claimed that Risberg played part of the 1927 season with a traveling team called Dellage's Cubans based in Lignite, North Dakota. In 1926, Risberg was called to testify about a 1919 gambling scandal involving Ty Cobb and Tris Speaker. Although he presented no evidence regarding the 1919 scandal, he claimed that in 1917 he had collected money from other White Sox players to give to the Detroit Tigers so the Tigers would intentionally lose some games. However, his story was contradicted by over 30 other men, and it was disregarded.[2] Risberg also worked on a dairy farm. After his outlaw baseball career ended, he eventually ran a tavern and lumber business in the northwest United States. During his playing days, he had been spiked by an opposing player; the injury never properly healed, and he eventually had to have his leg amputated.[2] At the end of his life, he lived with his son[4] and remained an avid baseball fan. Risberg died in Red Bluff, California, in 1975, on his 81st birthday. He was the last living Black Sox player.[2] Risberg would be portrayed by actor Don Harvey in the 1988 film Eight Men Out. Schooled on the sandlots of Milwaukee, Chicago Black Sox center fielder Oscar "Happy" Felsch (1891-1964) was a rising star who then blew a promising career for a few bucks by participating in the throwing of the 1919 World Series. On the field, Felsch was hitting his peak in 1920, the year the scandal hit the newspapers. His speed, run-producing power and defensive prowess--all attributes that might have garnered consideration by the Hall of Fame--earned comparisons to the great Tris Speaker. Instead, he ended up playing the fallen hero for remote baseball enclaves in Montana and Canada. Did he really play to lose the series or just say that he did out of fear of reprisal by crooked gamblers? Felsch talked about the scandal more than any of the other eight banned players. This book analyzes his three interviews, revealing his ultimate gullibility and greed and rampant contradictions. The Black Sox Scandal shocked the sporting public and led to fundamental changes in the governance of professional baseball. Central to this astonishing fix were eight Chicago White Sox ballplayers, including star center-fielder Oscar “Happy” Felsch. An unpretentious Milwaukee native, the “Pride of Teutonia Avenue” only left his hometown to play ball. Felsch, one of 12 children of German immigrants, rose to the pinnacle of the baseball world only to be consigned forever to the sport’s hell. White Sox left fielder Shoeless Joe Jackson and third baseman George “Buck” Weaver have garnered the most attention of the “Eight Men Out,” becoming mythologized in books and movies. Happy Felsch was just a common Milwaukeean caught up in momentous events of the turbulent 1910s and ’20s. More than 40 years later, his account of those events would be the primary source for Eliot Asinof’s book Eight Men Out and the movie that molded present-day understanding of the fix. Learn more: Click here to view SABR’s Eight Myths Out project on common misconceptions about the Black Sox Scandal Oscar Emil Felsch, who grew up to be arguably the best baseball player ever produced by Milwaukee’s north side, was born in 1891 in a German working-class neighborhood. His birth certificate does not exist because there are no Felsch family public-health records from that era.1 Many baseball historical resources list Felsch’s birth date as August 22, 1891, or unspecified dates in 1893 or 1894. However, his 1943 application for a Social Security number and his 1964 death certificate both state that he was born on April 7, 1891, to Berlin natives Charles and Marie Felsch (née Tietz or Tiegs).2 Charles was a north side carpenter.3 In the census of 1900, young Oscar was one of 10 living Felsch children and one of seven still residing in a mortgaged 26th Street frame house. He did not read or write in 1900 but eventually could after receiving a sixth-grade education. This lack of further formal education proved to haunt Felsch when he had to deal with shrewd baseball executives, underhanded gamblers, lawyers, and college-educated teammates.4 The teenage Oscar went to work as a $10-a-week factory laborer and shoe worker, giving all but 25 cents of his pay to his father.5 Felsch’s rise from the Milwaukee sandlots was due in no small part to his ballplaying dad and brothers. Reputed to be a first baseman of great ability, Charles had three more sons who played on area teams. As typical members of the aspiring working class, the boys hoped to develop their reputations in prominent local leagues in order to gain notice from pro scouts.6 Following the example of many other second-generation German children, the youthful Oscar turned away from individual sports like gymnastics and wrestling and gravitated toward the popular American team game of baseball. A member of the Turnverein (or Turners, a German gymnastics movement that emphasized physical education), the powerfully built wrestling champion eventually gave up grappling for baseball. The broad-shouldered Felsch, listed at heights between 5-feet-9 and 5-feet-11 and weights of 160 to 190 pounds over his playing career, first appeared on the local baseball scene in 1911.7 Now employed as a shingler, the right-handed throwing and hitting shortstop-third baseman spent his spare time performing for Sisson and Sewell, a semipro club sponsored by a local clothing store. Their Sunday contests allowed Felsch to display his developing skills. The Milwaukee Sentinel noticed the budding star’s four hits and seven successful fielding chances on August 6, declaring, “Felch [sic] played a swell game at third.”8 In 1912 Oscar played with four semipro teams throughout Wisconsin. The star Sewell shortstop left in mid-June to sign with Manitowoc of the higher-level Lake Shore League, then later played with Grand Rapids (now Wisconsin Rapids). Felsch then manned third base behind pitcher Stoney McGlynn, a former St. Louis Cardinal and Milwaukee Brewer. Larger crowds in Lake Shore League towns like Racine and Sheboygan gave an athlete of Felsch’s caliber the opportunity for more lucrative paydays.9 By late August, the Grand Rapids team had disbanded and Felsch signed on with Stevens Point for the rest of the season. Felsch’s easygoing nature and wonderful smile made the family nickname “Happy” a perfect fit. Newspapers adopted the sobriquet as early as 1912. At times he even preferred practices to games just for the sheer joy of hitting, fielding, and running.10 In 1913 Felsch continually appeared in the dailies as he advanced to minor-league ball with the Milwaukee Creams of the Class C Wisconsin-Illinois League. The youthful shortstop made a powerful first impression on Opening Day at Athletic Park (later called Borchert Field) as he went 5-for-5 with a grand slam in the first inning, drove in seven runs, and made two errors. The Creams defeated Appleton, 12-5, in the April 30 game, played immediately after the American Association Brewers contest.11 Felsch continued his impressive hitting, including a three-homer game in Oshkosh, and sensational but error-prone fielding during his abbreviated stay in his hometown. Meager crowds for this farm team of the higher-level Brewers forced the Creams to move on June 28 to Fond du Lac, where they became the Molls. There Felsch continued to spend time at both shortstop and his new position, right field.12 By early August, the Brewers called up their phenom. This allowed him to vault to Double-A, the top category of the minors, bypassing the B and A levels. Following are Felsch’s impressive Deadball Era statistics with the Cream/Molls, his first professional team: 18 home runs and 16 stolen bases with a .319 batting average in 357 at-bats. The promising youngster’s future was in the outfield as he committed only two errors in 34 games there (.971 fielding percentage) while booting the ball 36 times in 58 games (.868 fielding average) at shortstop.13 Felsch did not play often for the pennant-winning Brewers in 1913, as he needed polishing. He finished with a batting average of .183 with two home runs in only 26 games.14 In 1914 the muscular Felsch showcased his major-league potential both at the plate and in the outfield. He set home-run distance records in Milwaukee (over 500 feet at Athletic Park, by one account) and Kansas City, and led the American Association in round-trippers with 19. Felsch batted a potent .304 with 41 doubles, 11 triples, and 19 stolen bases for the repeat-champion Brewers. He demonstrated his outfield prowess with great range and a rifle arm.15 By early August the Brewers, an independent club, knew they owned a star fit to sell to the highest major-league bidder. The Senators, Cubs, White Sox, Giants, and Reds were scouting the left fielder. On August 8 the White Sox acquired Felsch for $12,000 plus an infielder and an outfielder from their organization. The Brewers were delighted that Chicago allowed their “fence breaker” to remain in Milwaukee for the duration of 1914. Felsch, declared the greatest Brewer ever by their business manager, Lou Nahin, then signed a two-year contract with Chicago at a salary of $2,500 per year.16 The 1915 season developed into an eventful one for the White Sox’ rookie center fielder. Not only did Felsch make his major-league debut on April 14 in St. Louis with a single and a stolen base, but he also got married.17 The 1915 White Sox started their steady ascent toward the top of the American League by rising from sixth place to third with a 93-61 record. This was due to the addition of energetic 33-year-old manager Clarence “Pants” Rowland and five new position players, including future Hall of Fame second baseman Eddie Collins, Shoeless Joe Jackson, and Felsch. The newcomer in center finished with a .248 batting average, three home runs, and 16 stolen bases in 121 games as a semi-regular. Felsch’s numbers could have been stronger except for a nagging leg injury he suffered early in the season.18 After the conclusion of the hotly contested Chicago City Series between the White Sox and Cubs, the handsome, square-jawed 24-year-old major leaguer returned to Milwaukee, where he married Marie Wagner, described on the marriage certificate as a 22-year-old north side homemaker, on October 27.19 Felsch spent what should have been his honeymoon getting his first experience with the judicial system. On October 29 the newlywed was asked to testify in pitcher Cy Slapnicka’s lawsuit against the Brewers for back pay. After the case was postponed until December, Felsch, Slapnicka, and the Philadelphia Phillies’ Fred Luderus, also from Milwaukee, embarked for Little Chute, Wisconsin, for a Sunday exhibition contest.20 The coming 1916 baseball season surely brought hope to Felsch and the White Sox. The promising club advanced to second place, overcoming a slow start to finish only two games behind the Red Sox. Charles Comiskey, the White Sox owner, was spending money to make money. Adding a pitcher of the caliber of Claude “Lefty” Williams to a staff that already included stars Eddie Cicotte, Red Faber, and Reb Russell helped the White Sox break their attendance record with 679,923 fans, 140,462 more than in 1915.21 Comiskey Park loyalists enjoyed watching Felsch belt seven home runs, out of a team total of 17. He led the Deadball Era White Sox and tied for third in the American League. Suddenly the sophomore from the sandlots of Milwaukee was in the upper echelon of AL hitters as he batted an even .300 and finished sixth in the league with a slugging average of .427. Under the tutelage of coach William “Kid” Gleason, the sure-handed Hap, an honorable mention member on Baseball Magazine’s AL All-America Baseball Club, topped all AL outfielders with a fielding percentage of .981.22 For Happy Felsch it would never get better than 1917. In only his fifth season of professional baseball, he had become a national hero, thanks to a remarkable regular season and an exceptional World Series. The White Sox center fielder was in a class with future Hall of Fame outfielders Tris Speaker and Ty Cobb thanks to his 1917 statistics: .308 batting average (fifth in American League); 102 RBIs (tied for second with Ty Cobb, first White Sox player ever with 100 RBIs); 440 putouts (first among AL outfielders); and six home runs (tied for fourth in AL). Comiskey had picked up shortstop Swede Risberg and first baseman Chick Gandil to round out the starting lineup. Although both players were welcome additions on the diamond, they helped form divisive cliques in the clubhouse. Gandil also retained his connections to gamblers. Felsch fraternized with the boisterous, card-playing Risberg/Gandil group that was often in conflict with the higher-educated Ray Schalk/Eddie Collins faction. The seeds of discord that led to the 1919 scandal were sown.23 Climaxing this year of destiny was the 1917 World Series. Game One, played at Comiskey Park on Saturday, October 6, was decided by a “loud and vicious clout from the trusty bludgeon of Felsch.” “Milwaukee’s famous beef and brawn” hit a long home run to deep left field, giving the White Sox a 2-0 lead in a game they eventually won 2-1 over the New York Giants. The center fielder also made a sensational one-handed cutoff play of a Giant double, preventing a round-tripper. Felsch, who drove his new Packard from Milwaukee to Chicago the day before, was rewarded with two $50 Liberty Bonds, including one from entertainer Al Jolson. He also accepted a new suit, hat, shoes, and other clothing articles from Chicago merchants. Milwaukeeans, thrilled over Felsch’s success, presented him with a baseball-shaped diamond stickpin before Game One and jokingly threatened to take it away if he did not hit a home run. Felsch proceeded to earn the pin and much adulation by slugging the only Sox homer in that fall classic. A thousand Milwaukee fans, including Felsch’s father and a brother, were at Comiskey Park that day. Back home, 20,000 more flocked to local electric scoreboards in theaters or to tickers and blackboards in restaurants and businesses. Fans were just as loud as if they were at the game and remained in a frenzy for 15 minutes after the home run.24 In Game Two, Chicago continued its winning ways as the “pride of the Cream city” contributed to the 7-2 victory with a hit-and-run single and several outstanding fielding plays. In Milwaukee, Felsch fans went wild again as 35-cent tickets to the electric-scoreboard venues were scalped for $1. That Sunday evening the White Sox and Giants left for New York, arriving on Monday afternoon. Game Three, scheduled for Tuesday at the Polo Grounds, was rained out. Off-the-field news included a flattering invitation for Felsch, Eddie Cicotte, and outfielder John Collins to appear in New York vaudeville. The three did not say whether they accepted.25 The Giants recovered to tie the Series at two games each with back-to-back shutouts of the hard-hitting White Sox. Comiskey Park hosted Game Five on Saturday, October 13. Chicago came back from a 5-2 deficit to win 8-5 with Felsch going 3-for-5. The teams traveled again to New York where, on Monday in Game Six, the White Sox captured the Series with a 4-2 victory.26 The White Sox were the toast of the Windy City as they returned to thousands of exultant fans, orators, and two big brass bands. The ballplayer that “made Milwaukee famous” was welcomed back with numerous parties, receptions, banquets, and dances throughout his proud hometown. Friends, local clubs, and city officials helped to arrange the celebrations that honored the man New York sportswriters believed made the difference in the Series, with both his bat and his glove. The smiling ballplayer enjoyed the attention, but insisted that he not speak in front of throngs of his clamoring fans. In addition to his World Series check of $3,669 (almost matching his salary of $3,750), the popular star received presents including a gold watch, a set of silverware, and $100 worth of shares in American Aircraft. The papers glorified Felsch by claiming that he made $10,000 a year and accepted enough complimentary drinks to start his own brewery. After all the honors and gifts were bestowed upon Felsch, “the greatest citizen the north side has ever produced,” he left for the solitude of a three-week fishing and hunting trip in the northern woods.27 Major-league baseball, the White Sox, and Felsch experienced tough times in the intensified war year of 1918. The season was shortened so that baseball could comply with the “work or fight” edict of May 18. This decreed that any male between 21 and 31 years old in a nonessential job must enlist, secure a war-related job, or be reclassified with a lower draft number. Players who did not enlist hurried to take exempt jobs in shipyards, steel mills, war-production factories, and farms. Many of them, now subject to criticism as slackers, then played ball in industrial leagues.28 The defending champion White Sox got off to a rocky start as the train taking them to spring training derailed March 18 in Texas. No one was hurt. Then Felsch missed the beginning of camp because of a sudden illness. The season continued downhill as the White Sox lost many key players to the war effort. The club finished in sixth place with a 57-67 record before only 195,081 Comiskey Park customers. This was a significant decline from the 684,521 who watched the 100-54 pennant winners of 1917.29 The glory of 1917 must have seemed like a distant memory to Happy Felsch as he struggled both on and off the field in 1918. The star outfielder left the White Sox for 12 days in May as he visited a seriously injured brother in a Texas Army camp. Alarming his family and manager Rowland, the distraught Felsch remained incommunicado during the entire trip.30 The “mighty Happy” departed for good on July 1, leaving Rowland with a punchless, spiritless shell of a team. Surprising the defending champs with his sudden resignation, Felsch announced that he was taking a war-effort job at the Milwaukee Gas Company for $125 a month plus earnings from weekend semipro ball. This paled in comparison to the $3,750 contract he walked away from. In an effort to boost attendance, the Kosciuskos of the Lake Shore League quickly signed the former World Series star.31 Normally a modest man, Felsch kept quiet about the dispute until July 18. That day, the Milwaukee Sentinel reported the disgruntled star’s desire to return to the American League with any team other than the White Sox.32 The Sporting News reported that Felsch had left because of disputes with Comiskey over pay, abstinence from drinking, and the Texas journey, plus a personal conflict with Eddie Collins.33 “Milwaukee’s most famous diamond gladiator” was welcomed home by his many local admirers. The Koskys now played before packed houses both on the road as well as at Milwaukee’s South Side Park and Athletic Park. As expected, Felsch hit very well and showed his versatility by handling all three outfield positions, first base, and catcher. Not only did he remain a Kosky through early October but he also participated in several “All-Star” games in Milwaukee and Chicago. These contests included major leaguers Braggo Roth, Dickey Kerr, Jack Quinn, Fred Luderus, and others.34 After the 1918 season, Comiskey replaced manager Rowland with popular longtime White Sox coach Kid Gleason, stating that Pants had lost control of the team. Even though the war ended on November 11, heading off the expected shutdown of the 1919 season, 1918 had a profound impact on the White Sox. The club was torn by dissension over wage disparities and disputes between players who enlisted in the military versus those who took exempt war-effort jobs.35 Owners and the press resented athletes who avoided military service by working for companies with baseball teams. A disgusted Comiskey, alluding to Felsch, Joe Jackson, and Lefty Williams, went so far as to say, “There is no room on my club for players who wish to evade the army draft by entering the employ of ship owners.”36 Comiskey conveniently set aside his anger in order to rebuild his remarkable team. With Gleason serving as a capable conciliator, the White Sox promptly brought back stateside war workers Felsch, Jackson, and Williams. Felsch quickly regained his form in 1919, leading the American League with 32 outfield assists and 14 double plays.37 Four of the assists came on August 14, tying a major-league record. Accepting 12 chances on June 23 let the gifted ball hawk tie another American League record. His 14 double plays are still tied for the single-season record as of 2014.38 Felsch batted a solid .275 for the top run-producing team in the majors and slugged seven home runs, tying Jackson for the club lead. His 24 homers that decade were more than any other White Sox player hit. Many of these statistics could have been more impressive had the owners not shortened the 1919 campaign. Anticipating lower attendance as the public recovered from the war, the baseball moguls cut the regular season from 154 to 140 games. In addition, American League rosters were reduced from 25 to 21, and salaries were depressed in anticipation of lower gate receipts. These concerns proved to be unfounded as war-weary fans flocked back to the national pastime. Attendance rose to 627,186 from 195,081 for the AL champion White Sox and to 6.5 million from 3 million in the majors. In an effort to recoup some revenue lost to the ill-advised shortened season, the owners extended the World Series between the Cincinnati Reds and the Sox from seven to nine games.39 Felsch’s banishment from Organized Baseball was a result of the 1919 fall classic, his second and last. Some of the White Sox, playing in an atmosphere poisoned by unchecked wagering and lower-than-market salaries, were eager to cash in. Owners and league executives generally ignored betting as they encouraged any interest in their sport. Baseball was revered as upright and patriotic. Charles Comiskey stated in an authorized 1919 biography, “To me baseball is as honorable as any other business. … It has to be or it could not last a season out. Crookedness and baseball do not mix.” At the very same time, his own players were mixing the two.40 In this era long before free agency, many players received wages far below their market value. Bound to their teams by the reserve clause, they could sign for what the owners offered or go home. Black Sox Felsch, Jackson, and fix organizer Gandil were rightly upset that their three salaries combined were less than the $15,000 made by college-educated Eddie Collins. The eight Black Sox averaged $4,300 in 1919.41 Certainly, Felsch’s $3,750 annual 1917-19 contracts (plus the potential for $5,000 in World Series pay) compared favorably with the average blue-collar pay range of $1,000 to $2,400, cited by Steven Reiss in his 1999 book, Touching Base: Professional Baseball and American Culture in the Progressive Era.42 It is still unclear exactly how the Series was fixed and who the principals were. However, many of the favored White Sox did play poorly, whether it was because they took money from gamblers, feared retribution from gangsters, or endured an ordinary slump. Felsch himself was full of contradictions, both in his on-field performance as well as in interviews in later years. At the plate Felsch produced only a .192 batting average with one extra-base hit, a double, in the eight-game Series loss.43 The hard hitter made satisfactory contact but was robbed several times by superb Cincinnati fielding. In hindsight, some sportswriters looked at his sudden inability to advance runners, as well as several questionable running and fielding misplays, as possible proof of Felsch’s involvement in a fix. After botching catches in Games Five and Six, the normally sure-handed center fielder was demoted to right field for Game Seven.44 The Milwaukee Sentinel believed that the hometown hero hit in bad luck and was just “outshone” by Cincinnati’s Edd Roush. The paper did not hint at a fix, but stated that the White Sox were down and lethargic. After Felsch hit his two-bagger, the Sentinel exclaimed, “Felsch was also on the job, much to everyone’s surprise, and walloped a double.”45 After dropping the World Series, the defeated Sox returned home with promised losers’ shares of $3,254 and without their normal triumphant attitude and the $5,207 winners’ portions, up to then the largest in baseball history. Comiskey, responding to what he called “nasty rumors,” even publicly offered a $20,000 reward to anyone with evidence of a fix, but added, “I believe my boys fought the battles of the recent World Series on the level, as they have always done.” Later he announced that he was withholding the losers’ shares from eight of his players “pending further investigations.” Despite his protestations of ignorance, Comiskey chose the correct eight. The Sentinel sarcastically reported, “Felsch is back home and will amuse himself on the bowling alleys this winter. If he makes as many strikes as he did in the world’s series he ought to be good for a couple of 300-scores.”46 Rumors of a fix were flying even before the first game. Many sportswriters heard them, but they never appeared in print. The day after the Series ended, one of the most prominent writers, Hugh Fullerton, urged his readers to “forget the suspicious and evil-minded yarns that may be circulated.” However, he added, “There are seven men on the [White Sox] team who will not be there when the gong sounds next Spring. …” Later Fullerton wrote that he had been present when manager Gleason told Comiskey that the rumors were fact.47 The offseason proved disturbing for Happy Felsch. In November he and other Black Sox were the subjects of a private investigation. Comiskey hired detectives to check if his players were making suspiciously large purchases or lifestyle changes.48 Operative number 11 of Hunter’s Secret Service conducted the Felsch surveillance only to uncover contradictory information. After culling tips from many north side taverns, the investigator discovered that Felsch had recently moved from his father’s home on North 26th Street back to his in-laws’ neighborhood on Teutonia Avenue. While the slugger was on a duck-hunting trip, number 11 gained access to the Felsch apartment under the pretense of renting a furnished room. The eight-room, no-bath living quarters above a grocery were crowded as the Felsch family lived with Marie’s parents, sister, and the sister’s two small children. The private eye believed the neighborhood to be poor. He found Hap’s recent purchase of a new $1,800 Hupmobile — a solid automobile bought by those rising from the working class — inconsistent with living in a cramped $22-a-month apartment.49 After the secret investigation, Comiskey was left with no choice but to mail the $3,254 checks. He could find no evidence that anyone but Gandil went on a spending spree.50 Felsch then received an unexpectedly generous contract from the White Sox. Comiskey’s top assistant, Harry Grabiner, made a special trip to Teutonia Avenue in late 1919 to ink the center fielder to a 1920 contract that included a surprising $3,000 raise. Felsch, taken aback by Comiskey’s sudden largesse, signed even as Grabiner reminded him that he could not play with anyone but the White Sox. In addition, Grabiner mentioned the swirling scandal rumors and called for Felsch’s silence, both with the press and with American League inquisitors.51 It was apparent that Comiskey desired his stars back and was finally willing to invest in salaries commensurate with their talents in order to purchase their silence. Further investigations could result in ruinous player punishments.52 Felsch’s finest year on the diamond was to be his last. He established career highs of 14 home runs (first on the White Sox and fourth in the AL behind Babe Ruth’s unbelievable 54), 188 hits, 88 runs, 40 doubles, 15 triples, 115 RBIs, and a .338 batting average.53 Batters in 1920 enjoyed a livelier ball, the new requirement that umpires keep only fresh, unmarred spheres in play, and the outlawing of trick pitches (except for the grandfathered spitball pitchers).54 The 29-year-old, now in his prime, was considered one of the American League’s top players, pacing the circuit’s outfielders with 10 double plays.55 After the defending American League champs trained in Waco, Texas, they arrived at Milwaukee’s Athletic Park for several preseason exhibitions with the Brewers. Felsch, the hometown idol, responded to a rousing ovation from the 5,000 fans on April 10 with a 2-for-4 day.56 The White Sox proceeded to stay in the 1920 pennant race until the events of a turbulent September caused them to succumb to the Cleveland Indians. September of 1920 proved to be the final month of Happy Felsch’s brilliant career. On the 7th a grand jury was impaneled in Chicago to investigate the possible fix of an August 31 Cubs-Phillies game. After the hearings began on September 22, the focus quickly shifted to the tainted 1919 World Series. On Monday, September 26, Felsch suited up for the last time in an 8-1 win over the Detroit Tigers. Two days later, Cicotte and Jackson, counseled by Comiskey’s attorney, confessed to the grand jury. Immediately after the indictments, Comiskey suspended the seven implicated players. The Sox were only a half-game behind the Indians.57 By now, the fix story was front-page national news. Reporter Harry Reutlinger of the Chicago Evening American was looking to secure his scandal facts first-hand from one of the players. He was advised to visit Felsch, who was uneducated but considered affable enough to talk. Armed with a bottle of scotch, Reutlinger quickly got Felsch, who was in a bathrobe soaking his swollen big toe, to open up.58 In a September 30, 1920, article, Felsch verified Cicotte’s confession: “Well, the beans are all spilled and I think that I am through with baseball. I got my $5,000 and I suppose the others got theirs too. If you say anything about me, don’t make it appear that I’m trying to put up an alibi. I’m not. I’m as guilty as the rest of them. We were in it alike. I don’t know what I’m going to do now. … I’m going to hell, I guess. … I wish that I hadn’t gone into it. I guess we all do. … I never knew where my $5,000 came from. It was left in my locker at the clubhouse and there was always a good deal of mystery about the way it was dealt out. That was one of the reasons why we never knew who double crossed us on the split of the $100,000. It was to have been an even split. But we never got it. … But when they let me in on the idea too many men were involved. I didn’t like to be a squealer and I knew that if I stayed out of the deal and said nothing about it they would go ahead without me and I’d be that much money out without accomplishing anything. I’m not saying this to pass the buck to the others. I suppose that if I had refused to enter the plot and had stood my ground I might have stopped the whole deal. We all share the blame equally. I’m not saying that I double crossed the gamblers, but I had nothing to do with the loss of the world’s series. The breaks just came so that I was not given a chance to do anything toward throwing the game. The records show that I played a pretty good game. I know I missed one terrible fly but, you can believe me or not, I was trying to catch that ball. … I got $5,000. I could have got just about that much by being on the level if the Sox had won the series. And now I’m out of baseball — the only profession I know anything about, and a lot of gamblers have gotten rich. The joke seems to be on us.”59 Some historians view this acknowledgment of bad intentions as an attempt to placate shadowy gamblers.60 Felsch did admit to receiving the $5,000, but not to contributing to the Series loss. Felsch’s last big-league campaign was much less gratifying than his statistics might indicate. He told Reutlinger, “It’s been hell for me” in dealing with his injured toe and the grand-jury investigation. In addition, the White Sox clubhouse was more divided than ever as some of the “Clean Sox” believed that the Black Sox were accepting money to throw 1920 regular-season games. Felsch denied this in the Evening American interview, but the adverse impact of gamblers on the White Sox could not be disputed.61 The indicted man the Milwaukee Sentinel considered “the best ball player ever produced in Milwaukee” was the object of considerable consternation from his loyal local fans. Some recalled that three days before the 1919 World Series, Felsch instructed his Milwaukee friends to bet on the White Sox. Even after losing three games to the Reds, he still advised his father-in-law to continue wagering on Chicago.62 As 1920 ended, Felsch, Swede Risberg, Buck Weaver, and utility infielder Fred McMullin hired an attorney, Thomas Nash, as they began their fight for reinstatement. Felsch returned to Wisconsin to fish and ponder his future.63 Meanwhile, the owners set the tone for baseball’s future by hiring their first commissioner, stern federal Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis. Two strikingly different versions of justice were meted out to Happy Felsch and the Black Sox in 1921. Acquitted in court, the players were nevertheless banned forever from Organized Baseball by the newly omnipotent Landis. Attorney Nash desired a speedy, open trial for his clients and asked Felsch to travel to Chicago on January 31 to file a $10,000 bond to guarantee his appearance.64 Arraignment took place on February 14; due to poorly worded indictments and missing evidence, the initial case was dismissed. At this point, just before spring training, Comiskey hoped to get his talented players back. However, Landis — in his endeavor to clean up baseball and rescue its public image — declared the eight players ineligible. The commissioner knew that his decisions to protect the game would not always favor an individual owner’s interest.65 The decimated 1921 Sox proceeded to finish a dismal seventh. Through the work of American League President Ban Johnson, enough fresh evidence was secured to support new indictments. Jury trial proceedings began in Chicago on June 27. Judge Hugo Friend decreed that the players could only be convicted for conspiring to defraud the public and injuring the businesses of Comiskey and the American League because there was no law against fixing baseball games. This made the trial of little historical use in determining the truth.66 Felsch’s interview with Reutlinger was disallowed as evidence. Judge Friend said there was so little evidence against Felsch and Weaver that he doubted he could let a guilty jury verdict stand. The trial took place from July 18 to August 2 before packed galleries that supported the encouraged players as slandered heroes rather than wrongdoers.67 Even the accused Felsch appeared jovial as he surprisingly exclaimed, “Hope you win the pennant, boys!” to the Clean Sox clique visiting the courtroom.68 At the end of the trial, the state asked for five-year jail sentences and $2,000 fines. After less than three hours of deliberation, the jury acquitted the players as no state law prohibited throwing games. The Black Sox and the jurors celebrated together at a restaurant.69 The following day, August 3, the party ended as Judge Landis, in his relentless effort to redeem baseball’s credibility, gave this famous edict: “Regardless of the verdict of juries, no player that throws a ball game; no player that undertakes or promises to throw a ball game; no player that sits in a conference with a bunch of crooked players and gamblers where the ways and means of throwing games are planned and discussed and does not promptly tell his club about it, will ever play professional baseball.”70 The press portrayed the devastated Comiskey as a tragic victim and the Black Sox as aberrant, evil men who betrayed baseball’s purity. In reality, the fix was the culmination of many years of whitewashed baseball corruption.71 It can be claimed that Comiskey self-inflicted his enormous losses with his tight-fisted treatment of players. Felsch, now 30, was a free and innocent man in the eyes of the law; however, he was forever exiled from the game he loved so much and played so well. Landis’s autocracy held a long reach as he threatened to blacklist anyone who competed with or against the Black Sox. The ban forced the former stars to go vast distances to play baseball.72 In attempts to make money in 1921, Felsch and the seven others formed barnstorming teams in Chicago, northern Indiana, and Wisconsin. Their efforts generally went for naught as ballpark operators and opposing teams were afraid of the consequences of any association with the contaminated Black Sox.73 Felsch endured the death of his father on July 28, adding more unwanted stress during the trial. The 68-year-old carpenter died at home from a cerebral hemorrhage.74 His son was allowed to return to Milwaukee for the funeral; however, Judge Friend demanded Happy’s appearance in court on Monday morning, August 1. Another defense attorney, Ray Cannon, successfully objected, stating that Felsch should be permitted to attend his father’s burial on Monday afternoon.75 Even though his professional career was prematurely over, the tenacious Felsch refused to give up on the diamond or in the legal system in 1922. With a new son, Oscar Ray, born in July, the north-sider set out with the “Ex-Major Leaguers.” This team, which booked nearly 20 games, could boast of athletes including attorney/pitcher Cannon (a former semipro teammate of Felsch) and Black Sox Weaver, Risberg, Cicotte, and Williams. Playing in mostly small towns, the club drew enthusiastic gatherings reaching 3,000 to witness the big-name stars.76 At the same time, Felsch and Risberg sued the White Sox for $100,000 each, declaring that they were ousted from baseball through a conspiracy. Felsch also sought $1,120 in back pay from 1920 and $1,500 for the remainder of a promised 1917 pennant bonus.77 In July Comiskey moved to dismiss the suits for lack of evidence and because of the players’ conspiracy to throw games. He claimed that he paid them in full up until the September 1920 suspensions and denied the 1917 bonus claim.78 The legal proceedings dragged into 1923, when Felsch sued for another $100,000 in damages. He claimed that his “name and reputation has been permanently impaired and destroyed” and that he had “been barred from playing base ball with any professional base ball team in any of the leagues of organized base ball of the United States.” Again, Comiskey requested dismissal of the suits. On June 16 Judge John Gregory dismissed the original $100,000 conspiracy complaint. After much judicial tussling, it was not until 1924 that the case finally went to trial.79 During the protracted battle over his baseball career, Felsch opened a grocery in 1923. Marie and Oscar lived on site for about a year as they attempted to proceed with the stark reality of their new lives.80 In 1924 Milwaukee’s most famous grocer became an accused perjurer and outlaw ballplayer. That January in Milwaukee, Joe Jackson’s suit against Comiskey commenced. Jackson accepted Ray Cannon’s offer of representation in an action similar to Felsch’s and Risberg’s. After turning down a White Sox settlement offer of $2,500, Cannon proceeded in this first Black Sox civil trial. He promised Jackson that Felsch and Risberg would “go the limit for you” in their testimony.81 The trial, well-publicized and heavily attended, provided three weeks of emotional drama. While on the witness stand, a nervous and flustered Felsch denied his signatures on, and knowledge of, his 1920 White Sox contract and related correspondence, mistakenly thinking he was protecting himself. Cannon was taken aback by Felsch’s naīveté, saying, “If it’s your signature, Happy, say so.” Even he could not rescue the ballplayer from perjury charges. “The pride of Milwaukee’s baseball history” was led away to jail in front of an impassive Comiskey and an astonished courtroom. Felsch, who normally “had been a magnet of friendship wherever he happened to move,” stoically looked straight ahead as he departed. Several hours of jail time ensued until friends posted $2,000 cash bond. The bewildered slugger, whose 16 signature denials abruptly suspended the trial, faced arraignment with a potential penalty of two years in a state prison. A handwriting expert confirmed that the 1920 inscriptions matched those that Felsch provided in court and said, “Felsch must be mistaken when he denies it.” Comiskey said he was sorry for his former star “for he was a great baseball player.”82 Judge Gregory called the perjury “malicious and vindictive.” Felsch said he misunderstood the questions and did not intend to perjure himself. The case went to the jury at the end of this tumultuous third week. While the jury was deliberating, Gregory sent Jackson to jail for perjury under $5,000 bond. Gregory overturned the verdict of $16,711 (most of his 1921 and 1922 pay) in favor of Jackson. The sudden, unexplained reappearance of the stolen 1920 confessions caused Gregory to say Jackson’s testimony of game-fixing innocence “reeks with perjury.” Eventually, Jackson, frustrated by his inability to clear his name, settled with Comiskey out of court for a fraction of the verdict, eliminating any appeals. The district attorney dropped the Jackson perjury charges due to insufficient evidence.83 Felsch discovered that playing ball — albeit an outlaw version in south-central Wisconsin — was more fitting and profitable than selling groceries. He was again enjoying what he did best with the Twin City (Sauk City and Prairie du Sac) Red Sox. This small-town club competed with black, Native American, House of David, and other Wisconsin teams unconcerned with the threat of blacklisting by Landis. In addition, Felsch played against fellow Black Sox Weaver (Reedsburg) and Risberg (Minnesota). Thanks to their slugger’s star power and .365 batting average, the 33-20 Red Sox drew crowds as large as 5,000.84 Felsch concluded his skirmishes with the legal system in 1925 and discovered more lucrative, yet distant, playing opportunities. In early February, his perjury case encountered delays, as the district attorney was reluctant to try it.85 Then Felsch’s civil suit against the Sox was settled out of court. This occurred only minutes before the trial was to have finally begun. All of his claims netted Felsch only $1,166 plus interest and costs for a total of about $1,500. The club, claiming that Comiskey was in poor health, did not want to endure another three-week ordeal.86 With criminal accusations hanging over his client’s head, Cannon must have been apprehensive about proceeding with another trial. On May 18 Felsch pleaded guilty to false-swearing, charges that were pending for more than 15 months. Judge Gregory dropped the perjury count and sentenced Felsch to one year of probation.87 Now the 33-year-old was free to play ball. In June he joined Risberg in Scobey, Montana.88 Thus began many years of semipro baseball for Felsch in Montana, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. Out of the reach of Commissioner Landis, the two Black Sox played before crowded ballparks in Canada and North and South Dakota. Scobey fans adored Felsch for his prodigious home runs, willingness to perform at any position, and jocular personality.89 The pair were each paid a healthy $600 a month plus expenses as they guided their club to a 30-3 record in an environment of heavy gambling and drinking. They often endured opponents’ taunts — and responded with brawling — about their descent from the big leagues to a “cow pasture.”90 Felsch returned home to Teutonia Avenue for the winters.91 Montana baseball lured him back to Scobey for 1926. There he toiled in relative obscurity as the local newspapers gave the fallen star very little ink. In 1927 many small Montana towns, including Scobey, dropped semipro ball in favor of less expensive amateur teams consisting of local players.92 Felsch then elected to play for Regina, Saskatchewan. The opportunity to manage the Balmorals and receive greater publicity in a larger community was very appealing. Utilizing their star’s famed name in advertisements, “Hap Felsch’s Regina Balmorals” began the season on May 25. First baseman Felsch led the way with clutch doubles in the first two games. Competing against other independent semipros from Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and North Dakota (including Risberg’s Lignite team), the “Felschmen” were most often victorious. Their manager frequently displayed his awesome home-run power and fielding flexibility (first and third base and pitcher).93 Back home, Felsch’s name was in the papers for a new litigious reason. Late in 1926 Risberg charged 20 ballplayers, including Felsch, with fixing games during the 1917 and 1919 seasons. These allegedly thrown games were intended to alter the final American League standings and the resulting first-, second-, and third-place money. After two days of contentious hearings, Judge Landis exonerated the accused in what some observers described as a quick and convenient whitewash.94 In the summer of 1928, the 37-year-old Felsch returned to Montana. Plentywood, Scobey’s rival, secured Felsch’s services as the semipros competed again in small Montana towns. The acclaimed center fielder joined Plentywood in mid-May for a preseason exhibition tour from Minneapolis back home.95 On Opening Day, May 27, the team lived up to its name, the Plentywood All-Stars, as they crushed Scobey, 20-4. In five at-bats, Felsch hit a double, two triples, and a home run.96 Plentywood played black, House of David, Canadian, Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, and other eastern Montana clubs. The Sioux City Journal reported that Felsch was one of the greatest throwers ever after he unleashed a peg about 10 feet above the ground from center field into the catcher’s mitt. The one-hopper bounced directly over home plate as “Happy Felsch’s All-Stars” swept an August doubleheader.97 Felsch’s last itinerant years were 1929 and 1930 in Virden, Manitoba. This semipro club also performed against Canadian, Dakota, black, and House of David opponents. In an effort to win more games, Virden signed Felsch in early July, well into the 1929 season. The center fielder supplied power and his famous name to this wheat/railroad town with 1,500 residents.98 Once second baseman Swede Risberg joined the club, the local paper could not contain its glee, stating, “Hap Felsch and his merry men are just about the smoothest all-around combination that has invaded Wesley diamond for a long, long time. Hap has slowed some, but his gardening last night left nothing to be desired.”99 This popular team was closely identified with its star, acquiring the nicknames “Hap Felsch’s Virden All-Stars” and “the Felsch troupe.”100 In 1930 Felsch started out as a headliner with the American-Canadian Clown team. These barnstormers, with their star playing second base, competed against Virden on May 24. By June 6, the Manitoba town reacquired its ex-big leaguer. Felsch finished the 1930 season, his last on the road, with Virden. The potent club employed its center fielder’s name in its advertisements and his bat and glove in its many victories.101 One ad exclaimed, “See the great Hap Felsch spear the fast ones off the top of the fence.”102 In 1931 Felsch stayed out of the public eye. He was still listed in city directories as a ballplayer but his diamond career was essentially over. A slower Felsch, now 40, returned for one last chance at baseball glory on the Milwaukee sandlots in 1932. Shortly after the Brewers prohibited Felsch’s “contaminated” presence at an all-star game at Borchert Field, Triangle Billiards, an amateur club, gained his services. The newspapers claimed that the team had secured Judge Landis’s permission before adding the former White Sox hero to their roster. Triangle drew much press and a capacity crowd of 15,000 on May 15 to see Felsch patrol center field. Fans exulted in the legend’s return as he exhibited his great skills and familiar gestures of pulling his nose and hat while squinting at the pitcher. While on the Triangle bench, Felsch entertained several admiring children and smoked cigarettes, displaying his famous grin. One newspaper noted his quiet way, observing that maybe he was thinking that this was “a hell of a place” to be for so illustrious a ballplayer.103 Even though he was considerably past his prime, Felsch continued to play in the area for several more years, shifting to first base as his weight climbed to 200 pounds.104 The Felsch family moved around Milwaukee’s north side an extraordinary number of times in Happy’s post-baseball years. These were often efforts to obtain a new saloon location. During the Prohibition year of 1932, the family opened a new soft-drink parlor and lived at the site.105 In 1933 the family moved again and lived near their latest tavern as Prohibition ended. The business shifted north in 1936. By 1938, the family had again relocated their tavern and residence further northward.106 The notable former big leaguer did his best to remain cordial with his patrons. The Milwaukee Journal reported: “In the mid-thirties Felsch’s tavern on W. Center St. became a gathering place for sand lot players and managers. Happy served free peanuts and kept the bowls on the bar full. The crunch of shells underfoot mingled with baseball talk that often lasted far into the night. Occasionally, a customer would try to draw Felsch into a comparison of the top players of the 1930s with those he had served with in the majors. Happy refused to comment. He seldom became angry when questioned — even about the Black Sox scandal — but found that silence was most effective in ending a distasteful subject.”107 The 1940s began with Oscar and Marie operating the Barn Grove Tavern. By 1943, Happy had left the saloon business, relocated closer to town, and worked as an assembler and watchman. The family moved again in 1947, only several blocks north of Borchert Field, the site of Felsch’s successes more than 30 years earlier. By 1949, Happy had begun his final career as a crane operator. In 1952 he and Marie, parents of three and eventual grandparents of 11, ended their somewhat nomadic existence as they entered their final home on the second floor of a flat at 2460 N. 49th Street. At this location, Eight Men Out author Eliot Asinof and sportswriter Westbrook Pegler conducted their pivotal interviews with Felsch. In 1962 Felsch, over 70 years old, retired as a crane operator for the George Meyer Company. His family adoringly remembered him as “always in a good mood.” Card playing, bowling, hunting, fishing, smoking, and coffee drinking were his favorite pastimes when he was not listening to the Milwaukee Braves on the radio.108 Judge Terence Evans recalled playing ball as a child in Garfield Park (now Rose Park) at Fifth and Burleigh. During this time in the late 1940s and early 1950s, Felsch would often observe Evans and his friends on the diamond. The children called him “Happy” and would converse with the local legend frequently. Evans did notice that Felsch, in poor physical condition, held one arm in a peculiar fashion, as if he had suffered a slight stroke.109 The north side’s finest ballplayer succumbed to a coronary blood clot due to arteriosclerosis on August 17, 1964, at Milwaukee’s St. Francis Hospital. The 73-year-old suffered from varicose veins and a leg abscess for years, but was not seriously ill until six months before his death. Diabetes, a liver ailment, and a pancreatic tumor also complicated his health. Felsch was survived by his wife, son, and two daughters. The funeral was held on August 20 at the Franzen, Jung and Kaufmann Funeral Home, with entombment in “The Gardens of the Last Supper” at Wisconsin Memorial Park in the northwestern suburb of Brookfield.110 If not for the Black Sox Scandal, Happy Felsch might be remembered as one of the best all-around center fielders in baseball history. His superb skills induced reporters and managers of his era to compare him favorably with future Hall of Famers. Philadelphia Athletics manager Connie Mack referred to Happy as “the greatest all around fielder in the country today, not barring Tris Speaker and Ty Cobb.”111 Cobb himself proclaimed, “Hap Felsch was a wonder.”112 None other than Babe Ruth ranked the pride of Milwaukee as the best center fielder of his era, asserting, “I would rate Hap Felsch of the old White Sox and Tris Speaker far superior to Cobb on the defense. Felsch was a greater ball hawk than Speaker, and what an arm he had!”113 Happy Felsch gave his side of the story in several interviews. Thanks to groundbreaking conversations with Felsch, writers including Asinof, Pegler, and Reutlinger were able to shed some light on the Black Sox Scandal. Most of the other fix participants were either too ashamed or fearful of gangster retribution to speak on the record. Major-league baseball preferred to keep the embarrassment of 1919 out of the public eye. Even in 1959, Commissioner Ford Frick persuaded a major television network to cancel a dramatization of the Black Sox scandal, stating that it would be bad for baseball and, therefore, bad for America.114 The amiable Felsch, however, did speak his piece in the last years of his life. Asinof was so appreciative of the center fielder’s openness that he dedicated his book, Bleeding Between the Lines, to the memory of Felsch.115 In this 1979 work, Asinof recounts his interview of Felsch for Eight Men Out, his 1963 chronicle of the scandal. The former minor leaguer first started his detailed research in 1960 when only four of the eight Black Sox were still alive. Cicotte, Gandil, and Risberg either refused or stonewalled Asinof’s inquiries.116 Felsch became his primary source.117 During his research, Asinof visited Milwaukee in an attempt to interview the ailing Felsch. Even after receiving repeated phone calls and a letter, the protective Marie continued to turn down the author. Asinof finally mustered enough courage to visit their home only after a man he met in a bar, who had been acquainted with Felsch, described him as a “real good guy” that everybody liked. Marie relented when the polite yet persistent Asinof appeared at her door with a bottle of scotch to share with Happy, as Reutlinger did in 1920. She led him to the dark upstairs sitting room, asked for kindness in his questioning, and allowed the two men to spend the afternoon in conversation. Asinof detected hurt, guilt, and remorse in Felsch’s voice as he said, “I shoulda knew better. I just didn’t have the sense I was born with. It matters. It still matters.”118 With his heavily bandaged foot resting on an ottoman, the ruddy-faced Felsch opened up to Asinof. He was pleased to talk baseball and recounted his early days as Milwaukee’s baseball prodigy. The 70-year-old vividly recalled his underprivileged childhood, saying, “Seems like all I ever wanted was to hit a new ball with a new bat.” Asinof described Felsch as a fine storyteller who was humble and amusing. He did express great contempt for the penny-pinching Comiskey and his fawning sportswriters. Regarding the scandal, he told Asinof, “It was a crazy time. I don’t know how it happened, but it did, all right.” He went on to say, “God damn, I was dumb, all right. Old Gandil was smart and the rest of us was dumb.” Felsch also recollected the times he was pressured by menacing gamblers into committing misplays in local leagues, the 1919 World Series, and the 1920 season.119 For his series of Black Sox articles in 1956, writer Westbrook Pegler also called on Felsch at his home, expecting to be refused. Instead, he was warmly received. After telling Pegler that an abscessed varicose vein near his right ankle kept him from sleeping more than four hours a night, Felsch recounted his careers as a tavern owner and crane operator. He explained how argumentative drinkers and a tire-slashing incident prompted the family to finally sell a business as public as a saloon. After quickly spending too much of the tavern’s proceeds, Happy told Pegler, “I gotta cut that out” and began the crane job. The former star went on to assert that Buck Weaver, who played very well in the 1919 Series, was unfairly banned. Felsch did not admit to any guilt and stated that his Series statistics were poor due to fine plays by the Reds.120 Asinof, in a 1999 interview, was convinced that Felsch was willing to talk more openly in the 1960s as his illnesses and impending death made him unafraid of vengeful gamblers. During the three-hour interview in the stale, dingy sickroom, Asinof found the uneducated retiree to be charming and articulate. Felsch actually wanted the author to stay longer as the conversation appeared to be liberating for him.121 Pegler and Reutlinger did not experience this advantageous passing of time. Felsch could finally be forthright about the disastrous influence gambling had upon the Black Sox, baseball, and his own life.   An updated version of this biography appears in “Scandal on the South Side: The 1919 Chicago White Sox” (SABR, 2015), edited by Jacob Pomrenke.   Notes 1 Telephone interview with Milwaukee historian John Gurda, November 5, 1999. 2 Felsch’s Application for Social Security Account Number, December 3, 1943; Wisconsin Original Certificate of Death #’64 024373; and 1900 and 1930 United States Censuses. 3 1891 Milwaukee City Directory. 4 1900 US Census; The Sporting News, August 29, 1964; Steven A. Reiss, Touching Base: Professional Baseball and American Culture in the Progressive Era (Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1999), 176; Richard Lindberg, The White Sox Encyclopedia (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1997), 149. 5 1907-1909 Milwaukee City Directories; Eliot Asinof, Eight Men Out (New York: Henry Holt, 1963), 53-4. 6 Reiss, 177; Milwaukee Journal, October 7, 1917; Milwaukee Journal, August 18, 1964. 7 Lindberg, 149; Joseph L. Reichler, ed., The Baseball Encyclopedia (New York: Macmillan, 1985), 906; “Felsch Eager …”; David Neft and Richard Cohen, The Sports Encyclopedia: Baseball (New York: St. Martin’s Press), 97. 8 1911 Milwaukee City Directory; Milwaukee Sentinel, July 17, August 7, and September 17, 1911; Milwaukee Journal, April 8 and June 11, 1911. 9 Milwaukee Sentinel, June 12 and July 8 and 21, 1912; Manitowoc (Wisconsin) Daily Herald, June 15 and 17 and July 1 and 8, 1912. 10 Asinof, 53; Milwaukee Sentinel, June 12, 1912; “Felsch Eager . . .” and “Hap Felsch, Idol of Sox, Wanted to Be Wrestler,” unidentified 1917 newspaper articles from the National Baseball Hall of Fame Felsch Clippings File. 11 Milwaukee Sentinel, April 30 and May 1, 1913. 12 Milwaukee Sentinel, June 26-30, 1913, Milwaukee Journal, August 9, 1914; Lloyd Johnson and Miles Wolff, eds., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 2nd Edition (Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997), 189. 13 Milwaukee Journal, August 9, 1914. 14 Milwaukee Journal, August 7-11, 17-19, 1913; Marshall D. Wright, The American Association (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland, 1997), 67-68. 15 Wright, 73-74; Milwaukee Journal, August 9, 1914. 16 Asinof, 54; Milwaukee Journal, August 7-9, 1914, and February 24, 1941. 17 Milwaukee Sentinel, April 15, 1915. 18 Lindberg, 21-22; “Felsch Eager . . .” 19 1915 Milwaukee City Directory; Eliot Asinof, Bleeding Between the Lines (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston: 1979), 79; Milwaukee County Marriage Records, 1915, vol. 256, 320; Milwaukee Journal and Milwaukee Sentinel, October 1915; telephone interviews with Milwaukee historians John Gurda and Harry Anderson, November 5, 1999. 20 Milwaukee Journal, October 29, 1915; Milwaukee Sentinel, October 29, 1915. 21 Warren Brown, The Chicago White Sox (New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1952), 68; Lindberg, 23. 22 Asinof, Eight Men Out, 180; Robert C. Cottrell, Blackball, the Black Sox, and the Babe: Baseball’s Crucial 1920 Season (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland, 2002), 51; John Thorn, Pete Palmer, and Michael Gershman, eds., Total Baseball, Seventh Edition (Kingston, New York: Total Sports Publishing, 2001), 762 and 2117. 23 G.W. Axelson, Commy: The Life Story of Charles A. Comiskey (Chicago: The Reilly & Lee Co., 1919), 204-205; Frommer, 70, 76-77; Lindberg, The White Sox Encyclopedia, 434; Joseph P. Murphy, Jr., “Pants Rowland: The Busher from Dubuque,” Baseball Research Journal #24, 118-119; 1924 Joe Jackson Milwaukee trial transcripts, #64442 Circuit Court Bill of Exceptions, Volume 3, 1566-1588. 24 Milwaukee Journal, October 7, 10, and 25, 1917. 25 Milwaukee Journal, October 8 and 10, 1917. 26 Thorn, Third Edition, 355. appy Felsch, star center fielder of the Chicago White Sox who was one of eight players barred from baseball after the 1919 World Series scandal, died today in St. Francis Hospital of a liver ailment. He was 73. A product of the Milwaukee sandlots, Oscar Emil Felsch played with the old Milwaukee Brewers before joining the White Sox at the close of the 1914 season. That year he led the American Association in home runs with 19. Felsch hit .300 three times in his six years with the White Sox, reaching his peak in 1920—his last season—when he batted .338 and drove in 115 runs. His life‐time major league batting average was .290. In the 1919 World Series with the Cincinnati Reds, won by the Reds five games to three, Felsch got 5 hits in 26 at bats for an average of .192. After the Black Sox scandal, Felsch returned to the Milwaukee sandlots, where he played for more than a decade. He worked as a crane operator and ran a tavern. Survivors include his widow, Marie; a son, Oscar, and two daughters, Mrs. Richard Meehan and Mrs. Earl Kraft. Felsch, six of his teammates and two others were tried for alleged conspiracy to defraud the public by throwing the 1919 World Series. All were found not guilty by a Chicago jury on Aug. 2, 1921. That decision capped a drawn‐out court action. Dig deeper into the moment. Special offer: Subscribe for $1 a week for the first year. The other Black Sox players on trial were Eddie Cicotte, a star pitcher; Shoeless Joe Jackson, a left fielder and a powerful hitter; Charles (Swede) Risberg, shortstop; George (Buck) Weaver, third baseman; Claude Williams, a pitcher; and Fred McMullin, utility player. Several hundred persons in the court room greeted the verdict with shouts of “Hooray for the clean Sox.” Judge Hugo M. Friend congratulated the jury, saying that he believed it a just verdict. While a Chicago Grand Jury was hearing the confession of Williams, Felsch told the story of his part in the bribery plot on Sept. 29, 1920. He substantiated the confessions made by Cicotte and Jackson, and in expressing regret for his action, said he saw nothing left in life for him. Editors’ Picks Why Are We Living With Such Ugly Succulents and Cactuses? Choosing a Houseplant? Durable Doesn’t Have to Mean Boring. To Patients, Herpes Can Be Devastating. To Many Doctors, It’s Not a Priority. “I'm going to hell, I guess,” Felsch said. “Well, the beans are all spilled and I think that I am through with baseball. I got my $5,000, and I suppose the others got theirs, too.” Although the players were acquitted in court, Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis, the Commissioner of Baseball, later banned them from baseball for life. Also indicted but never tried were Abe Attell, former boxer and alleged gambler; Hal Chase, a former baseball star; William (Bill) Burns, a former player and alleged go‐between; Rachel Brown, alleged New York gambler; John J. (Sport) Sullivan, alleged Boston gamber; Louis and Ben Levi, brothers, from Kokomo, Ind., and Arnold (Chick) Gandil, White Sox first baseman, who was also barred from baseball by Judge Landis. Felsch, Risberg and Jackson later sued the White Sox for back pay. On Feb. 9, 1925. Felsch was awarded $661 with interest in a suit alleging breach of contract. The sum was claimed as salary, and with interest amounted to $1,166.
Chicago (/ʃɪˈkɑːɡoʊ/ (listen) shih-KAH-goh, locally also /ʃɪˈkɔːɡoʊ/ shih-KAW-goh;[6] Miami-Illinois: Shikaakwa; Ojibwe: Zhigaagong) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and the third-most populous in the United States after New York City and Los Angeles. With a population of 2,746,388 in the 2020 census,[7] it is also the most populous city in the Midwest. As the seat of Cook County, the second-most populous county in the U.S., Chicago is the center of the Chicago metropolitan area, the 39th-largest city in the world as of 2018. On the shore of Lake Michigan, Chicago was incorporated as a city in 1837 near a portage between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River watershed. It grew rapidly in the mid-19th century.[8][9] The Great Chicago Fire in 1871 destroyed several square miles and left more than 100,000 homeless,[10] but Chicago's population continued to grow.[9] Chicago made noted contributions to urban planning and architecture, such as the Chicago School, the development of the City Beautiful Movement, and the steel-framed skyscraper.[11][12] Chicago is an international hub for finance, culture, commerce, industry, education, technology, telecommunications, and transportation. It is the financial center of the U.S. Midwest. It has the largest and most diverse derivatives market in the world, generating 20% of all volume in commodities and financial futures alone.[13] O'Hare International Airport is routinely ranked among the world's top six busiest airports.[14] The region is the nation's railroad hub.[15] The Chicago area has one of the highest gross domestic products (GDP) in the world, generating $689 billion in 2018.[16] Chicago's economy is diverse, with no single industry employing more than 14% of the workforce.[13] Chicago is a major tourist destination. Chicago's culture has contributed much to the visual arts, literature, film, theater, comedy (especially improvisational comedy), food, dance, and music (particularly jazz, blues, soul, hip-hop, gospel,[17] and electronic dance music, including house music). Chicago is home to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Lyric Opera of Chicago. The Chicago area also hosts the University of Chicago, Northwestern University, and the University of Illinois Chicago, among other institutions of learning. Chicago has professional sports teams in each of the major professional leagues, including two Major League Baseball teams. Etymology and nicknames Main article: Nicknames of Chicago See also: Windy City (nickname) The name Chicago is derived from a French rendering of the indigenous Miami-Illinois word shikaakwa for a wild relative of the onion; it is known to botanists as Allium tricoccum and known more commonly as "ramps". The first known reference to the site of the current city of Chicago as "Checagou" was by Robert de LaSalle around 1679 in a memoir.[18] Henri Joutel, in his journal of 1688, noted that the eponymous wild "garlic" grew profusely in the area.[19] According to his diary of late September 1687: ... when we arrived at the said place called "Chicagou" which, according to what we were able to learn of it, has taken this name because of the quantity of garlic which grows in the forests in this region.[19] The city has had several nicknames throughout its history, such as the Windy City, Chi-Town, Second City, and City of the Big Shoulders.[20] History Main article: History of Chicago For a chronological guide, see Timeline of Chicago history. Beginnings Traditional Potawatomi regalia on display at the Field Museum of Natural History In the mid-18th century, the area was inhabited by the Potawatomi, a Native American tribe who had succeeded the Miami and Sauk and Fox peoples in this region.[21] An artist's rendering of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 Home Insurance Building (1885) Court of Honor at the World's Columbian Exposition in 1893 The first known non-indigenous permanent settler in Chicago was trader Jean Baptiste Point du Sable. Du Sable was of African descent, perhaps born in the French colony of Saint-Domingue (Haiti), and established the settlement in the 1780s. He is commonly known as the "Founder of Chicago".[22][23][24] In 1795, following the victory of the new United States in the Northwest Indian War, an area that was to be part of Chicago was turned over to the US for a military post by native tribes in accordance with the Treaty of Greenville. In 1803, the U.S. Army constructed Fort Dearborn, which was destroyed during the War of 1812 in the Battle of Fort Dearborn by the Potawatomi before being later rebuilt.[25] After the War of 1812, the Ottawa, Ojibwe, and Potawatomi tribes ceded additional land to the United States in the 1816 Treaty of St. Louis. The Potawatomi were forcibly removed from their land after the 1833 Treaty of Chicago and sent west of the Mississippi River as part of the federal policy of Indian removal.[26][27][28] 19th century The location and course of the Illinois and Michigan Canal (completed 1848) 0:50 State and Madison Streets, once known as the busiest intersection in the world (1897) On August 12, 1833, the Town of Chicago was organized with a population of about 200.[28] Within seven years it grew to more than 6,000 people. On June 15, 1835, the first public land sales began with Edmund Dick Taylor as Receiver of Public Monies. The City of Chicago was incorporated on Saturday, March 4, 1837,[29] and for several decades was the world's fastest-growing city.[30] As the site of the Chicago Portage,[31] the city became an important transportation hub between the eastern and western United States. Chicago's first railway, Galena and Chicago Union Railroad, and the Illinois and Michigan Canal opened in 1848. The canal allowed steamboats and sailing ships on the Great Lakes to connect to the Mississippi River.[32][33][34][35] A flourishing economy brought residents from rural communities and immigrants from abroad. Manufacturing and retail and finance sectors became dominant, influencing the American economy.[36] The Chicago Board of Trade (established 1848) listed the first-ever standardized "exchange-traded" forward contracts, which were called futures contracts.[37] In the 1850s, Chicago gained national political prominence as the home of Senator Stephen Douglas, the champion of the Kansas–Nebraska Act and the "popular sovereignty" approach to the issue of the spread of slavery.[38] These issues also helped propel another Illinoisan, Abraham Lincoln, to the national stage. Lincoln was nominated in Chicago for US president at the 1860 Republican National Convention, which was held in a purpose-built auditorium called the Wigwam. He defeated Douglas in the general election, and this set the stage for the American Civil War. To accommodate rapid population growth and demand for better sanitation, the city improved its infrastructure. In February 1856, Chicago's Common Council approved Chesbrough's plan to build the United States' first comprehensive sewerage system.[39] The project raised much of central Chicago to a new grade with the use of jackscrews for raising buildings.[40] While elevating Chicago, and at first improving the city's health, the untreated sewage and industrial waste now flowed into the Chicago River, and subsequently into Lake Michigan, polluting the city's primary freshwater source. The city responded by tunneling two miles (3.2 km) out into Lake Michigan to newly built water cribs. In 1900, the problem of sewage contamination was largely resolved when the city completed a major engineering feat. It reversed the flow of the Chicago River so that the water flowed away from Lake Michigan rather than into it. This project began with the construction and improvement of the Illinois and Michigan Canal, and was completed with the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal that connects to the Illinois River, which flows into the Mississippi River.[41][42][43] In 1871, the Great Chicago Fire destroyed an area about 4 miles (6.4 km) long and 1-mile (1.6 km) wide, a large section of the city at the time.[44][45][46] Much of the city, including railroads and stockyards, survived intact,[47] and from the ruins of the previous wooden structures arose more modern constructions of steel and stone. These set a precedent for worldwide construction.[48][49] During its rebuilding period, Chicago constructed the world's first skyscraper in 1885, using steel-skeleton construction.[50][51] The city grew significantly in size and population by incorporating many neighboring townships between 1851 and 1920, with the largest annexation happening in 1889, with five townships joining the city, including the Hyde Park Township, which now comprises most of the South Side of Chicago and the far southeast of Chicago, and the Jefferson Township, which now makes up most of Chicago's Northwest Side.[52] The desire to join the city was driven by municipal services that the city could provide its residents. Chicago's flourishing economy attracted huge numbers of new immigrants from Europe and migrants from the Eastern United States. Of the total population in 1900, more than 77% were either foreign-born or born in the United States of foreign parentage. Germans, Irish, Poles, Swedes, and Czechs made up nearly two-thirds of the foreign-born population (by 1900, whites were 98.1% of the city's population).[53][54] Labor conflicts followed the industrial boom and the rapid expansion of the labor pool, including the Haymarket affair on May 4, 1886, and in 1894 the Pullman Strike. Anarchist and socialist groups played prominent roles in creating very large and highly organized labor actions. Concern for social problems among Chicago's immigrant poor led Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr to found Hull House in 1889.[55] Programs that were developed there became a model for the new field of social work.[56] During the 1870s and 1880s, Chicago attained national stature as the leader in the movement to improve public health. City laws and later, state laws that upgraded standards for the medical profession and fought urban epidemics of cholera, smallpox, and yellow fever were both passed and enforced. These laws became templates for public health reform in other cities and states.[57] The city established many large, well-landscaped municipal parks, which also included public sanitation facilities. The chief advocate for improving public health in Chicago was John H. Rauch, M.D. Rauch established a plan for Chicago's park system in 1866. He created Lincoln Park by closing a cemetery filled with shallow graves, and in 1867, in response to an outbreak of cholera he helped establish a new Chicago Board of Health. Ten years later, he became the secretary and then the president of the first Illinois State Board of Health, which carried out most of its activities in Chicago.[58] In the 1800s, Chicago became the nation's railroad hub, and by 1910 over 20 railroads operated passenger service out of six different downtown terminals.[59][60] In 1883, Chicago's railway managers needed a general time convention, so they developed the standardized system of North American time zones.[61] This system for telling time spread throughout the continent. In 1893, Chicago hosted the World's Columbian Exposition on former marshland at the present location of Jackson Park. The Exposition drew 27.5 million visitors, and is considered the most influential world's fair in history.[62][63] The University of Chicago, formerly at another location, moved to the same South Side location in 1892. The term "midway" for a fair or carnival referred originally to the Midway Plaisance, a strip of park land that still runs through the University of Chicago campus and connects the Washington and Jackson Parks.[64][65] 20th and 21st centuries Men outside a soup kitchen during the Great Depression (1931) 1900 to 1939 Aerial motion film photography of Chicago in 1914 as filmed by A. Roy Knabenshue During World War I and the 1920s there was a major expansion in industry. The availability of jobs attracted African Americans from the Southern United States. Between 1910 and 1930, the African American population of Chicago increased dramatically, from 44,103 to 233,903.[66] This Great Migration had an immense cultural impact, called the Chicago Black Renaissance, part of the New Negro Movement, in art, literature, and music.[67] Continuing racial tensions and violence, such as the Chicago Race Riot of 1919, also occurred.[68] The ratification of the 18th amendment to the Constitution in 1919 made the production and sale (including exportation) of alcoholic beverages illegal in the United States. This ushered in the beginning of what is known as the Gangster Era, a time that roughly spans from 1919 until 1933 when Prohibition was repealed. The 1920s saw gangsters, including Al Capone, Dion O'Banion, Bugs Moran and Tony Accardo battle law enforcement and each other on the streets of Chicago during the Prohibition era.[69] Chicago was the location of the infamous St. Valentine's Day Massacre in 1929, when Al Capone sent men to gun down members of a rival gang, North Side, led by Bugs Moran.[70] Chicago was the first American city to have a homosexual-rights organization. The organization, formed in 1924, was called the Society for Human Rights. It produced the first American publication for homosexuals, Friendship and Freedom. Police and political pressure caused the organization to disband.[71] The Great Depression brought unprecedented suffering to Chicago, in no small part due to the city's heavy reliance on heavy industry. Notably, industrial areas on the south side and neighborhoods lining both branches of the Chicago River were devastated; by 1933 over 50% of industrial jobs in the city had been lost, and unemployment rates amongst blacks and Mexicans in the city were over 40%. The Republican political machine in Chicago was utterly destroyed by the economic crisis, and every mayor since 1931 has been a Democrat.[72] From 1928 to 1933, the city witnessed a tax revolt, and the city was unable to meet payroll or provide relief efforts. The fiscal crisis was resolved by 1933, and at the same time, federal relief funding began to flow into Chicago.[72] Chicago was also a hotbed of labor activism, with Unemployed Councils contributing heavily in the early depression to create solidarity for the poor and demand relief, these organizations were created by socialist and communist groups. By 1935 the Workers Alliance of America begun organizing the poor, workers, the unemployed. In the spring of 1937 Republic Steel Works witnessed the Memorial Day massacre of 1937 in the neighborhood of East Side. In 1933, Chicago Mayor Anton Cermak was fatally wounded in Miami, Florida, during a failed assassination attempt on President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt. In 1933 and 1934, the city celebrated its centennial by hosting the Century of Progress International Exposition World's Fair.[73] The theme of the fair was technological innovation over the century since Chicago's founding.[74] 1940 to 1979 Boy from Chicago, 1941 The Chicago Picasso (1967) inspired a new era in urban public art. During World War II, the city of Chicago alone produced more steel than the United Kingdom every year from 1939 – 1945, and more than Nazi Germany from 1943 – 1945.[citation needed] Protesters in Grant Park outside the 1968 Democratic National Convention The Great Migration, which had been on pause due to the Depression, resumed at an even faster pace in the second wave, as hundreds of thousands of blacks from the South arrived in the city to work in the steel mills, railroads, and shipping yards.[75] On December 2, 1942, physicist Enrico Fermi conducted the world's first controlled nuclear reaction at the University of Chicago as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project. This led to the creation of the atomic bomb by the United States, which it used in World War II in 1945.[76] Mayor Richard J. Daley, a Democrat, was elected in 1955, in the era of machine politics. In 1956, the city conducted its last major expansion when it annexed the land under O'Hare airport, including a small portion of DuPage County.[77] By the 1960s, white residents in several neighborhoods left the city for the suburban areas – in many American cities, a process known as white flight – as Blacks continued to move beyond the Black Belt.[78] While home loan discriminatory redlining against blacks continued, the real estate industry practiced what became known as blockbusting, completely changing the racial composition of whole neighborhoods.[79] Structural changes in industry, such as globalization and job outsourcing, caused heavy job losses for lower-skilled workers. At its peak during the 1960s, some 250,000 workers were employed in the steel industry in Chicago, but the steel crisis of the 1970s and 1980s reduced this number to just 28,000 in 2015. In 1966, Martin Luther King Jr. and Albert Raby led the Chicago Freedom Movement, which culminated in agreements between Mayor Richard J. Daley and the movement leaders.[80] Two years later, the city hosted the tumultuous 1968 Democratic National Convention, which featured physical confrontations both inside and outside the convention hall, with anti-war protesters, journalists and bystanders being beaten by police.[81] Major construction projects, including the Sears Tower (now known as the Willis Tower, which in 1974 became the world's tallest building), University of Illinois at Chicago, McCormick Place, and O'Hare International Airport, were undertaken during Richard J. Daley's tenure.[82] In 1979, Jane Byrne, the city's first female mayor, was elected. She was notable for temporarily moving into the crime-ridden Cabrini-Green housing project and for leading Chicago's school system out of a financial crisis.[83] 1980 to present In 1983, Harold Washington became the first black mayor of Chicago. Washington's first term in office directed attention to poor and previously neglected minority neighborhoods. He was re‑elected in 1987 but died of a heart attack soon after.[84] Washington was succeeded by 6th ward Alderman Eugene Sawyer, who was elected by the Chicago City Council and served until a special election. Richard M. Daley, son of Richard J. Daley, was elected in 1989. His accomplishments included improvements to parks and creating incentives for sustainable development, as well as closing Meigs Field in the middle of the night and destroying the runways. After successfully running for re-election five times, and becoming Chicago's longest-serving mayor, Richard M. Daley declined to run for a seventh term.[85][86] In 1992, a construction accident near the Kinzie Street Bridge produced a breach connecting the Chicago River to a tunnel below, which was part of an abandoned freight tunnel system extending throughout the downtown Loop district. The tunnels filled with 250 million US gallons (1,000,000 m3) of water, affecting buildings throughout the district and forcing a shutdown of electrical power.[87] The area was shut down for three days and some buildings did not reopen for weeks; losses were estimated at $1.95 billion.[87] On February 23, 2011, former Illinois Congressman and White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel won the mayoral election.[88] Emanuel was sworn in as mayor on May 16, 2011, and won re-election in 2015.[89] Lori Lightfoot, the city's first African American woman mayor and its first openly LGBTQ Mayor, was elected to succeed Emanuel as mayor in 2019.[90] All three city-wide elective offices were held by women (and women of color) for the first time in Chicago history: in addition to Lightfoot, the City Clerk was Anna Valencia and City Treasurer, Melissa Conyears-Ervin.[91] On May 15th, 2023, Brandon Johnson assumed office as the 57th Mayor of Chicago. Geography Main article: Geography of Chicago Chicago skyline at sunset in October 2020, from near Fullerton Avenue looking south Topography Downtown and the North Side with beaches lining the waterfront A satellite image of Chicago Chicago is located in northeastern Illinois on the southwestern shores of freshwater Lake Michigan. It is the principal city in the Chicago metropolitan area, situated in both the Midwestern United States and the Great Lakes region. The city rests on a continental divide at the site of the Chicago Portage, connecting the Mississippi River and the Great Lakes watersheds. In addition to it lying beside Lake Michigan, two rivers—the Chicago River in downtown and the Calumet River in the industrial far South Side—flow either entirely or partially through the city.[92][93] Chicago's history and economy are closely tied to its proximity to Lake Michigan. While the Chicago River historically handled much of the region's waterborne cargo, today's huge lake freighters use the city's Lake Calumet Harbor on the South Side. The lake also provides another positive effect: moderating Chicago's climate, making waterfront neighborhoods slightly warmer in winter and cooler in summer.[94] When Chicago was founded in 1837, most of the early building was around the mouth of the Chicago River, as can be seen on a map of the city's original 58 blocks.[95] The overall grade of the city's central, built-up areas is relatively consistent with the natural flatness of its overall natural geography, generally exhibiting only slight differentiation otherwise. The average land elevation is 579 ft (176.5 m) above sea level. While measurements vary somewhat,[96] the lowest points are along the lake shore at 578 ft (176.2 m), while the highest point, at 672 ft (205 m), is the morainal ridge of Blue Island in the city's far south side.[97] While the Chicago Loop is the central business district, Chicago is also a city of neighborhoods. Lake Shore Drive runs adjacent to a large portion of Chicago's waterfront. Some of the parks along the waterfront include Lincoln Park, Grant Park, Burnham Park, and Jackson Park. There are 24 public beaches across 26 miles (42 km) of the waterfront.[98] Landfill extends into portions of the lake providing space for Navy Pier, Northerly Island, the Museum Campus, and large portions of the McCormick Place Convention Center. Most of the city's high-rise commercial and residential buildings are close to the waterfront. An informal name for the entire Chicago metropolitan area is "Chicagoland", which generally means the city and all its suburbs, though different organizations have slightly different definitions.[99][100][101] Communities See also: Community areas in Chicago and Neighborhoods in Chicago Community areas of Chicago Major sections of the city include the central business district, called The Loop, and the North, South, and West Sides.[102] The three sides of the city are represented on the Flag of Chicago by three horizontal white stripes.[103] The North Side is the most-densely-populated residential section of the city, and many high-rises are located on this side of the city along the lakefront.[104] The South Side is the largest section of the city, encompassing roughly 60% of the city's land area. The South Side contains most of the facilities of the Port of Chicago.[105] In the late-1920s, sociologists at the University of Chicago subdivided the city into 77 distinct community areas, which can further be subdivided into over 200 informally defined neighborhoods.[106][107] Streetscape Main article: Roads and expressways in Chicago Chicago's streets were laid out in a street grid that grew from the city's original townsite plot, which was bounded by Lake Michigan on the east, North Avenue on the north, Wood Street on the west, and 22nd Street on the south.[108] Streets following the Public Land Survey System section lines later became arterial streets in outlying sections. As new additions to the city were platted, city ordinance required them to be laid out with eight streets to the mile in one direction and sixteen in the other direction, about one street per 200 meters in one direction and one street per 100 meters in the other direction. The grid's regularity provided an efficient means of developing new real estate property. A scattering of diagonal streets, many of them originally Native American trails, also cross the city (Elston, Milwaukee, Ogden, Lincoln, etc.). Many additional diagonal streets were recommended in the Plan of Chicago, but only the extension of Ogden Avenue was ever constructed.[109] In 2016, Chicago was ranked the sixth-most walkable large city in the United States.[110] Many of the city's residential streets have a wide patch of grass or trees between the street and the sidewalk itself. This helps to keep pedestrians on the sidewalk further away from the street traffic. Chicago's Western Avenue is the longest continuous urban street in the world.[111] Other notable streets include Michigan Avenue, State Street, Oak, Rush, Clark Street, and Belmont Avenue. The City Beautiful movement inspired Chicago's boulevards and parkways.[112] Architecture Further information: Architecture of Chicago, List of tallest buildings in Chicago, and List of Chicago Landmarks The Chicago Building (1904–05) is a prime example of the Chicago School, displaying both variations of the Chicago window. The destruction caused by the Great Chicago Fire led to the largest building boom in the history of the nation. In 1885, the first steel-framed high-rise building, the Home Insurance Building, rose in the city as Chicago ushered in the skyscraper era,[51] which would then be followed by many other cities around the world.[113] Today, Chicago's skyline is among the world's tallest and densest.[114] Some of the United States' tallest towers are located in Chicago; Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower) is the second tallest building in the Western Hemisphere after One World Trade Center, and Trump International Hotel and Tower is the third tallest in the country.[115] The Loop's historic buildings include the Chicago Board of Trade Building, the Fine Arts Building, 35 East Wacker, and the Chicago Building, 860-880 Lake Shore Drive Apartments by Mies van der Rohe. Many other architects have left their impression on the Chicago skyline such as Daniel Burnham, Louis Sullivan, Charles B. Atwood, John Root, and Helmut Jahn.[116][117] The Merchandise Mart, once first on the list of largest buildings in the world, currently listed as 44th-largest (as of 9 September 2013), had its own zip code until 2008, and stands near the junction of the North and South branches of the Chicago River.[118] Presently, the four tallest buildings in the city are Willis Tower (formerly the Sears Tower, also a building with its own zip code), Trump International Hotel and Tower, the Aon Center (previously the Standard Oil Building), and the John Hancock Center. Industrial districts, such as some areas on the South Side, the areas along the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, and the Northwest Indiana area are clustered.[119] Chicago gave its name to the Chicago School and was home to the Prairie School, two movements in architecture.[120] Multiple kinds and scales of houses, townhouses, condominiums, and apartment buildings can be found throughout Chicago. Large swaths of the city's residential areas away from the lake are characterized by brick bungalows built from the early 20th century through the end of World War II. Chicago is also a prominent center of the Polish Cathedral style of church architecture. The Chicago suburb of Oak Park was home to famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright, who had designed The Robie House located near the University of Chicago.[121][122] A popular tourist activity is to take an architecture boat tour along the Chicago River.[123] Monuments and public art Replica of Daniel Chester French's Statue of The Republic at the site of the World's Columbian Exposition Main article: List of public art in Chicago Chicago is famous for its outdoor public art with donors establishing funding for such art as far back as Benjamin Ferguson's 1905 trust.[124] A number of Chicago's public art works are by modern figurative artists. Among these are Chagall's Four Seasons; the Chicago Picasso; Miro's Chicago; Calder's Flamingo; Oldenburg's Batcolumn; Moore's Large Interior Form, 1953-54, Man Enters the Cosmos and Nuclear Energy; Dubuffet's Monument with Standing Beast, Abakanowicz's Agora; and, Anish Kapoor's Cloud Gate which has become an icon of the city. Some events which shaped the city's history have also been memorialized by art works, including the Great Northern Migration (Saar) and the centennial of statehood for Illinois. Finally, two fountains near the Loop also function as monumental works of art: Plensa's Crown Fountain as well as Burnham and Bennett's Buckingham Fountain.[citation needed] Climate Main article: Climate of Chicago Chicago, Illinois Climate chart (explanation) J F M A M J J A S O N D   2.1  3218   1.9  3622   2.7  4731   3.6  5942   4.1  7052   4.1  8062   4  8568   4  8366   3.3  7558   3.2  6346   3.4  4935   2.6  3523 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F █ Precipitation totals in inches Metric conversion The Chicago River during the January 2014 cold wave The city lies within the typical hot-summer humid continental climate (Köppen: Dfa), and experiences four distinct seasons.[125][126][127] Summers are hot and humid, with frequent heat waves. The July daily average temperature is 75.9 °F (24.4 °C), with afternoon temperatures peaking at 85.0 °F (29.4 °C). In a normal summer, temperatures reach at least 90 °F (32 °C) on as many as 23 days, with lakefront locations staying cooler when winds blow off the lake. Winters are relatively cold and snowy. Blizzards do occur, such as in winter 2011.[128] There are many sunny but cold days. The normal winter high from December through March is about 36 °F (2 °C). January and February are the coldest months. A polar vortex in January 2019 nearly broke the city's cold record of −27 °F (−33 °C), which was set on January 20, 1985.[129][130][131] Measurable snowfall can continue through the first or second week of April.[132] Spring and autumn are mild, short seasons, typically with low humidity. Dew point temperatures in the summer range from an average of 55.7 °F (13.2 °C) in June to 61.7 °F (16.5 °C) in July.[133] They can reach nearly 80 °F (27 °C), such as during the July 2019 heat wave. The city lies within USDA plant hardiness zone 6a, transitioning to 5b in the suburbs.[134] According to the National Weather Service, Chicago's highest official temperature reading of 105 °F (41 °C) was recorded on July 24, 1934.[135] Midway Airport reached 109 °F (43 °C) one day prior and recorded a heat index of 125 °F (52 °C) during the 1995 heatwave.[136] The lowest official temperature of −27 °F (−33 °C) was recorded on January 20, 1985, at O'Hare Airport.[133][136] Most of the city's rainfall is brought by thunderstorms, averaging 38 a year. The region is prone to severe thunderstorms during the spring and summer which can produce large hail, damaging winds, and occasionally tornadoes.[137] Like other major cities, Chicago experiences an urban heat island, making the city and its suburbs milder than surrounding rural areas, especially at night and in winter. The proximity to Lake Michigan tends to keep the Chicago lakefront somewhat cooler in summer and less brutally cold in winter than inland parts of the city and suburbs away from the lake.[138] Northeast winds from wintertime cyclones departing south of the region sometimes bring the city lake-effect snow.[139] Climate data for Chicago (Midway Airport), 1991–2020 normals,[a] extremes 1928–present Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year Record high °F (°C) 67 (19) 75 (24) 86 (30) 92 (33) 102 (39) 107 (42) 109 (43) 104 (40) 102 (39) 94 (34) 81 (27) 72 (22) 109 (43) Mean maximum °F (°C) 53.4 (11.9) 57.9 (14.4) 72.0 (22.2) 81.5 (27.5) 89.2 (31.8) 93.9 (34.4) 96.0 (35.6) 94.2 (34.6) 90.8 (32.7) 82.8 (28.2) 68.0 (20.0) 57.5 (14.2) 97.1 (36.2) Average high °F (°C) 32.8 (0.4) 36.8 (2.7) 47.9 (8.8) 60.0 (15.6) 71.5 (21.9) 81.2 (27.3) 85.2 (29.6) 83.1 (28.4) 76.5 (24.7) 63.7 (17.6) 49.6 (9.8) 37.7 (3.2) 60.5 (15.8) Daily mean °F (°C) 26.2 (−3.2) 29.9 (−1.2) 39.9 (4.4) 50.9 (10.5) 61.9 (16.6) 71.9 (22.2) 76.7 (24.8) 75.0 (23.9) 67.8 (19.9) 55.3 (12.9) 42.4 (5.8) 31.5 (−0.3) 52.4 (11.3) Average low °F (°C) 19.5 (−6.9) 22.9 (−5.1) 32.0 (0.0) 41.7 (5.4) 52.4 (11.3) 62.7 (17.1) 68.1 (20.1) 66.9 (19.4) 59.2 (15.1) 46.8 (8.2) 35.2 (1.8) 25.3 (−3.7) 44.4 (6.9) Mean minimum °F (°C) −3 (−19) 3.4 (−15.9) 14.1 (−9.9) 28.2 (−2.1) 39.1 (3.9) 49.3 (9.6) 58.6 (14.8) 57.6 (14.2) 45.0 (7.2) 31.8 (−0.1) 19.7 (−6.8) 5.3 (−14.8) −6.5 (−21.4) Record low °F (°C) −25 (−32) −20 (−29) −7 (−22) 10 (−12) 28 (−2) 35 (2) 46 (8) 43 (6) 29 (−2) 20 (−7) −3 (−19) −20 (−29) −25 (−32) Average precipitation inches (mm) 2.30 (58) 2.12 (54) 2.66 (68) 4.15 (105) 4.75 (121) 4.53 (115) 4.02 (102) 4.10 (104) 3.33 (85) 3.86 (98) 2.73 (69) 2.33 (59) 40.88 (1,038) Average snowfall inches (cm) 12.5 (32) 10.1 (26) 5.7 (14) 1.0 (2.5) 0.0 (0.0) 0.0 (0.0) 0.0 (0.0) 0.0 (0.0) 0.0 (0.0) 0.1 (0.25) 1.5 (3.8) 7.9 (20) 38.8 (99) Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) 11.5 9.4 11.1 12.0 12.4 11.1 10.0 9.3 8.4 10.8 10.2 10.8 127.0 Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) 8.9 6.4 3.9 0.9 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.2 1.6 6.3 28.2 Average ultraviolet index 1 2 4 6 7 9 9 8 6 4 2 1 5 Source 1: NOAA[140][133][136], WRCC[141] Source 2: Weather Atlas (UV)[142] Climate data for Chicago (O'Hare Int'l Airport), 1991–2020 normals,[a] extremes 1871–present[b] Sunshine data for Chicago Time zone As in the rest of the state of Illinois, Chicago forms part of the Central Time Zone. The border with the Eastern Time Zone is located a short distance to the east, used in Michigan and certain parts of Indiana. Demographics Main article: Demographics of Chicago Historical population Census Pop. Note %± 1840 4,470 — 1850 29,963 570.3% 1860 112,172 274.4% 1870 298,977 166.5% 1880 503,185 68.3% 1890 1,099,850 118.6% 1900 1,698,575 54.4% 1910 2,185,283 28.7% 1920 2,701,705 23.6% 1930 3,376,438 25.0% 1940 3,396,808 0.6% 1950 3,620,962 6.6% 1960 3,550,404 −1.9% 1970 3,366,957 −5.2% 1980 3,005,072 −10.7% 1990 2,783,726 −7.4% 2000 2,896,016 4.0% 2010 2,695,598 −6.9% 2020 2,746,388 1.9% 2021 (est.) 2,696,555 −1.8% United States Census Bureau[148] 2010–2020[7] During its first hundred years, Chicago was one of the fastest-growing cities in the world. When founded in 1833, fewer than 200 people had settled on what was then the American frontier. By the time of its first census, seven years later, the population had reached over 4,000. In the forty years from 1850 to 1890, the city's population grew from slightly under 30,000 to over 1 million. At the end of the 19th century, Chicago was the fifth-largest city in the world,[149] and the largest of the cities that did not exist at the dawn of the century. Within sixty years of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, the population went from about 300,000 to over 3 million,[150] and reached its highest ever recorded population of 3.6 million for the 1950 census. From the last two decades of the 19th century, Chicago was the destination of waves of immigrants from Ireland, Southern, Central and Eastern Europe, including Italians, Jews, Russians, Poles, Greeks, Lithuanians, Bulgarians, Albanians, Romanians, Turkish, Croatians, Serbs, Bosnians, Montenegrins and Czechs.[151][152] To these ethnic groups, the basis of the city's industrial working class, were added an additional influx of African Americans from the American South—with Chicago's black population doubling between 1910 and 1920 and doubling again between 1920 and 1930.[151] Chicago has a significant Bosnian population, many of whom arrived in the 1990s and 2000s.[153] In the 1920s and 1930s, the great majority of African Americans moving to Chicago settled in a so‑called "Black Belt" on the city's South Side.[151] A large number of blacks also settled on the West Side. By 1930, two-thirds of Chicago's black population lived in sections of the city which were 90% black in racial composition.[151] Chicago's South Side emerged as United States second-largest urban black concentration, following New York's Harlem. In 1990, Chicago's South Side and the adjoining south suburbs constituted the largest black majority region in the entire United States.[151] Most of Chicago's foreign-born population were born in Mexico, Poland and India.[154] Chicago's population declined in the latter half of the 20th century, from over 3.6 million in 1950 down to under 2.7 million by 2010. By the time of the official census count in 1990, it was overtaken by Los Angeles as the United States' second largest city.[155] The city has seen a rise in population for the 2000 census and after a decrease in 2010, it rose again for the 2020 census.[156] According to U.S. census estimates as of July 2019, Chicago's largest racial or ethnic group is non-Hispanic White at 32.8% of the population, Blacks at 30.1% and the Hispanic population at 29.0% of the population.[157][158][159][160] Racial composition 2020[161] 2010[162] 1990[160] 1970[160] 1940[160] White (non-Hispanic) 31.4% 31.7% 37.9% 59.0%[c] 91.2% Hispanic or Latino 29.8% 28.9% 19.6% 7.4%[c] 0.5% Black or African American (non-Hispanic) 28.7% 32.3% 39.1% 32.7% 8.2% Asian (non-Hispanic) 6.9% 5.4% 3.7% 0.9% 0.1% Two or more races (non-Hispanic) 2.6% 1.3% n/a n/a n/a Ethnic origins in Chicago Map of racial distribution in Chicago, 2010 U.S. census. Each dot is 25 people: ⬤ White ⬤ Black ⬤ Asian ⬤ Hispanic ⬤ Other Chicago has the third-largest LGBT population in the United States. In 2018, the Chicago Department of Health, estimated 7.5% of the adult population, approximately 146,000 Chicagoans, were LGBTQ.[163] In 2015, roughly 4% of the population identified as LGBT.[164][165] Since the 2013 legalization of same-sex marriage in Illinois, over 10,000 same-sex couples have wed in Cook County, a majority of them in Chicago.[166][167] Chicago became a "de jure" sanctuary city in 2012 when Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the City Council passed the Welcoming City Ordinance.[168] According to the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey data estimates for 2008–2012, the median income for a household in the city was $47,408, and the median income for a family was $54,188. Male full-time workers had a median income of $47,074 versus $42,063 for females. About 18.3% of families and 22.1% of the population lived below the poverty line.[169] In 2018, Chicago ranked seventh globally for the highest number of ultra-high-net-worth residents with roughly 3,300 residents worth more than $30 million.[170] According to the 2008–2012 American Community Survey, the ancestral groups having 10,000 or more persons in Chicago were:[171] Ireland (137,799) Poland (134,032) Germany (120,328) Italy (77,967) China (66,978) American (37,118) UK (36,145) recent African (32,727) India (25,000) Russia (19,771) Arab (17,598) European (15,753) Sweden (15,151) Japan (15,142) Greece (15,129) France (except Basque) (11,410) Ukraine (11,104) West Indian (except Hispanic groups) (10,349) Persons identifying themselves in "Other groups" were classified at 1.72 million, and unclassified or not reported were approximately 153,000.[171] Religion Religion in Chicago (2014)[172][173]   Protestantism (35%)   Roman Catholicism (34%)   Eastern Orthodoxy (1%)   Jehovah's Witness (1%)   No religion (22%)   Judaism (3%)   Islam (2%)   Buddhism (1%)   Hinduism (1%) According to a 2014 study by the Pew Research Center, Christianity is the most prevalently practiced religion in Chicago (71%),[173] with the city being the fourth-most religious metropolis in the United States after Dallas, Atlanta and Houston.[173] Roman Catholicism and Protestantism are the largest branches (34% and 35% respectively), followed by Eastern Orthodoxy and Jehovah's Witnesses with 1% each.[172] Chicago also has a sizable non-Christian population. Non-Christian groups include Irreligious (22%), Judaism (3%), Islam (2%), Buddhism (1%) and Hinduism (1%).[172] Chicago is the headquarters of several religious denominations, including the Evangelical Covenant Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. It is the seat of several dioceses. The Fourth Presbyterian Church is one of the largest Presbyterian congregations in the United States based on memberships.[174] Since the 20th century Chicago has also been the headquarters of the Assyrian Church of the East.[175] In 2014 the Catholic Church was the largest individual Christian denomination (34%), with the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago being the largest Catholic jurisdiction. Evangelical Protestantism form the largest theological Protestant branch (16%), followed by Mainline Protestants (11%), and historically Black churches (8%). Among denominational Protestant branches, Baptists formed the largest group in Chicago (10%); followed by Nondenominational (5%); Lutherans (4%); and Pentecostals (3%).[172] Non-Christian faiths accounted for 7% of the religious population in 2014. Judaism has at least 261,000 adherents which is 3% of the population, making it the second largest religion.[176][172] A 2020 study estimated the total Jewish population of the Chicago metropolitan area, both religious and irreligious, at 319,600.[177] The first two Parliament of the World's Religions in 1893 and 1993 were held in Chicago.[178] Many international religious leaders have visited Chicago, including Mother Teresa, the Dalai Lama[179] and Pope John Paul II in 1979.[180] Economy Main article: Economy of Chicago See also: List of companies in the Chicago metropolitan area Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago The Chicago Board of Trade Building Chicago has the third-largest gross metropolitan product in the United States—about $670.5 billion according to September 2017 estimates.[181] The city has also been rated as having the most balanced economy in the United States, due to its high level of diversification.[182] The Chicago metropolitan area has the third-largest science and engineering work force of any metropolitan area in the nation.[183] Chicago was the base of commercial operations for industrialists John Crerar, John Whitfield Bunn, Richard Teller Crane, Marshall Field, John Farwell, Julius Rosenwald and many other commercial visionaries who laid the foundation for Midwestern and global industry. Chicago is a major world financial center, with the second-largest central business district in the United States.[184] The city is the seat of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, the Bank's Seventh District. The city has major financial and futures exchanges, including the Chicago Stock Exchange, the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (the "Merc"), which is owned, along with the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), by Chicago's CME Group. In 2017, Chicago exchanges traded 4.7 billion derivatives with a face value of over one quadrillion dollars. Chase Bank has its commercial and retail banking headquarters in Chicago's Chase Tower.[185] Academically, Chicago has been influential through the Chicago school of economics, which fielded some 12 Nobel Prize winners. The city and its surrounding metropolitan area contain the third-largest labor pool in the United States with about 4.63 million workers.[186] Illinois is home to 66 Fortune 1000 companies, including those in Chicago.[187] The city of Chicago also hosts 12 Fortune Global 500 companies and 17 Financial Times 500 companies. The city claims three Dow 30 companies: aerospace giant Boeing, which moved its headquarters from Seattle to the Chicago Loop in 2001,[188] McDonald's and Walgreens Boots Alliance.[189] For six consecutive years from 2013 through 2018, Chicago was ranked the nation's top metropolitan area for corporate relocations.[190] However, three Fortune 500 companies left Chicago in 2022, leaving the city with 35, still second to New York City.[191] Manufacturing, printing, publishing, and food processing also play major roles in the city's economy. Several medical products and services companies are headquartered in the Chicago area, including Baxter International, Boeing, Abbott Laboratories, and the Healthcare division of General Electric. Prominent food companies based in Chicago include the world headquarters of Conagra, Ferrara Candy Company, Kraft Heinz, McDonald's, Mondelez International, and Quaker Oats.[citation needed] Chicago has been a hub of the retail sector since its early development, with Montgomery Ward, Sears, and Marshall Field's. Today the Chicago metropolitan area is the headquarters of several retailers, including Walgreens, Sears, Ace Hardware, Claire's, ULTA Beauty and Crate & Barrel.[citation needed] Late in the 19th century, Chicago was part of the bicycle craze, with the Western Wheel Company, which introduced stamping to the production process and significantly reduced costs,[192] while early in the 20th century, the city was part of the automobile revolution, hosting the Brass Era car builder Bugmobile, which was founded there in 1907.[193] Chicago was also the site of the Schwinn Bicycle Company. Chicago is a major world convention destination. The city's main convention center is McCormick Place. With its four interconnected buildings, it is the largest convention center in the nation and third-largest in the world.[194] Chicago also ranks third in the U.S. (behind Las Vegas and Orlando) in number of conventions hosted annually.[195] Chicago's minimum wage for non-tipped employees is one of the highest in the nation and reached $15 in 2021.[196][197] Culture and contemporary life Further information: Culture of Chicago, List of people from Chicago, and List of museums and cultural institutions in Chicago The National Hellenic Museum in Greektown is one of several ethnic museums comprising the Chicago Cultural Alliance. Andy's Jazz Club in River North, a staple of the Chicago jazz scene since the 1950s The city's waterfront location and nightlife has attracted residents and tourists alike. Over a third of the city population is concentrated in the lakefront neighborhoods from Rogers Park in the north to South Shore in the south.[198] The city has many upscale dining establishments as well as many ethnic restaurant districts. These districts include the Mexican American neighborhoods, such as Pilsen along 18th street, and La Villita along 26th Street; the Puerto Rican enclave of Paseo Boricua in the Humboldt Park neighborhood; Greektown, along South Halsted Street, immediately west of downtown;[199] Little Italy, along Taylor Street; Chinatown in Armour Square; Polish Patches in West Town; Little Seoul in Albany Park around Lawrence Avenue; Little Vietnam near Broadway in Uptown; and the Desi area, along Devon Avenue in West Ridge.[200] Downtown is the center of Chicago's financial, cultural, governmental and commercial institutions and the site of Grant Park and many of the city's skyscrapers. Many of the city's financial institutions, such as the CBOT and the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, are located within a section of downtown called "The Loop", which is an eight-block by five-block area of city streets that is encircled by elevated rail tracks. The term "The Loop" is largely used by locals to refer to the entire downtown area as well. The central area includes the Near North Side, the Near South Side, and the Near West Side, as well as the Loop. These areas contribute famous skyscrapers, abundant restaurants, shopping, museums, a stadium for the Chicago Bears, convention facilities, parkland, and beaches.[citation needed] Lincoln Park contains the Lincoln Park Zoo and the Lincoln Park Conservatory. The River North Gallery District features the nation's largest concentration of contemporary art galleries outside of New York City.[citation needed] Lakeview is home to Boystown, the city's large LGBT nightlife and culture center. The Chicago Pride Parade, held the last Sunday in June, is one of the world's largest with over a million people in attendance.[201] North Halsted Street is the main thoroughfare of Boystown.[202] The South Side neighborhood of Hyde Park is the home of former US President Barack Obama. It also contains the University of Chicago, ranked one of the world's top ten universities,[203] and the Museum of Science and Industry. The 6-mile (9.7 km) long Burnham Park stretches along the waterfront of the South Side. Two of the city's largest parks are also located on this side of the city: Jackson Park, bordering the waterfront, hosted the World's Columbian Exposition in 1893, and is the site of the aforementioned museum; and slightly west sits Washington Park. The two parks themselves are connected by a wide strip of parkland called the Midway Plaisance, running adjacent to the University of Chicago. The South Side hosts one of the city's largest parades, the annual African American Bud Billiken Parade and Picnic, which travels through Bronzeville to Washington Park. Ford Motor Company has an automobile assembly plant on the South Side in Hegewisch, and most of the facilities of the Port of Chicago are also on the South Side.[citation needed] The West Side holds the Garfield Park Conservatory, one of the largest collections of tropical plants in any U.S. city. Prominent Latino cultural attractions found here include Humboldt Park's Institute of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture and the annual Puerto Rican People's Parade, as well as the National Museum of Mexican Art and St. Adalbert's Church in Pilsen. The Near West Side holds the University of Illinois at Chicago and was once home to Oprah Winfrey's Harpo Studios, the site of which has been rebuilt as the global headquarters of McDonald's.[citation needed] The city's distinctive accent, made famous by its use in classic films like The Blues Brothers and television programs like the Saturday Night Live skit "Bill Swerski's Superfans", is an advanced form of Inland Northern American English. This dialect can also be found in other cities bordering the Great Lakes such as Cleveland, Milwaukee, Detroit, and Rochester, New York, and most prominently features a rearrangement of certain vowel sounds, such as the short 'a' sound as in "cat", which can sound more like "kyet" to outsiders. The accent remains well associated with the city.[204] Entertainment and the arts See also: Theater in Chicago, Visual arts of Chicago, and Music of Chicago The Chicago Theatre The spire of the Copernicus Center is modeled on the Royal Castle in Warsaw. Jay Pritzker Pavilion at night Renowned Chicago theater companies include the Goodman Theatre in the Loop; the Steppenwolf Theatre Company and Victory Gardens Theater in Lincoln Park; and the Chicago Shakespeare Theater at Navy Pier. Broadway In Chicago offers Broadway-style entertainment at five theaters: the Nederlander Theatre, CIBC Theatre, Cadillac Palace Theatre, Auditorium Building of Roosevelt University, and Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place. Polish language productions for Chicago's large Polish speaking population can be seen at the historic Gateway Theatre in Jefferson Park. Since 1968, the Joseph Jefferson Awards are given annually to acknowledge excellence in theater in the Chicago area. Chicago's theater community spawned modern improvisational theater, and includes the prominent groups The Second City and I.O. (formerly ImprovOlympic).[citation needed] The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) performs at Symphony Center, and is recognized as one of the best orchestras in the world.[205] Also performing regularly at Symphony Center is the Chicago Sinfonietta, a more diverse and multicultural counterpart to the CSO. In the summer, many outdoor concerts are given in Grant Park and Millennium Park. Ravinia Festival, located 25 miles (40 km) north of Chicago, is the summer home of the CSO, and is a favorite destination for many Chicagoans. The Civic Opera House is home to the Lyric Opera of Chicago.[citation needed] The Lithuanian Opera Company of Chicago was founded by Lithuanian Chicagoans in 1956,[206] and presents operas in Lithuanian. The Joffrey Ballet and Chicago Festival Ballet perform in various venues, including the Harris Theater in Millennium Park. Chicago has several other contemporary and jazz dance troupes, such as the Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and Chicago Dance Crash.[citation needed] Other live-music genre which are part of the city's cultural heritage include Chicago blues, Chicago soul, jazz, and gospel. The city is the birthplace of house music (a popular form of electronic dance music) and industrial music, and is the site of an influential hip hop scene. In the 1980s and 90s, the city was the global center for house and industrial music, two forms of music created in Chicago, as well as being popular for alternative rock, punk, and new wave. The city has been a center for rave culture, since the 1980s. A flourishing independent rock music culture brought forth Chicago indie. Annual festivals feature various acts, such as Lollapalooza and the Pitchfork Music Festival.[citation needed] Lollapalooza originated in Chicago in 1991 and at first travelled to many cities, but as of 2005 its home has been Chicago.[207] A 2007 report on the Chicago music industry by the University of Chicago Cultural Policy Center ranked Chicago third among metropolitan U.S. areas in "size of music industry" and fourth among all U.S. cities in "number of concerts and performances".[208] Chicago has a distinctive fine art tradition. For much of the twentieth century, it nurtured a strong style of figurative surrealism, as in the works of Ivan Albright and Ed Paschke. In 1968 and 1969, members of the Chicago Imagists, such as Roger Brown, Leon Golub, Robert Lostutter, Jim Nutt, and Barbara Rossi produced bizarre representational paintings. Henry Darger is one of the most celebrated figures of outsider art.[209] Tourism Main article: Tourism in Chicago Ferries offer sightseeing tours and water-taxi transportation along the Chicago River and Lake Michigan. Aerial view of Navy Pier at night Magnificent Mile hosts numerous upscale stores and landmarks, including the Chicago Water Tower. In 2014, Chicago attracted 50.17 million domestic leisure travelers, 11.09 million domestic business travelers and 1.308 million overseas visitors.[210] These visitors contributed more than US$13.7 billion to Chicago's economy.[210] Upscale shopping along the Magnificent Mile and State Street, thousands of restaurants, as well as Chicago's eminent architecture, continue to draw tourists. The city is the United States' third-largest convention destination. A 2017 study by Walk Score ranked Chicago the sixth-most walkable of fifty largest cities in the United States.[211] Most conventions are held at McCormick Place, just south of Soldier Field. Navy Pier, located just east of Streeterville, is 3,000 ft (910 m) long and houses retail stores, restaurants, museums, exhibition halls and auditoriums. Chicago was the first city in the world to ever erect a ferris wheel. The Willis Tower (formerly named Sears Tower) is a popular destination for tourists.[212] Museums Among the city's museums are the Adler Planetarium & Astronomy Museum, the Field Museum of Natural History, and the Shedd Aquarium. The Museum Campus joins the southern section of Grant Park, which includes the renowned Art Institute of Chicago. Buckingham Fountain anchors the downtown park along the lakefront. The University of Chicago's Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures, West Asia & North Africa has an extensive collection of ancient Egyptian and Near Eastern archaeological artifacts. Other museums and galleries in Chicago include the Chicago History Museum, the Driehaus Museum, the DuSable Museum of African American History, the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, the Polish Museum of America, the Museum of Broadcast Communications, the Pritzker Military Library, the Chicago Architecture Foundation, and the Museum of Science and Industry.[citation needed] Cuisine See also: Culture of Chicago § Food and drink, Chicago farmers' markets, and List of Michelin starred restaurants in Chicago Chicago-style deep-dish pizza A Polish market in Chicago Chicago lays claim to a large number of regional specialties that reflect the city's ethnic and working-class roots. Included among these are its nationally renowned deep-dish pizza; this style is said to have originated at Pizzeria Uno.[213] The Chicago-style thin crust is also popular in the city.[214] Certain Chicago pizza favorites include Lou Malnati's and Giordano's.[215] The Chicago-style hot dog, typically an all-beef hot dog, is loaded with an array of toppings that often includes pickle relish, yellow mustard, pickled sport peppers, tomato wedges, dill pickle spear and topped off with celery salt on a poppy seed bun.[216] Enthusiasts of the Chicago-style hot dog frown upon the use of ketchup as a garnish, but may prefer to add giardiniera.[217][218][219] A distinctly Chicago sandwich, the Italian beef sandwich is thinly sliced beef simmered in au jus and served on an Italian roll with sweet peppers or spicy giardiniera. A popular modification is the Combo—an Italian beef sandwich with the addition of an Italian sausage. The Maxwell Street Polish is a grilled or deep-fried kielbasa—on a hot dog roll, topped with grilled onions, yellow mustard, and hot sport peppers.[220] Chicken Vesuvio is roasted bone-in chicken cooked in oil and garlic next to garlicky oven-roasted potato wedges and a sprinkling of green peas. The Puerto Rican-influenced jibarito is a sandwich made with flattened, fried green plantains instead of bread. The mother-in-law is a tamale topped with chili and served on a hot dog bun.[221] The tradition of serving the Greek dish saganaki while aflame has its origins in Chicago's Greek community.[222] The appetizer, which consists of a square of fried cheese, is doused with Metaxa and flambéed table-side.[223] Chicago-style barbecue features hardwood smoked rib tips and hot links which were traditionally cooked in an aquarium smoker, a Chicago invention.[224] Annual festivals feature various Chicago signature dishes, such as Taste of Chicago and the Chicago Food Truck Festival.[225] One of the world's most decorated restaurants and a recipient of three Michelin stars, Alinea is located in Chicago. Well-known chefs who have had restaurants in Chicago include: Charlie Trotter, Rick Tramonto, Grant Achatz, and Rick Bayless. In 2003, Robb Report named Chicago the country's "most exceptional dining destination".[226] Literature Further information: Chicago literature Carl Sandburg's most famous description of the city is as "Hog Butcher for the World / Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat / Player with Railroads and the Nation's Freight Handler, / Stormy, Husky, Brawling, City of the Big Shoulders." Chicago literature finds its roots in the city's tradition of lucid, direct journalism, lending to a strong tradition of social realism. In the Encyclopedia of Chicago, Northwestern University Professor Bill Savage describes Chicago fiction as prose which tries to "capture the essence of the city, its spaces and its people". The challenge for early writers was that Chicago was a frontier outpost that transformed into a global metropolis in the span of two generations. Narrative fiction of that time, much of it in the style of "high-flown romance" and "genteel realism", needed a new approach to describe the urban social, political, and economic conditions of Chicago.[227] Nonetheless, Chicagoans worked hard to create a literary tradition that would stand the test of time,[228] and create a "city of feeling" out of concrete, steel, vast lake, and open prairie.[229] Much notable Chicago fiction focuses on the city itself, with social criticism keeping exultation in check. At least three short periods in the history of Chicago have had a lasting influence on American literature.[230] These include from the time of the Great Chicago Fire to about 1900, what became known as the Chicago Literary Renaissance in the 1910s and early 1920s, and the period of the Great Depression through the 1940s. What would become the influential Poetry magazine was founded in 1912 by Harriet Monroe, who was working as an art critic for the Chicago Tribune. The magazine discovered such poets as Gwendolyn Brooks, James Merrill, and John Ashbery.[231] T. S. Eliot's first professionally published poem, "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock", was first published by Poetry. Contributors have included Ezra Pound, William Butler Yeats, William Carlos Williams, Langston Hughes, and Carl Sandburg, among others. The magazine was instrumental in launching the Imagist and Objectivist poetic movements. From the 1950s through 1970s, American poetry continued to evolve in Chicago.[232] In the 1980s, a modern form of poetry performance began in Chicago, the poetry slam.[233] Sports Main article: Sports in Chicago Top: Soldier Field; Bottom: Wrigley Field Top: United Center; Bottom: Guaranteed Rate Field The city has two Major League Baseball (MLB) teams: the Chicago Cubs of the National League play in Wrigley Field on the North Side; and the Chicago White Sox of the American League play in Guaranteed Rate Field on the South Side. The two teams have faced each other in a World Series only once, in 1906.[citation needed] The Cubs are the oldest Major League Baseball team to have never changed their city;[234] they have played in Chicago since 1871.[235] They had the dubious honor of having the longest championship drought in American professional sports, failing to win a World Series between 1908 and 2016. The White Sox have played on the South Side continuously since 1901. They have won three World Series titles (1906, 1917, 2005) and six American League pennants, including the first in 1901. The Chicago Bears, one of the last two remaining charter members of the National Football League (NFL), have won nine NFL Championships, including the 1985 Super Bowl XX. The Bears play their home games at Soldier Field. The Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA) is one of the most recognized basketball teams in the world.[236] During the 1990s, with Michael Jordan leading them, the Bulls won six NBA championships in eight seasons.[237][238] The Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL) began play in 1926, and are one of the "Original Six" teams of the NHL. The Blackhawks have won six Stanley Cups, including in 2010, 2013, and 2015. Both the Bulls and the Blackhawks play at the United Center.[citation needed] Major league professional teams in Chicago (ranked by attendance) Club League Sport Venue Attendance Founded Championships Chicago Bears NFL Football Soldier Field 61,142 1919 9 Championships (1 Super Bowl) Chicago Cubs MLB Baseball Wrigley Field 41,649 1870 3 World Series Chicago White Sox MLB Baseball Guaranteed Rate Field 40,615 1900 3 World Series Chicago Blackhawks NHL Ice hockey United Center 21,653 1926 6 Stanley Cups Chicago Bulls NBA Basketball 20,776 1966 6 NBA Championships Chicago Fire MLS Soccer Soldier Field 17,383 1997 1 MLS Cup, 1 Supporters Shield Chicago Sky WNBA Basketball Wintrust Arena 10,387 2006 1 WNBA Championships Chicago Half Marathon on Lake Shore Drive on the South Side Chicago Fire FC is a member of Major League Soccer (MLS) and plays at Soldier Field. The Fire have won one league title and four U.S. Open Cups, since their founding in 1997. In 1994, the United States hosted a successful FIFA World Cup with games played at Soldier Field.[citation needed] The Chicago Sky is a professional basketball team playing in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). They play home games at the Wintrust Arena. The team was founded before the 2006 WNBA season began.[239] The Chicago Marathon has been held each year since 1977 except for 1987, when a half marathon was run in its place. The Chicago Marathon is one of six World Marathon Majors.[240] Five area colleges play in Division I conferences: two from major conferences—the DePaul Blue Demons (Big East Conference) and the Northwestern Wildcats (Big Ten Conference)—and three from other D1 conferences—the Chicago State Cougars (Western Athletic Conference); the Loyola Ramblers (Missouri Valley Conference); and the UIC Flames (Horizon League).[241] Chicago has also entered into esports with the creation of the Chicago Huntsmen, a professional Call of Duty team that participates within the CDL.[citation needed] Parks and greenspace Main articles: Parks in Chicago, Chicago Boulevard System, and Cook County Forest Preserves Portage Park on the Northwest Side Washington Square Park on the Near North Side When Chicago was incorporated in 1837, it chose the motto Urbs in Horto, a Latin phrase which means "City in a Garden". Today, the Chicago Park District consists of more than 570 parks with over 8,000 acres (3,200 ha) of municipal parkland. There are 31 sand beaches, a plethora of museums, two world-class conservatories, and 50 nature areas.[242] Lincoln Park, the largest of the city's parks, covers 1,200 acres (490 ha) and has over 20 million visitors each year, making it third in the number of visitors after Central Park in New York City, and the National Mall and Memorial Parks in Washington, D.C.[243] There is a historic boulevard system,[244] a network of wide, tree-lined boulevards which connect a number of Chicago parks.[245] The boulevards and the parks were authorized by the Illinois legislature in 1869.[246] A number of Chicago neighborhoods emerged along these roadways in the 19th century.[245] The building of the boulevard system continued intermittently until 1942. It includes nineteen boulevards, eight parks, and six squares, along twenty-six miles of interconnected streets.[247] The Chicago Park Boulevard System Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2018.[248][249] With berths for more than 6,000 boats, the Chicago Park District operates the nation's largest municipal harbor system.[250] In addition to ongoing beautification and renewal projects for the existing parks, a number of new parks have been added in recent years, such as the Ping Tom Memorial Park in Chinatown, DuSable Park on the Near North Side, and most notably, Millennium Park, which is in the northwestern corner of one of Chicago's oldest parks, Grant Park in the Chicago Loop.[citation needed] The wealth of greenspace afforded by Chicago's parks is further augmented by the Cook County Forest Preserves, a network of open spaces containing forest, prairie, wetland, streams, and lakes that are set aside as natural areas which lie along the city's outskirts,[251] including both the Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe and the Brookfield Zoo in Brookfield.[252] Washington Park is also one of the city's biggest parks; covering nearly 400 acres (160 ha). The park is listed on the National Register of Historic Places listings in South Side Chicago.[253] Law and government Government Main article: Government of Chicago Daley Plaza with Picasso statue, City Hall in background. At right, the Daley Plaza Building contains the state law courts. The government of the City of Chicago is divided into executive and legislative branches. The mayor of Chicago is the chief executive, elected by general election for a term of four years, with no term limits. The current mayor is Brandon Johnson. The mayor appoints commissioners and other officials who oversee the various departments. As well as the mayor, Chicago's clerk and treasurer are also elected citywide. The City Council is the legislative branch and is made up of 50 aldermen, one elected from each ward in the city.[254] The council takes official action through the passage of ordinances and resolutions and approves the city budget.[255] The Chicago Police Department provides law enforcement and the Chicago Fire Department provides fire suppression and emergency medical services for the city and its residents. Civil and criminal law cases are heard in the Cook County Circuit Court of the State of Illinois court system, or in the Northern District of Illinois, in the federal system. In the state court, the public prosecutor is the Illinois state's attorney; in the Federal court it is the United States attorney. Politics Main article: Political history of Chicago Presidential election results in Chicago[256] Year Democratic Republican Others 2020 82.5% 944,735 15.8% 181,234 1.6% 18,772 2016 82.9% 912,945 12.3% 135,320 4.8% 53,262 During much of the last half of the 19th century, Chicago's politics were dominated by a growing Democratic Party organization. During the 1880s and 1890s, Chicago had a powerful radical tradition with large and highly organized socialist, anarchist and labor organizations.[257] For much of the 20th century, Chicago has been among the largest and most reliable Democratic strongholds in the United States; with Chicago's Democratic vote the state of Illinois has been "solid blue" in presidential elections since 1992. Even before then, it was not unheard of for Republican presidential candidates to win handily in downstate Illinois, only to lose statewide due to large Democratic margins in Chicago. The citizens of Chicago have not elected a Republican mayor since 1927, when William Thompson was voted into office. The strength of the party in the city is partly a consequence of Illinois state politics, where the Republicans have come to represent rural and farm concerns while the Democrats support urban issues such as Chicago's public school funding.[citation needed] Chicago contains less than 25% of the state's population, but it is split between eight of Illinois' 17 districts in the United States House of Representatives. All eight of the city's representatives are Democrats; only two Republicans have represented a significant portion of the city since 1973, for one term each: Robert P. Hanrahan from 1973 to 1975, and Michael Patrick Flanagan from 1995 to 1997.[citation needed] Machine politics persisted in Chicago after the decline of similar machines in other large U.S. cities.[258] During much of that time, the city administration found opposition mainly from a liberal "independent" faction of the Democratic Party. The independents finally gained control of city government in 1983 with the election of Harold Washington (in office 1983–1987). From 1989 until May 16, 2011, Chicago was under the leadership of its longest-serving mayor, Richard M. Daley, the son of Richard J. Daley. Because of the dominance of the Democratic Party in Chicago, the Democratic primary vote held in the spring is generally more significant than the general elections in November for U.S. House and Illinois State seats. The aldermanic, mayoral, and other city offices are filled through nonpartisan elections with runoffs as needed.[259] The city is home of former United States President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama; Barack Obama was formerly a state legislator representing Chicago and later a US senator. The Obamas' residence is located near the University of Chicago in Kenwood on the city's south side.[260] Crime Main articles: Crime in Chicago and Timeline of organized crime in Chicago Chicago Police Department SUV, 2011 Chicago's crime rate in 2020 was 3,926 per 100,000 people.[261] Chicago experienced major rises in violent crime in the 1920s, in the late 1960s, and in the 2020s.[262][263] Chicago's biggest criminal justice challenges have changed little over the last 50 years, and statistically reside with homicide, armed robbery, gang violence, and aggravated battery. Chicago has attracted attention for a high murder rate and perceived crime rate compared to other major cities like New York and Los Angeles. However, while it has a large absolute number of crimes due to its size, Chicago is not among the top-25 most violent cities in the United States.[264][265] Murder rates in Chicago vary greatly depending on the neighborhood in question.[266] The neighborhoods of Englewood on the South Side, and Austin on the West side, for example, have homicide rates that are ten times higher than other parts of the city.[267] Chicago has an estimated population of over 100,000 active gang members from nearly 60 factions.[268][269] According to reports in 2013, "most of Chicago's violent crime comes from gangs trying to maintain control of drug-selling territories",[270] and is specifically related to the activities of the Sinaloa Cartel, which is active in several American cities.[271] Violent crime rates vary significantly by area of the city, with more economically developed areas having low rates, but other sections have much higher rates of crime.[270] In 2013, the violent crime rate was 910 per 100,000 people;[272] the murder rate was 10.4 – while high crime districts saw 38.9, low crime districts saw 2.5 murders per 100,000.[273] Chicago has a long history of public corruption that regularly draws the attention of federal law enforcement and federal prosecutors.[274] From 2012 to 2019, 33 Chicago aldermen were convicted on corruption charges, roughly one third of those elected in the time period. A report from the Office of the Legislative Inspector General noted that over half of Chicago's elected alderman took illegal campaign contributions in 2013.[275] Most corruption cases in Chicago are prosecuted by the US Attorney's office, as legal jurisdiction makes most offenses punishable as a federal crime.[276] Education Main article: Chicago Public Schools When it was opened in 1991, the central Harold Washington Library appeared in Guinness World Records as the largest municipal public library building in the world. Schools and libraries Chicago Public Schools (CPS) is the governing body of the school district that contains over 600 public elementary and high schools citywide, including several selective-admission magnet schools. There are eleven selective enrollment high schools in the Chicago Public Schools,[277] designed to meet the needs of Chicago's most academically advanced students. These schools offer a rigorous curriculum with mainly honors and Advanced Placement (AP) courses.[278] Walter Payton College Prep High School is ranked number one in the city of Chicago and the state of Illinois.[279] Chicago high school rankings are determined by the average test scores on state achievement tests.[280] The district, with an enrollment exceeding 400,545 students (2013–2014 20th Day Enrollment), is the third-largest in the U.S.[281] On September 10, 2012, teachers for the Chicago Teachers Union went on strike for the first time since 1987 over pay, resources and other issues.[282] According to data compiled in 2014, Chicago's "choice system", where students who test or apply and may attend one of a number of public high schools (there are about 130), sorts students of different achievement levels into different schools (high performing, middle performing, and low performing schools).[283] Chicago has a network of Lutheran schools,[284] and several private schools are run by other denominations and faiths, such as the Ida Crown Jewish Academy in West Ridge. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago operates Catholic schools, that include Jesuit preparatory schools and others. A number of private schools are completely secular. There are also the private Chicago Academy for the Arts, a high school focused on six different categories of the arts and the public Chicago High School for the Arts, a high school focused on five categories (visual arts, theatre, musical theatre, dance, and music) of the arts.[285] The Chicago Public Library system operates 3 regional libraries and 77 neighbourhood branches, including the central library.[286] Colleges and universities For a more comprehensive list, see List of colleges and universities in Chicago. The University of Chicago, as seen from the Midway Plaisance Since the 1850s, Chicago has been a world center of higher education and research with several universities. These institutions consistently rank among the top "National Universities" in the United States, as determined by U.S. News & World Report.[citation needed] Highly regarded universities in Chicago and the surrounding area are: the University of Chicago; Northwestern University; Illinois Institute of Technology; Loyola University Chicago; DePaul University; Columbia College Chicago and University of Illinois at Chicago. Other notable schools include: Chicago State University; the School of the Art Institute of Chicago; East–West University; National Louis University; North Park University; Northeastern Illinois University; Robert Morris University Illinois; Roosevelt University; Saint Xavier University; Rush University; and Shimer College.[287] William Rainey Harper, the first president of the University of Chicago, was instrumental in the creation of the junior college concept, establishing nearby Joliet Junior College as the first in the nation in 1901.[288] His legacy continues with the multiple community colleges in the Chicago proper, including the seven City Colleges of Chicago: Richard J. Daley College, Kennedy–King College, Malcolm X College, Olive–Harvey College, Truman College, Harold Washington College and Wilbur Wright College, in addition to the privately held MacCormac College.[citation needed] Chicago also has a high concentration of post-baccalaureate institutions, graduate schools, seminaries, and theological schools, such as the Adler School of Professional Psychology, The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, the Erikson Institute, The Institute for Clinical Social Work, the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, the Catholic Theological Union, the Moody Bible Institute, the John Marshall Law School and the University of Chicago Divinity School.[citation needed] Media Further information: Media in Chicago and Chicago International Film Festival WGN began in the early days of radio and developed into a multi-platform broadcaster, including a cable television super-station. Chicago was home of The Oprah Winfrey Show from 1986 until 2011 and other Harpo Production operations until 2015. Television The Chicago metropolitan area is the third-largest media market in North America, after New York City and Los Angeles and a major media hub.[289] Each of the big four U.S. television networks, CBS, ABC, NBC and Fox, directly owns and operates a high-definition television station in Chicago (WBBM 2, WLS 7, WMAQ 5 and WFLD 32, respectively). Former CW affiliate WGN-TV 9, which was owned from its inception by Tribune Broadcasting (now owned by the Nexstar Media Group since 2019), is carried with some programming differences, as "WGN America" on cable and satellite TV nationwide and in parts of the Caribbean. WGN America eventually became NewsNation in 2021. Chicago has also been the home of several prominent talk shows, including The Oprah Winfrey Show, Steve Harvey Show, The Rosie Show, The Jerry Springer Show, The Phil Donahue Show, The Jenny Jones Show, and more. The city also has one PBS member station (its second: WYCC 20, removed its affiliation with PBS in 2017[290]): WTTW 11, producer of shows such as Sneak Previews, The Frugal Gourmet, Lamb Chop's Play-Along and The McLaughlin Group. As of 2018, Windy City Live is Chicago's only daytime talk show, which is hosted by Val Warner and Ryan Chiaverini at ABC7 Studios with a live weekday audience. Since 1999, Judge Mathis also films his syndicated arbitration-based reality court show at the NBC Tower. Beginning in January 2019, Newsy began producing 12 of its 14 hours of live news programming per day from its new facility in Chicago.[citation needed] Newspapers Two major daily newspapers are published in Chicago: the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times, with the Tribune having the larger circulation. There are also several regional and special-interest newspapers and magazines, such as Chicago, the Dziennik Związkowy (Polish Daily News), Draugas (the Lithuanian daily newspaper), the Chicago Reader, the SouthtownStar, the Chicago Defender, the Daily Herald, Newcity,[291][292] StreetWise and the Windy City Times. The entertainment and cultural magazine Time Out Chicago and GRAB magazine are also published in the city, as well as local music magazine Chicago Innerview. In addition, Chicago is the home of satirical national news outlet, The Onion, as well as its sister pop-culture publication, The A.V. Club.[293] Movies and filming Main articles: List of movies set in Chicago and List of television shows set in Chicago Radio This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Chicago has five 50,000 watt AM radio stations: the CBS Radio-owned WBBM and WSCR; the Tribune Broadcasting-owned WGN; the Cumulus Media-owned WLS; and the ESPN Radio-owned WMVP. Chicago is also home to a number of national radio shows, including Beyond the Beltway with Bruce DuMont on Sunday evenings.[citation needed] Chicago Public Radio produces nationally aired programs such as PRI's This American Life and NPR's Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!.[citation needed] Infrastructure Transportation Further information: Transportation in Chicago Aerial photo of the Jane Byrne Interchange (2022) after reconstruction, initially opened in the 1960s Chicago is a major transportation hub in the United States. It is an important component in global distribution, as it is the third-largest inter-modal port in the world after Hong Kong and Singapore.[294] The city of Chicago has a higher than average percentage of households without a car. In 2015, 26.5 percent of Chicago households were without a car, and increased slightly to 27.5 percent in 2016. The national average was 8.7 percent in 2016. Chicago averaged 1.12 cars per household in 2016, compared to a national average of 1.8.[295] Expressways Further information: Roads and expressways in Chicago Seven mainline and four auxiliary interstate highways (55, 57, 65 (only in Indiana), 80 (also in Indiana), 88, 90 (also in Indiana), 94 (also in Indiana), 190, 290, 294, and 355) run through Chicago and its suburbs. Segments that link to the city center are named after influential politicians, with three of them named after former U.S. Presidents (Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Reagan) and one named after two-time Democratic candidate Adlai Stevenson. The Kennedy and Dan Ryan Expressways are the busiest state maintained routes in the entire state of Illinois.[296] Transit systems Chicago Union Station, opened in 1925, is the third-busiest passenger rail terminal in the United States. The Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) coordinates the operation of the three service boards: CTA, Metra, and Pace. The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) handles public transportation in the City of Chicago and a few adjacent suburbs outside of the Chicago city limits. The CTA operates an extensive network of buses and a rapid transit elevated and subway system known as the Chicago "L" or just "L" (short for "elevated"), with lines designated by colors. These rapid transit lines also serve both Midway and O'Hare Airports. The CTA's rail lines consist of the Red, Blue, Green, Orange, Brown, Purple, Pink, and Yellow lines. Both the Red and Blue lines offer 24‑hour service which makes Chicago one of a handful of cities around the world (and one of two in the United States, the other being New York City) to offer rail service 24 hours a day, every day of the year, within the city's limits. Metra, the nation's second-most used passenger regional rail network, operates an 11-line commuter rail service in Chicago and throughout the Chicago suburbs. The Metra Electric Line shares its trackage with Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District's South Shore Line, which provides commuter service between South Bend and Chicago. Pace provides bus and paratransit service in over 200 surrounding suburbs with some extensions into the city as well. A 2005 study found that one quarter of commuters used public transit.[297] Greyhound Lines provides inter-city bus service to and from the city, and Chicago is also the hub for the Midwest network of Megabus (North America). Passenger rail Amtrak train on the Empire Builder route departs Chicago from Union Station. Amtrak long distance and commuter rail services originate from Union Station.[298] Chicago is one of the largest hubs of passenger rail service in the nation.[299] The services terminate in the San Francisco area, Washington, D.C., New York City, New Orleans, Portland, Seattle, Milwaukee, Quincy, St. Louis, Carbondale, Boston, Grand Rapids, Port Huron, Pontiac, Los Angeles, and San Antonio. Future services will terminate at Rockford and Moline. An attempt was made in the early 20th century to link Chicago with New York City via the Chicago – New York Electric Air Line Railroad. Parts of this were built, but it was never completed. Bicycle and scooter sharing systems In July 2013, the bicycle-sharing system Divvy was launched with 750 bikes and 75 docking stations[300] It is operated by Lyft for the Chicago Department of Transportation.[301] As of July 2019, Divvy operated 5800 bicycles at 608 stations, covering almost all of the city, excluding Pullman, Rosedale, Beverly, Belmont Cragin and Edison Park.[302] In May 2019, The City of Chicago announced its Chicago's Electric Shared Scooter Pilot Program, scheduled to run from June 15 to October 15.[303] The program started on June 15 with 10 different scooter companies, including scooter sharing market leaders Bird, Jump, Lime and Lyft.[304] Each company was allowed to bring 250 electric scooters, although both Bird and Lime claimed that they experienced a higher demand for their scooters.[305] The program ended on October 15, with nearly 800,000 rides taken.[306] Freight rail Chicago is the largest hub in the railroad industry.[307] All five Class I railroads meet in Chicago. As of 2002, severe freight train congestion caused trains to take as long to get through the Chicago region as it took to get there from the West Coast of the country (about 2 days).[308] According to U.S. Department of Transportation, the volume of imported and exported goods transported via rail to, from, or through Chicago is forecast to increase nearly 150 percent between 2010 and 2040.[309] CREATE, the Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency Program, comprises about 70 programs, including crossovers, overpasses and underpasses, that intend to significantly improve the speed of freight movements in the Chicago area.[310] Airports Further information: Transportation in Chicago § Airports O'Hare International Airport Chicago is served by O'Hare International Airport, the world's busiest airport measured by airline operations,[311] on the far Northwest Side, and Midway International Airport on the Southwest Side. In 2005, O'Hare was the world's busiest airport by aircraft movements and the second-busiest by total passenger traffic.[312] Both O'Hare and Midway are owned and operated by the City of Chicago. Gary/Chicago International Airport and Chicago Rockford International Airport, located in Gary, Indiana and Rockford, Illinois, respectively, can serve as alternative Chicago area airports, however they do not offer as many commercial flights as O'Hare and Midway. In recent years the state of Illinois has been leaning towards building an entirely new airport in the Illinois suburbs of Chicago.[313] The City of Chicago is the world headquarters for United Airlines, the world's third-largest airline. Port authority Main article: Port of Chicago The Port of Chicago consists of several major port facilities within the city of Chicago operated by the Illinois International Port District (formerly known as the Chicago Regional Port District). The central element of the Port District, Calumet Harbor, is maintained by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.[314] Iroquois Landing Lakefront Terminal: at the mouth of the Calumet River, it includes 100 acres (0.40 km2) of warehouses and facilities on Lake Michigan with over 780,000 square meters (8,400,000 square feet) of storage. Lake Calumet terminal: located at the union of the Grand Calumet River and Little Calumet River 6 miles (9.7 km) inland from Lake Michigan. Includes three transit sheds totaling over 29,000 square meters (310,000 square feet) adjacent to over 900 linear meters (3,000 linear feet) of ship and barge berthing. Grain (14 million bushels) and bulk liquid (800,000 barrels) storage facilities along Lake Calumet. The Illinois International Port district also operates Foreign trade zone No. 22, which extends 60 miles (97 km) from Chicago's city limits. Utilities Electricity for most of northern Illinois is provided by Commonwealth Edison, also known as ComEd. Their service territory borders Iroquois County to the south, the Wisconsin border to the north, the Iowa border to the west and the Indiana border to the east. In northern Illinois, ComEd (a division of Exelon) operates the greatest number of nuclear generating plants in any US state. Because of this, ComEd reports indicate that Chicago receives about 75% of its electricity from nuclear power. Recently, the city began installing wind turbines on government buildings to promote renewable energy.[315][316][317] Natural gas is provided by Peoples Gas, a subsidiary of Integrys Energy Group, which is headquartered in Chicago. Domestic and industrial waste was once incinerated but it is now landfilled, mainly in the Calumet area. From 1995 to 2008, the city had a blue bag program to divert recyclable refuse from landfills.[318] Because of low participation in the blue bag programs, the city began a pilot program for blue bin recycling like other cities. This proved successful and blue bins were rolled out across the city.[319] Health systems Prentice Women's Hospital on the Northwestern Memorial Hospital Downtown Campus The Illinois Medical District is on the Near West Side. It includes Rush University Medical Center, ranked as the second best hospital in the Chicago metropolitan area by U.S. News & World Report for 2014–16, the University of Illinois Medical Center at Chicago, Jesse Brown VA Hospital, and John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County, one of the busiest trauma centers in the nation.[320] Two of the country's premier academic medical centers reside in Chicago, including Northwestern Memorial Hospital and the University of Chicago Medical Center. The Chicago campus of Northwestern University includes the Feinberg School of Medicine; Northwestern Memorial Hospital, which is ranked as the best hospital in the Chicago metropolitan area by U.S. News & World Report for 2017–18;[321] the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab (formerly named the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago), which is ranked the best U.S. rehabilitation hospital by U.S. News & World Report;[322] the new Prentice Women's Hospital; and Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago. The University of Illinois College of Medicine at UIC is the second largest medical school in the United States (2,600 students including those at campuses in Peoria, Rockford and Urbana–Champaign).[323] In addition, the Chicago Medical School and Loyola University Chicago's Stritch School of Medicine are located in the suburbs of North Chicago and Maywood, respectively. The Midwestern University Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine is in Downers Grove. The American Medical Association, Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education, American Osteopathic Association, American Dental Association, Academy of General Dentistry, Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, American Association of Nurse Anesthetists, American College of Surgeons, American Society for Clinical Pathology, American College of Healthcare Executives, the American Hospital Association and Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association are all based in Chicago. Sister cities Main article: List of sister cities of Chicago See also Chicago area water quality Chicago Wilderness Gentrification of Chicago List of cities with the most skyscrapers List of people from Chicago List of fiction set in Chicago National Register of Historic Places listings in Central Chicago National Register of Historic Places listings in North Side Chicago National Register of Historic Places listings in West Side Chicago USS Chicago, 4 ships Chicago History   "It is hopeless for the occasional visitor to try to keep up with Chicago. She outgrows his prophecies faster than he can make them." - Mark Twain, 1883 Chicago was only 46 years old when Mark Twain wrote those words, but it had already grown more than 100-fold, from a small trading post at the mouth of the Chicago River into one of the nation?s largest cities, and it wasn?t about to stop. Over the next 20 years, it would quadruple in population, amazing the rest of the world with its ability to repeatedly reinvent itself. And it still hasn?t stopped. Chicago continues to be a place that many people from diverse backgrounds call home. Before it was a city, it was the home to numerous indigenous peoples, a legacy which continues to frame our relationship with the city, the land, and the environment. Today, Chicago has become a global city, a thriving center of international trade and commerce, and a place where people of every nationality and background come to pursue the American dream. Indigenous Chicago Chicago is the traditional homelands of  Hooc?k (Winnebago/Ho?Chunk), Jiwere (Otoe), Nutachi (Missouria), and Baxoje (Iowas); Kiash Matchitiwuk (Menominee); Meshkwahkîha (Meskwaki); Asâkîwaki (Sauk); Myaamiaki (Miami), Waayaahtanwaki (Wea), and Peeyankih?iaki (Piankashaw); Kiikaapoi (Kickapoo); Inoka (Illini Confederacy); Anishinaabeg (Ojibwe), Odawak (Odawa), and Bodéwadmik (Potawatomi). Seated atop a continental divide, the Chicago region is located at the intersection of several great waterways, leading the area to become the site of travel and healing for many Tribes. The City understands that Tribes are sovereign Nations and should have the first voice in acknowledging their historical and contemporary presence on this land. If your Tribe would like to see changes, please reach out to us for comments. Early Chicago Chicago?s first permanent non-indigenous resident was a trader named Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, a free black man from Haiti whose father was a French sailor and whose mother was an African slave, he came here in the 1770s via the Mississippi River from New Orleans with his Native American wife, and their home stood at the mouth of the Chicago River. In 1803, the U.S. government built Fort Dearborn at what is now the corner of Michigan Avenue and Wacker Drive (look for the bronze markers in the pavement). It was destroyed in 1812 following the Battle of Fort Dearborn, rebuilt in 1816, and permanently demolished in 1857. A Trading Center Incorporated as a city in 1837, Chicago was ideally situated to take advantage of the trading possibilities created by the nation?s westward expansion. The completion of the Illinois & Michigan Canal in 1848 created a water link between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River, but the canal was soon rendered obsolete by railroads. Today, 50 percent of U.S. rail freight continues to pass through Chicago, even as the city has become the nation?s busiest aviation center, thanks to O?Hare and Midway International airports. The Great Fire of 1871 As Chicago grew, its residents took heroic measures to keep pace. In the 1850s, they raised many of the streets five to eight feet to install a sewer system ? and then raised the buildings, as well. Unfortunately, the buildings, streets and sidewalks were made of wood, and most of them burned to the ground in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. The Chicago Fire Department training academy at 558 W. DeKoven St. is on the site of the O?Leary property where the fire began. The Chicago Water Tower and Pumping Station at Michigan and Chicago avenues are among the few buildings to have survived the fire. "The White City" Chicago rebuilt quickly. Much of the debris was dumped into Lake Michigan as landfill, forming the underpinnings for what is now Grant Park, Millennium Park and the Art Institute of Chicago. Only 22 years later, Chicago celebrated its comeback by holding the World?s Columbian Exposition of 1893, with its memorable ?White City.? One of the Exposition buildings was rebuilt to become the Museum of Science and Industry. Chicago refused to be discouraged even by the Great Depression. In 1933 and 1934, the city held an equally successful Century of Progress Exposition on Northerly Island. Hull House  In the half-century following the Great Fire, waves of immigrants came to Chicago to take jobs in the factories and meatpacking plants. Many poor workers and their families found help in settlement houses operated by Jane Addams and her followers. Her Hull House Museum is located at 800 S. Halsted St. Chicago Firsts Throughout their city?s history, Chicagoans have demonstrated their ingenuity in matters large and small: The nation?s first skyscraper, the 10-story, steel-framed Home Insurance Building, was built in 1884 at LaSalle and Adams streets and demolished in 1931.  When residents were threatened by waterborne illnesses from sewage flowing into Lake Michigan, they reversed the Chicago River in 1900 to make it flow toward the Mississippi.  Start of the "Historic Route 66" which begins at Grant Park on Adams Street in the front of the Art Institute of Chicago. Chicago was the birthplace of:  the refrigerated rail car (Swift) mail-order retailing (Sears and Montgomery Ward) the car radio (Motorola) the TV remote control (Zenith) The first self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction, ushering in the Atomic Age, took place at the University of Chicago in 1942. The spot is marked by a Henry Moore sculpture on Ellis Avenue between 56th and 57th streets. The 1,451-foot Willis Tower (formerly known as the Sears Tower), completed in 1974, was the the tallest building in the world from 1974 to 1998. Chicago has played a central role in American economic, cultural and political history. Since the 1850s Chicago has been one of the dominant metropolises in the Midwestern United States, and has been the largest city in the Midwest since the 1880 census. The area's recorded history begins with the arrival of French explorers, missionaries and fur traders in the late 17th century and their interaction with the local Pottawatomie Native Americans. Jean Baptiste Point du Sable was the first permanent non-indigenous settler in the area, having a house at the mouth of the Chicago River in the late 18th century. There were small settlements and a U.S. Army fort, but the soldiers and settlers were all driven off in 1812. The modern city was incorporated in 1837 by Northern businessmen and grew rapidly from real estate speculation and the realization that it had a commanding position in the emerging inland transportation network, based on lake traffic and railroads, controlling access from the Great Lakes into the Mississippi River basin. Despite a fire in 1871 that destroyed the Central Business District, the city grew exponentially, becoming the nation's rail center and the dominant Midwestern center for manufacturing, commerce, finance, higher education, religion, broadcasting, sports, jazz, and high culture. The city was a magnet for European immigrants?at first Germans, Irish and Scandinavians, then from the 1890s to 1914, Jews, Czechs, Poles and Italians. They were all absorbed in the city's powerful ward-based political machines. Many joined militant labor unions, and Chicago became notorious for its violent strikes, but respected for its high wages. Large numbers of African Americans migrated from the South starting in the World War I era as part of the Great Migration. Mexicans started arriving after 1910, and Puerto Ricans after 1945. The Cook County suburbs grew rapidly after 1945, but the Democratic party machine kept both the city and suburbs under control, especially under mayor Richard J. Daley, who was chairman of the Cook County Democratic Party. Deindustrialization after 1970 closed the stockyards and most of the steel mills and factories, but the city retained its role as a financial and transportation hub. Increasingly it emphasized its service roles in medicine, higher education, and tourism. The city formed the political base for leaders such as Stephen A. Douglas in the 1850s, Adlai Stevenson in the 1950s, and Barack Obama in recent years. Pre-1830 Early native settlements At its first appearance in records by explorers, the Chicago area was inhabited by a number of Algonquian peoples, including the Mascouten and Miami. The name "Chicago" is derived from a French rendering of the Native American word shikaakwa, known to botanists as Allium tricoccum, from the Miami-Illinois language. The first known reference to the site of the current city of Chicago as "Checagou" was by Robert de LaSalle around 1679 in a memoir.[1] Henri Joutel, in his journal of 1688, noted that the wild garlic, called "chicagoua", grew abundantly in the area.[2] According to his diary of late September 1687: when we arrived at the said place called Chicagou which, according to what we were able to learn of it, has taken this name because of the quantity of garlic which grows in the forests in this region.[2] The tribe was part of the Miami Confederacy, which included the Illini and Kickapoo. In 1671, Potawatomi guides first took the French trader Nicolas Perrot to the Miami villages near the site of present-day Chicago.[3] Pierre François Xavier de Charlevoix would write in 1721 that the Miami had a settlement in what is now Chicago around 1670. Chicago's location at a short canoe portage (the Chicago Portage) connecting the Great Lakes with the Mississippi River system attracted the attention of many French explorers, notably Louis Jolliet and Jacques Marquette in 1673. The Jesuit Relations indicate that by this time, the Iroquois tribes of New York had driven the Algonquian tribes entirely out of Lower Michigan and as far as this portage, during the later Beaver Wars.[4] René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, who traversed the Kankakee and Illinois Rivers south of Chicago in the winter of 1681?82, identified the Des Plaines River as the western boundary of the Miami. In 1683, La Salle built Fort St. Louis on the Illinois River. Almost two thousand Miami, including Weas and Piankeshaws, left the Chicago area to gather on the opposite shore at the Grand Village of the Illinois, seeking French protection from the Iroquois. In 1696, French Jesuits led by Jean-François Buisson de Saint-Cosme built the Mission of the Guardian Angel to Christianize the local Wea and Miami people.[5] Shortly thereafter, Augustin le Gardeur de Courtemanche visited the settlement on behalf of the French government, seeking peace between the Miami and Iroquois. Miami chief Chichikatalo accompanied de Courtemanche to Montreal.[4] The Algonquian tribes began to retake the lost territory in the ensuing decades, and in 1701, the Iroquois formally abandoned their claim to their "hunting grounds" as far as the portage to England in the Nanfan Treaty, which was finally ratified in 1726. This was largely a political maneuver of little practicality, as the English then had no presence in the region whatsoever, the French and their Algonquian allies being the dominant force in the area. A writer in 1718 noted at the Was had a village in Chicago, but had recently fled due to concerns about approaching Ojibwes and Pottawatomis. The Iroquois and Meskwaki probably drove out all Miami from the Chicago area by the end of the 1720s. The Pottawatomi assumed control of the area, but probably did not have any major settlements in Chicago. French and allied use of the Chicago portage was mostly abandoned during the 1720s because of continual Native American raids during the Fox Wars.[6] There was also a Michigamea chief named Chicago who may have lived in the region. In the 1680s, the Illinois River was called the Chicago River.[7] Retrospective map showing how Chicago may have appeared in 1812 (right is north, published in 1884) Retrospective map showing how Chicago may have appeared in 1812 (right is north, published in 1884)   Chicago in 1820 Chicago in 1820 First non-native settlements Fort Dearborn depicted as in 1831, sketched 1850s although the accuracy of the sketch was debated soon after it appeared. The first settler in Chicago was Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, a free black man,[8] who built a farm at the mouth of the Chicago River in 1790.[8][9] He left Chicago in 1800. In 1968, Point du Sable was honored at Pioneer Court as the city's founder and featured as a symbol. In 1795, following the Northwest Indian War, some Native Americans ceded the area of Chicago to the United States for a military post in the Treaty of Greenville. The US built Fort Dearborn in 1803 on the Chicago River. It was destroyed by Indian forces during the War of 1812 in the Battle of Fort Dearborn, and many of the inhabitants were killed or taken prisoner.[10] The fort had been ordered to evacuate. During the evacuation soldiers and civilians were overtaken near what is today Prairie Avenue. After the end of the war, the Potawatomi ceded the land to the United States in the 1816 Treaty of St. Louis. (Today, this treaty is commemorated in Indian Boundary Park.) Fort Dearborn was rebuilt in 1818 and used until 1837.[11]:?25? Growth of the city 1821 Survey of Chicago Thompson's plat, the first official map of what would become the City of Chicago Chicago in 1830, as depicted in 1884 Chicago in 1831, as depicted in 1893 by Rudolf Cronau Chicago in 1832, as depicted in 1892 Chicago in 1836 Extensions to city limits through 1884 In 1829, the Illinois legislature appointed commissioners to locate a canal and lay out the surrounding town. The commissioners employed James Thompson to survey and plat the town of Chicago, which at the time had a population of less than 100. Historians regard the August 4, 1830, filing of the plat as the official recognition of a location known as Chicago.[4] Yankee entrepreneurs saw the potential of Chicago as a transportation hub in the 1830s and engaged in land speculation to obtain the choicest lots. On August 12, 1833, the Town of Chicago was incorporated with a population of 350.[12] On July 12, 1834, the Illinois from Sackets Harbor, New York, was the first commercial schooner to enter the harbor, a sign of the Great Lakes trade that would benefit both Chicago and New York state.[11]:?29? Chicago was granted a city charter by the State of Illinois on March 4, 1837;[13] it was part of the larger Cook County. By 1840 the boom town had a population of over 4,000. After 1830, the rich farmlands of northern Illinois attracted Yankee settlers. Yankee real estate operators created a city overnight in the 1830s.[14] To open the surrounding farmlands to trade, the Cook County commissioners built roads south and west. The latter crossed the "dismal Nine-mile Swamp," the Des Plaines River, and went southwest to Walker's Grove, now the Village of Plainfield. The roads enabled hundreds of wagons per day of farm produce to arrive and so the entrepreneurs built grain elevators and docks to load ships bound for points east through the Great Lakes. Produce was shipped through the Erie Canal and down the Hudson River to New York City; the growth of the Midwest farms expanded New York City as a port. In 1837, Chicago held its first mayoral election and elected William B. Ogden as its inaugural mayor. Emergence as a transportation hub Further information: Transportation in Chicago 1853 Bird's eye view of Chicago 1857 Bird's eye view of Chicago In 1848, the opening of the Illinois and Michigan Canal allowed shipping from the Great Lakes through Chicago to the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. The first rail line to Chicago, the Galena & Chicago Union Railroad, was completed the same year. Chicago would go on to become the transportation hub of the United States, with its road, rail, water, and later air connections. Chicago also became home to national retailers offering catalog shopping such as Montgomery Ward and Sears, Roebuck and Company, which used the transportation lines to ship all over the nation. By the 1850s, the construction of railroads made Chicago a major hub and over 30 lines entered the city. The main lines from the East ended in Chicago, and those oriented to the West began in Chicago and so by 1860, the city had become the nation's trans-shipment and warehousing center. Factories were created, most famously the harvester factory that was opened in 1847 by Cyrus Hall McCormick. It was a processing center for natural resource commodities extracted in the West. The Wisconsin forests supported the millwork and lumber business; the Illinois hinterland provided the wheat. Hundreds of thousands of hogs and cattle were shipped to Chicago for slaughter, preserved in salt, and transported to eastern markets. By 1870, refrigerated cars allowed the shipping of fresh meat to cities in the East.[15] The prairie bog nature of the area provided a fertile ground for disease-carrying insects. In springtime, Chicago was so muddy from the high water that horses could scarcely move. Comical signs proclaiming "Fastest route to China" or "No Bottom Here" were placed to warn people of the mud. Travelers reported Chicago was the filthiest city in America. The city created a massive sewer system. In the first phase, sewage pipes were laid across the city above ground and used gravity to move the waste. The city was built in a low-lying area subject to flooding. In 1856, the city council decided that the entire city should be elevated four to five feet by using a newly available jacking-up process. In one instance, the five-story Brigg's Hotel, weighing 22,000 tons, was lifted while it continued to operate. Observing that such a thing could never have happened in Europe, the British historian Paul Johnson cites the astounding feat as a dramatic example of American determination and ingenuity based on the conviction that anything material is possible.[16] Immigration and population in 19th century Portrait of John Jones, a prominent early African-American businessman in Chicago Portrait of Mary Jane Richardson Jones, 1865 Husband and wife John and Mary Jones were among the most prominent early African-American citizens of Chicago. A bird's-eye view of Chicago in 1898. It became the second American city to reach a population of 1.6 million. 0:29 Chicago - State St at Madison Street, 1897 Although originally settled by Yankees in the 1830s, the city in the 1840s had many Irish Catholics come as a result of the Great Famine. Later in the century, the railroads, stockyards, and other heavy industry of the late 19th century attracted a variety of skilled workers from Europe, especially Germans, English, Swedes, Norwegians, and Dutch.[17] A small African-American community formed, led by activist leaders like John Jones and Mary Richardson Jones, who established Chicago as a stop on the Underground Railroad.[18] In 1840, Chicago was the 92nd city in the United States by population. Its population grew so rapidly that 20 years later, it was the ninth city. In the pivotal year of 1848, Chicago saw the completion of the Illinois and Michigan Canal, its first steam locomotives, the introduction of steam-powered grain elevators, the arrival of the telegraph, and the founding of the Chicago Board of Trade.[19] By 1857, Chicago was the largest city in what was then called the Northwest. In 20 years, Chicago grew from 4,000 people to over 90,000. Chicago surpassed St. Louis and Cincinnati as the major city in the West and gained political notice as the home of Stephen Douglas, the 1860 presidential nominee of the Northern Democrats. The 1860 Republican National Convention in Chicago nominated the home-state candidate Abraham Lincoln. The city's government and voluntary societies gave generous support to soldiers during the American Civil War.[20] Many of the newcomers were Irish Catholic and German immigrants. Their neighborhood saloons, a center of male social life, were attacked in the mid-1850s by the local Know-Nothing Party, which drew its strength from evangelical Protestants. The new party was anti-immigration and anti-liquor and called for the purification of politics by reducing the power of the saloonkeepers. In 1855, the Know-Nothings elected Levi Boone mayor, who banned Sunday sales of liquor and beer. His aggressive law enforcement sparked the Lager Beer Riot of April 1855, which erupted outside a courthouse in which eight Germans were being tried for liquor ordinance violations. After 1865, saloons became community centers only for local ethnic men, as reformers saw them as places that incited riotous behavior and moral decay.[21] Salons were also sources of musical entertainment. Francis O'Neill, an Irish immigrant who later became police chief, published compendiums of Irish music that were largely collected from other newcomers playing in saloons.[22] By 1870, Chicago had grown to become the nation's second-largest city and one of the largest cities in the world. Between 1870 and 1900, Chicago grew from a city of 299,000 to nearly 1.7 million and was the fastest-growing city in world history. Chicago's flourishing economy attracted huge numbers of new immigrants from Eastern and Central Europe, especially Jews, Poles, and Italians, along with many smaller groups. Many businesspeople and professionals arrived from the eastern states. Relatively few new arrivals came from Chicago's rural hinterland. The exponential growth put increasing pollution on the environment, as hazards to public health impacted everyone.[23] Gilded Age Further information: Architecture of Chicago and Chicago railroad strike of 1877 The Chicago Water Tower, one of the few surviving buildings after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. A residential building in Chicago's Lincoln Park in 1885, when the city had dirt roads Most of the city burned in the 1871 Great Chicago Fire. The damage from the fire was immense since 300 people died, 18,000 buildings were destroyed, and nearly 100,000 of the city's 300,000 residents were left homeless. Several key factors exacerbated the spread of the fire. Most of Chicago's buildings and sidewalks were then constructed of wood. Also, the lack of attention to proper waste disposal practices, which was sometimes deliberate to favor certain industries, left an abundance of flammable pollutants in the Chicago River along which the fire spread from the south to the north.[24][25][circular reference][26] The fire led to the incorporation of stringent fire-safety codes, which included a strong preference for masonry construction.[27] The Danish immigrant Jens Jensen arrived in 1886 and soon became a successful and celebrated landscape designer. Jensen's work was characterized by a democratic approach to landscaping, which was informed by his interest in social justice and conservation, and a rejection of antidemocratic formalism. Among Jensen's creations were four Chicago city parks, most famously Columbus Park. His work also included garden design for some of the region's most influential millionaires. The World's Columbian Exposition of 1893 was constructed on former wetlands at the present location of Jackson Park along Lake Michigan in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The land was reclaimed according to a design by the landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted. The temporary pavilions, which followed a classical theme, were designed by a committee of the city's architects under the direction of Daniel Burnham. It was called the "White City" for the appearance of its buildings.[28] The Exposition drew 27.5 million visitors; is considered among the most influential world's fairs in history; and affected art, architecture, and design throughout the nation.[29] The classical architectural style contributed to a revival of Beaux Arts architecture that borrowed from historical styles, but Chicago was also developing the original skyscraper and organic forms based in new technologies. The fair featured the first and until recently the largest Ferris wheel ever built. The soft, swampy ground near the lake proved unstable ground for tall masonry buildings. That was an early constraint, but builders developed the innovative use of steel framing for support and invented the skyscraper in Chicago, which became a leader in modern architecture and set the model nationwide for achieving vertical city densities.[30] Developers and citizens began immediate reconstruction on the existing Jeffersonian grid. The building boom that followed saved the city's status as the transportation and trade hub of the Midwest. Massive reconstruction using the newest materials and methods catapulted Chicago into its status as a city on par with New York and became the birthplace of modern architecture in the United States.[31] Rise of industry and commerce Further information: Economy of Chicago 1893 Bird's eye view of Chicago The Home Insurance Building in Chicago, the world's first skyscraper. Chicago became the center of the nation's advertising industry after New York City. Albert Lasker, known as the "father of modern advertising," made Chicago his base from 1898 to 1942. As head of the Lord and Thomas agency, Lasker devised a copywriting technique that appealed directly to the psychology of the consumer. Women, who seldom smoked cigarettes, were told that if they smoked Lucky Strikes, they could stay slender. Lasker's use of radio, particularly with his campaigns for Palmolive soap, Pepsodent toothpaste, Kotex products, and Lucky Strike cigarettes, not only revolutionized the advertising industry but also significantly changed popular culture.[32] Gambling In Chicago, like other rapidly growing industrial centers with large immigrant working-class neighborhoods, gambling was a major issue. The city's elite upper-class had private clubs and closely-supervised horse racing tracks. The middle-class reformers like Jane Addams focused on the workers, who discovered freedom and independence in gambling that were a world apart from their closely-supervised factory jobs and gambled to validate risk-taking aspect of masculinity, betting heavily on dice, card games, policy, and cock fights. By the 1850s, hundreds of saloons had offered gambling opportunities, including off-track betting on the horses.[33][34] The historian Mark Holler argues that organized crime provided upward mobility to ambitious ethnics. The high-income, high-visibility vice lords, and racketeers built their careers and profits in ghetto neighborhoods and often branched into local politics to protect their domains.[35] For example, in 1868 to 1888, Michael C. McDonald, "The Gambler King of Clark Street," kept numerous Democratic machine politicians in his city on expense account to protect his gambling empire and to keep the goo-goo reformers at bay.[36] In large cities, illegal businesses like gambling and prostitution were typically contained in the geographically-segregated red light districts. The businessowners made regularly-scheduled payments to police and politicians, which they treated as licensing expenses. The informal rates became standardized. For example, in Chicago, they ranged from $20 a month for a cheap brothel to $1000 a month for luxurious operations in Chicago. Reform elements never accepted the segregated vice districts and wanted them all destroyed, but in large cities, the political machine was powerful enough to keep the reformers at bay. Finally, around 1900 to 1910, the reformers grew politically strong enough to shut down the system of vice segregation, and the survivors went underground.[37] 20th century All Star Tournament, 18 Inch Balke Line, Chicago, May 7?14, 1906 Detail of lobby columns at the Ford Center for Performing Arts Merchants' Hotel on left, looking North from State and Washington Streets, before 1868 Birds-eye view of Chicago in 1916 Loop street scene in 1900; colorized photograph Chicago's manufacturing and retail sectors, fostered by the expansion of railroads throughout the upper Midwest and East, grew rapidly and came to dominate the Midwest and greatly influence the nation's economy.[38] The Chicago Union Stock Yards dominated the packing trade. Chicago became the world's largest rail hub, and one of its busiest ports by shipping traffic on the Great Lakes. Commodity resources, such as lumber, iron and coal, were brought to Chicago and Ohio for processing, with products shipped both East and West to support new growth.[39] Lake Michigan?the primary source of fresh water for the city?became polluted from the rapidly growing industries in and around Chicago; a new way of procuring clean water was needed. In 1885 the civil engineer Lyman Edgar Cooley proposed the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. He envisioned a deep waterway that would dilute and divert the city's sewage by funneling water from Lake Michigan into a canal, which would drain into the Mississippi River via the Illinois River. Beyond presenting a solution for Chicago's sewage problem, Cooley's proposal appealed to the economic need to link the Midwest with America's central waterways to compete with East Coast shipping and railroad industries. Strong regional support for the project led the Illinois legislature to circumvent the federal government and complete the canal with state funding. The opening in January 1900 met with controversy and a lawsuit against Chicago's appropriation of water from Lake Michigan. By the 1920s the lawsuit was divided between the states of the Mississippi River Valley, who supported the development of deep waterways linking the Great Lakes with the Mississippi, and the Great Lakes states, which feared sinking water levels might harm shipping in the lakes. In 1929 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in support of Chicago's use of the canal to promote commerce, but ordered the city to discontinue its use for sewage disposal.[40] New construction boomed in the 1920s, with notable landmarks such as the Merchandise Mart and art deco Chicago Board of Trade Building completed in 1930. The Wall Street Crash of 1929, the Great Depression and diversion of resources into World War II led to the suspension for years of new construction. The Century of Progress International Exposition was the name of the World's Fair held on the Near South Side lakefront from 1933 to 1934 to celebrate the city's centennial.[41][42] The theme of the fair was technological innovation over the century since Chicago's founding. More than 40 million people visited the fair, which symbolized for many hope for Chicago and the nation, then in the midst of the Great Depression.[43] The demographics of the city were changing in the early 20th century as black southern families migrated out of the south, but while cities like Chicago empathized with the condition of impoverished white children, black children were mostly excluded from the private and religious institutions that provided homes for such children. Those that did take in black dependent children were overcrowded and underfunded because of institutional racism. Between 1899 and 1945 many of the city's black children found themselves in the juvenile court system. The 1899 Juvenile Court Act, supported by Progressive reformers, created a class of dependants for orphans and other children lacking "proper parental care or guardianship" but the court's designations of "delinquency" and "dependency" were racialized[when defined as?] so black children were far more likely to be labeled as delinquents.[44][fact or opinion?] Politics in the late 19th and early 20th centuries Further information: Political history of Chicago Nicely dressed Jewish men and boys standing on a sidewalk in Chicago, 1903 Theodore Roosevelt in Chicago, 1915 Map of downtown Chicago in 1917. During the election of April 23, 1875, the voters of Chicago chose to operate under the Illinois Cities and Villages Act of 1872. Chicago still operates under this act, in lieu of a charter. The Cities and Villages Act has been revised several times since, and may be found in Chapter 65 of the Illinois Compiled Statutes. Late-19th-century big city newspapers such as the Chicago Daily News - founded in 1875 by Melville Stone - ushered in an era of news reporting that was, unlike earlier periods, in tune with the particulars of community life in specific cities. Vigorous competition between older and newer-style city papers soon broke out, centered on civic activism and sensationalist reporting of urban political issues and the numerous problems associated with rapid urban growth. Competition was especially fierce between the Chicago Times (Democratic), the Chicago Tribune (Republican), and the Daily News (independent), with the latter becoming the city's most popular paper by the 1880s.[45] The city's boasting lobbyists and politicians earned Chicago the nickname "Windy City" in the New York press. The city adopted the nickname as its own. Violence and crime Polarized attitudes of labor and business in Chicago prompted a strike by workers' lobbying for an eight-hour work day, later named the Haymarket affair. A peaceful demonstration on May 4, 1886, at Haymarket near the west side was interrupted by a bomb thrown at police; seven police officers were killed. Widespread violence broke out. A group of anarchists were tried for inciting the riot and convicted. Several were hanged and others were pardoned. The episode was a watershed moment in the labor movement, and its history was commemorated in the annual May Day celebrations.[46] By 1900, Progressive Era political and legal reformers initiated far-ranging changes in the American criminal justice system, with Chicago taking the lead.[47] The city became notorious worldwide for its rate of murders in the early 20th century, yet the courts failed to convict the killers. More than three-fourths of cases were not closed. Even when the police made arrests in cases where killers' identities were known, jurors typically exonerated or acquitted them. A blend of gender-, race-, and class-based notions of justice trumped the rule of law, producing low homicide conviction rates during a period of soaring violence.[48] During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, rates of domestic murder tripled in Chicago. Domestic homicide was often a manifestation of strains in gender relations induced by urban and industrial change. At the core of such family murders were male attempts to preserve masculine authority. Yet, there were nuances in the motives for the murder of family members, and study of the patterns of domestic homicide among different ethnic groups reveals basic cultural differences. German male immigrants tended to murder over declining status and the failure to achieve economic prosperity. Italian men killed family members to save a gender-based ideal of respectability that entailed patriarchal control over women and family reputation. African American men, like the Germans, often murdered in response to economic conditions but not over desperation about the future. Like the Italians, the killers tended to be young, but family honor was not usually at stake. Instead, black men murdered to regain control of wives and lovers who resisted their patriarchal "rights".[49] Progressive reformers in the business community created the Chicago Crime Commission (CCC) in 1919 after an investigation into a robbery at a factory showed the city's criminal justice system was deficient. The CCC initially served as a watchdog of the justice system. After its suggestion that the city's justice system begin collecting criminal records was rejected, the CCC assumed a more active role in fighting crime. The commission's role expanded further after Frank J. Loesch became president in 1928. Loesch recognized the need to eliminate the glamor that Chicago's media typically attributed to criminals. Determined to expose the violence of the crime world, Loesch drafted a list of "public enemies"; among them was Al Capone, whom he made a scapegoat for widespread social problems.[50] After the passage of Prohibition, the 1920s brought international notoriety to Chicago. Bootleggers and smugglers bringing in liquor from Canada formed powerful gangs. They competed with each other for lucrative profits, and to evade the police, to bring liquor to speakeasies and private clients. The most notorious was Al Capone.[51][52] Immigration and migration in the 20th century Further information: Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago From 1890 to 1914, migrations swelled, attracting to the city of mostly unskilled Catholic and Jewish immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe, including Italians, Greeks, Czechs, Poles, Lithuanians, Ukrainians, Hungarians, and Slovaks. World War I cut off immigration from Europe, which brought hundreds of thousands of southern blacks and whites into Northern cities to fill in the labor shortages. The Immigration Act of 1924 restricted populations from southern and eastern Europe, apart from refugees after World War II. The heavy annual turnover of ethnic populations ended, and the groups stabilized, each favoring specific neighborhoods.[53][54] While whites from rural areas arrived and generally settled in the suburban parts of the city, large numbers of blacks from the South arrived as well.[55] The near South Side of the city became the first Black residential area, as it had the oldest, less expensive housing. Although restricted by segregation and competing ethnic groups such as the Irish, gradually continued black migration caused this community to expand, as well as the black neighborhoods on the near West Side. These were de facto segregated areas (few blacks were tolerated in ethnic white neighborhoods); the Irish and ethnic groups who had been longer in the city began to move to outer areas and the suburbs. After World War II, the city built public housing for working-class families to upgrade residential quality. The high-rise design of such public housing proved a problem when industrial jobs left the city and poor families became concentrated in the facilities. After 1950, public housing high rises anchored poor black neighborhoods south and west of the Loop. "Old stock" Americans who relocated to Chicago after 1900 preferred the outlying areas and suburbs, with their commutes eased by train lines, making Oak Park and Evanston enclaves of the upper middle class. In the 1910s, high-rise luxury apartments were constructed along the lakefront north of the Loop, continuing into the 21st century. They attracted wealthy residents but few families with children, as wealthier families moved to suburbs for the schools. There were problems in the public school system; mostly Catholic students attended schools in the large parochial system, which was of middling quality.[56] There were a few private schools. The Latin School, Francis Parker and later The Bateman School, all centrally located served those who could afford to pay. The northern and western suburbs developed some of the best public schools in the nation, which were strongly supported by their wealthier residents. The suburban trend accelerated after 1945, with the construction of highways and train lines that made commuting easier. Middle-class Chicagoans headed to the outlying areas of the city, and then into the Cook County and Dupage County suburbs. As ethnic Jews and Irish rose in economic class, they left the city and headed north. Well-educated migrants from around the country moved to the far suburbs. Chicago's Polonia sustained diverse political cultures in the early twentieth century, each with its own newspaper. In 1920 the community had a choice of five daily papers ? from the Socialist Dziennik Ludowy (People's Daily; 1907?1925) to the Polish Roman Catholic Union's Dziennik Zjednoczenia (Union Daily; 1921?1939). The decision to subscribe to a particular paper reaffirmed a particular ideology or institutional network based on ethnicity and class, which lent itself to different alliances and different strategies.[57] In 1926, the city hosted the 28th International Eucharistic Congress, a major event for the Catholic community of Chicago. As the First World War cut off immigration, tens of thousands of African Americans came north in the Great Migration out of the rural South. With new populations competing for limited housing and jobs, especially on the South Side, social tensions rose in the city. Postwar years were more difficult. Black veterans looked for more respect for having served their nation, and some whites resented it. In 1919, the Chicago race riot erupted, in what became known as "Red Summer", when other major cities also suffered mass racial violence based in competition for jobs and housing as the country tried to absorb veterans in the postwar years. During the riot, thirty-eight people died (23 black and 15 white) and over five hundred were injured. Much of the violence against blacks in Chicago was led by members of ethnic Irish athletic clubs, who had much political power in the city and defended their "territory" against African Americans. As was typical in these occurrences, more blacks than whites died in the violence. Concentrating the family resources to achieve home ownership was a common strategy in the ethnic European neighborhoods. It meant sacrificing current consumption, and pulling children out of school as soon as they could earn a wage. By 1900, working-class ethnic immigrants owned homes at higher rates than native-born people. After borrowing from friends and building associations, immigrants kept boarders, grew market gardens, and opened home-based commercial laundries, eroding home-work distinctions, while sending out women and children to work to repay loans. They sought not middle-class upward mobility but the security of home ownership. Many social workers wanted them to pursue upward job mobility (which required more education), but realtors asserted that houses were better than a bank for a poor man. With hindsight, and considering uninsured banks' precariousness, this appears to have been true. Chicago's workers made immense sacrifices for home ownership, contributing to Chicago's sprawling suburban geography and to modern myths about the American dream. The Jewish community, by contrast, rented apartments and maximized education and upward mobility for the next generation.[58] Beginning in the 1940s, waves of Hispanic immigrants began to arrive. The largest numbers were from Mexico and Puerto Rico, as well as Cuba during Fidel Castro's rise. During the 1980s, Hispanic immigrants were more likely to be from Central and South America. After 1965 and the change in US immigration laws, numerous Asian immigrants came; the largest proportion were well-educated Indians and Chinese, who generally settled directly in the suburbs. By the 1970s gentrification began in the city, in some cases with people renovating housing in old inner city neighborhoods, and attracting singles and gay people. State Street c. 1907 State Street c. 1907   International Ballooning Contest, Aero Park, Chicago, July 4, 1908 International Ballooning Contest, Aero Park, Chicago, July 4, 1908   Bird's eye view of Chicago in 1938 Bird's eye view of Chicago in 1938   Oak Street Beach, 1925 Oak Street Beach, 1925 1930s Main article: Chicago in the 1930s Labor unions Chicago skyline from Northerly Island Taken sometime in 1941 After 1900 Chicago was a heavily unionized city, apart from the factories (which were non-union until the 1930s). The Industrial Workers of the World was founded in Chicago in June 1905 at a convention of 200 socialists, anarchists, and radical trade unionists from all over the United States. The Railroad brotherhoods were strong, as were the crafts unions affiliated with the American Federation of Labor. The AFL unions operated through the Chicago Federation of Labor to minimize jurisdictional conflicts, which caused many strikes as two unions battled to control a work site. The unionized teamsters in Chicago enjoyed an unusually strong bargaining position when they contended with employers around the city, or supported another union in a specific strike. Their wagons could easily be positioned to disrupt streetcars and block traffic. In addition, their families and neighborhood supporters often surrounded and attacked the wagons of nonunion teamsters who were strikebreaking. When the teamsters used their clout to engage in sympathy strikes, employers decided to coordinate their antiunion efforts, claiming that the teamsters held too much power over commerce in their control of the streets. The teamsters' strike in 1905 represented a clash both over labor issues and the public nature of the streets. To the employers, the streets were arteries for commerce, while to the teamsters, they remained public spaces integral to their neighborhoods.[59] World War II On December 2, 1942, the world's first controlled nuclear reaction was conducted at the University of Chicago as part of the top secret Manhattan Project. During World War II, the steel mills in the city of Chicago alone accounted for 20% of all steel production in the United States and 10% of global production. The city produced more steel than the United Kingdom during the war, and surpassed Nazi Germany's output in 1943 (after barely missing in 1942). The city's diversified industrial base made it second only to Detroit in the value?$24 billion?of war goods produced. Over 1,400 companies produced everything from field rations to parachutes to torpedoes, while new aircraft plants employed 100,000 in the construction of engines, aluminum sheeting, bombsights, and other components. The Great Migration, which had been on pause due to the Depression, resumed at an even faster pace as the 1910 - 1930 period, as hundreds of thousands of black Americans arrived in the city to work in the steel mills, railroads, and shipping yards.[60] Postwar Returning World War II veterans and immigrants from Europe (in particular displaced persons from Eastern Europe) created a postwar economic boom and led to the development of huge housing tracts on Chicago's Northwest and Southwest sides. The city was extensively photographed during the postwar years by street photographers such as Richard Nickel and Vivian Maier. In the 1950s, the postwar desire for new and improved housing, aided by new highways and commuter train lines, caused many middle and higher income Americans to begin to move from the inner-city of Chicago to the suburbs. Changes in industry after 1950, with restructuring of the stockyards and steel industries, led to massive job losses in the city for working-class people. The city population shrank by nearly 700,000. The City Council devised "Plan 21" to improve neighborhoods and focused on creating "Suburbs within the city" near downtown and the lakefront. It built public housing to try to improve housing standards in the city. As a result, many poor were uprooted from newly created enclaves of Black, Latino, and poor people in neighborhoods such as Near North, Wicker Park, Lakeview, Uptown, Cabrini?Green, West Town and Lincoln Park. The passage of civil rights laws in the 1960s also affected Chicago and other northern cities. In the 1960s and the 1970s, many middle- and upper-class Americans continued to move from the city for better housing and schools in the suburbs. Office building resumed in the 1960s. When completed in 1974, the Sears Tower, now known as the Willis Tower, was at 1451 feet the world's tallest building. It was designed by the famous Chicago firm of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, which designed many of the city's other famous buildings. House in Chicago's inner city, 1974. Photo by Danny Lyon. House in Chicago's inner city, 1974. Photo by Danny Lyon.   Chicago Picasso, a 1967 sculpture in Daley Plaza. Pablo Picasso refused the $100,000 fee and donated it to the people of Chicago. Chicago Picasso, a 1967 sculpture in Daley Plaza. Pablo Picasso refused the $100,000 fee and donated it to the people of Chicago. Mayor Richard J. Daley served 1955?1976, dominating the city's machine politics by his control of the Cook County Democratic Central Committee, which selected party nominees, who were usually elected in the Democratic stronghold. Daley took credit for building four major expressways focused on the Loop, and city-owned O'Hare Airport (which became the world's busiest airport, displacing Midway Airport's prior claims). Several neighborhoods near downtown and the lakefront were gentrified and transformed into "suburbs within the city".[61] He held office during the unrest of the 1960s, some of which was provoked by the police department's discriminatory practices. In the Lincoln Park, Lakeview, Wicker Park and Humboldt Park communities, the Young Lords under the leadership of Jose Cha Cha Jimenez marched and held sit ins to protest the displacement of Latinos and the poor. After the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968, major riots of despair resulted in the burning down of sections of the black neighborhoods of the South and West sides. Protests against the Vietnam War at the 1968 Democratic National Convention, held in Chicago, resulted in street violence, with televised broadcasts of the Chicago police's beating of unarmed protesters.[62] In 1979, Jane Byrne, the city's first woman mayor, was elected, winning the Democratic primary due to a citywide outrage about the ineffective snow removal across the city.[63] In 1983, Harold Washington became the first black mayor of Chicago. Richard M. Daley, son of Richard J. Daley, became mayor in 1989, and was repeatedly reelected until he declined to seek re-election in 2011. He sparked debate by demolishing many of the city's vast public housing projects, which had deteriorated and were holding too many poor and dysfunctional families. Concepts for new affordable and public housing have changed to include many new features to make them more viable: smaller scale, environmental designs for public safety, mixed-rate housing, etc. New projects during Daley's administration have been designed to be environmentally sound, more accessible and better for their occupants. 21st century In September 2008, Chicago accepted a $2.52 billion bid on a 99-year lease of Midway International Airport to a group of private investors, but the deal fell through due to the collapse of credit markets during the 2008?2012 global recession[64][65] In 2008, as Chicago struggled to close a growing budget deficit, the city agreed to a 75-year, $1.16 billion deal to lease its parking meter system to an operating company created by Morgan Stanley. Daley said the "agreement is very good news for the taxpayers of Chicago because it will provide more than $1 billion in net proceeds that can be used during this very difficult economy." The agreement quadrupled rates, in the first year alone, while the hours which people have to pay for parking were broadened from 9 a.m. ? 6 p.m. to 8 a.m. ? 9 p.m., and from Monday through Saturday to every day of the week. Additionally, the city agreed to compensate the new owners for loss of revenue any time any road with parking meters is closed by the city for anything from maintenance work to street festivals.[66][67] In three years, the proceeds from the lease were all but spent. In his annual budget address on October 21, 2009, Daley projected a deficit for 2009 of more than $520 million. Daley proposed a 2010 budget totaling $6.14 billion, including spending $370 million from the $1.15 billion proceeds from the parking meter lease.[68] In his annual budget address on October 13, 2010, Daley projected a deficit for 2010 of $655 million, the largest in city history.[69] Daley proposed a 2011 budget totaling $6.15 billion, including spending all but $76 million of what remained of the parking meter lease proceeds, and received a standing ovation from aldermen.[70][71] In 2011, Rahm Emanuel was elected mayor of Chicago.[72] Chicago earned the title of "City of the Year" in 2008 from GQ for contributions in architecture and literature, its world of politics, and the downtown's starring role in the Batman movie The Dark Knight.[73] The city was rated by Moody's as having the most balanced economy in the United States due to its high level of diversification.[74] Flag Four historical events are commemorated by the four red stars on Chicago's flag: The United States' Fort Dearborn, established at the mouth of the Chicago River in 1803; the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, which destroyed much of the city; the World Columbian Exposition of 1893, by which Chicago celebrated its recovery from the fire; and the Century of Progress World's Fair of 1933?1934, which celebrated the city's centennial. The flag's two blue stripes symbolize the north and south branches of the Chicago River, which flows through the city's downtown. The three white stripes represent the North, West and South sides of the city, Lake Michigan being the east side. Major disasters Main article: Timeline of Chicago history The most famous and serious disaster was the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. On December 30, 1903, the "absolutely fireproof", five-week-old Iroquois Theater was engulfed by fire. The fire lasted less than thirty minutes; 602 people died as a result of being burned, asphyxiated, or trampled.[75] The S.S. Eastland was a cruise ship based in Chicago and used for tours. On July 24, 1915?a calm, sunny day?the ship was taking on passengers when it rolled over while tied to a dock in the Chicago River. A total of 844 passengers and crew were killed. An investigation found that the Eastland had become too heavy with rescue gear that had been ordered by Congress in the wake of the Titanic disaster.[76] On December 1, 1958, the Our Lady of the Angels School Fire occurred in the Humboldt Park area. The fire killed 92 students and three nuns; in response, fire safety improvements were made to public and private schools across the United States.[77] April 13, 1992, billions of dollars in damage was caused by the Chicago Flood, when a hole was accidentally drilled into the long-abandoned (and mostly forgotten) Chicago Tunnel system, which was still connected to the basements of numerous buildings in the Loop. It flooded the central business district with 250 million US gallons (950,000 m3) of water from the Chicago River.[78][79] A major environmental disaster occurred in July 1995, when a week of record high heat and humidity caused 739 heat-related deaths, mostly among isolated elderly poor and others without air conditioning.[80] See also American urban history Bibliography of Chicago history Chicago in the 1930s Ethnic groups in Chicago; the larger groups have articles such as Poles in Chicago and History of African Americans in Chicago History of education in Chicago Political history of Chicago Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago Timeline of Chicago history Before the 19th century As interpreted from the 1670 translation of the de Soto narrative into French by Pierre Richelet, the Chucagua River, was believed to be the Mississippi. La Salle named Checagou, the transliterated from Spanish, as the gateway to the River of de Soto. Site of Chicagou on the lake, in Guillaume de L'Isle's map (Paris, 1718) 1673: French-Canadian explorers Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet, on their way to Québec, pass through the area that will become Chicago. 1677: Father Claude Allouez arrived to try to convert the natives to Christianity 1682: French explorer René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de la Salle, passes through Chicago en route to the mouth of the Mississippi River. 1696: Jesuit missionary Francois Pinet founds the Mission of the Guardian Angel. It is abandoned four years later. 1705: Conflicts develop between French traders and the Fox tribe of Native Americans. 1719: The Comanche Indian Tribe settle in the Great Plains and in the Midwest of the United States. 1754: The Illinois Country becomes part of New France, days later The French and Indian War begins with the war against the British. 1763: The Illinois Country falls to British Troops after the defeat of New France. 1775: The Revolutionary War begins with America declaring independence from Britain. 1778: The Illinois Campaign is born under the command of George Rogers Clark to lead the fight against major British outposts scattered across the country. 1780s: Jean Baptiste Point du Sable establishes Chicago's first permanent settlement near the mouth of the Chicago River. 1795: Six square miles (16 km2) of land at the mouth of the Chicago River are reserved by the Treaty of Greenville for use by the United States. 1796: Kittahawa, du Sable's Potawatomi Indian wife, delivers Eulalia Point du Sable, Chicago's first recorded birth. 19th century 1800s?1840s 1803: The United States Army orders the construction of Fort Dearborn by Major John Whistler. It is built near the mouth of the Chicago River. 1812 June 17, Jean La Lime is killed by John Kinzie, making him the first recorded murder victim in Chicago. August 15, the Battle of Fort Dearborn. 1816: The Treaty of St. Louis is signed in St. Louis, Missouri. Ft. Dearborn is rebuilt. 1818: December 3, Illinois joins the Union and becomes a state. 1820 Chicago 1821 Survey of Chicago 1830 August 4, Chicago is surveyed and platted for the first time by James Thompson. Population: "Less than 100".[1] 1833: Chicago incorporated as a town.[1] 1837 Chicago incorporated as a city.[1] C.D. Peacock jewelers was founded. It is the oldest Chicago business still operating today. Chicago receives its first charter.[2] Rush Medical College is founded two days before the city was chartered. It is the first medical school in the state of Illinois which is still operating. The remaining 450 Potawatomi left Chicago. 1840 July 10, Chicago's first legally executed criminal, John Stone was hanged for rape and murder. Population: 4,470.[3] 1844: Lake Park designated.[4] 1847: June 10, The first issue of the Chicago Tribune is published. 1848 Chicago Board of Trade opens on April 3 by 82 local businessmen. Illinois and Michigan Canal opens and traffic begins moving faster. Galena and Chicago Union Railroad enters operation becoming the first railroad in Chicago 1849 Wauconda is founded. Merchants' Hotel on left, looking North from State and Washington Streets, before 1868 Chicago in 1830, as depicted in 1884 Chicago in 1832, as depicted in 1892 Chicago in 1836 1893 Bird's eye view of Chicago Fort Dearborn depicted as in 1831, sketched 1850s although the accuracy of the sketch was debated soon after it appeared. 1850s?1890s 1850: Population: 29,963.[3] 1851: Chicago's first institution of higher education, Northwestern University, is founded. 1852: Mercy Hospital becomes the first hospital in Illinois. 1853 October: State Convention of the Colored Citizens held in city.[5] Union Park named.[4] 1854: A cholera epidemic took the lives of 5.5% of the population of Chicago.[6] 1855 Chicago Theological Seminary founded.[1] April 21, Lager Beer riot. Population: 80,000.[4] 1856: Chicago Historical Society founded. 1857 Iwan Ries & Co. Chicago's oldest family-owned business opens, still in operation today, the oldest family-owned tobacco shop. Mathias A. Klein & Sons (Klein Tools Inc.), still family owned and run today by fifth and sixth generation Klein's. Cook County Hospital opens.[1] Hyde Park House built.[4] 1859: McCormick Theological Seminary relocated.[1] 1860 September 8, the Lady Elgin Disaster. Population: 112,172.[3] Daprato Statuary Company (Currently Daprato Rigali Studios) founded by the Daprato brothers, Italian immigrants from Barga. 1865 Corporal punishment was abandoned in schools.[4] Population: 178,492.[4] 1866: School of the Art Institute of Chicago founded. 1867 Construction began on the Water Tower designed by architect W. W. Boyington. Chicago Academy of Music founded.[4] 1868 Rand McNally is formed as a railway guide company. Lincoln Park Zoo founded.[4] 1869 Chicago Water Tower built. The first Illinois woman suffrage convention was held in Chicago The Chicago Club is established. Washington Square Park being developed.[4] 1870 St. Ignatius College founded, later Loyola University Population: 298,977.[3] 1871: October 8 ? 10, the Great Chicago Fire.[4][7] 1872 Montgomery Ward in business. Establishment of the first Black fire company in the city. The original library, inside the old water tower on the site that is now the Rookery Building. This former water tower was the site of the original public library, exterior view 1873: Chicago Public Library established.[4] 1875: Holy Name Cathedral dedicated.[4] 1877: Railroad strike.[8] Art Institute of Chicago As seen from Michigan Ave 1878 Art Institute of Chicago established. Conservator newspaper begins publication.[9][10] 1879: Art Institute of Chicago founded.[1] 1880: Polish National Alliance headquartered in city. 1881: Unsightly beggar ordinance effected.[11] Home Insurance Building Field Museum in Chicago 1885: Home Insurance Building building was the first skyscraper that stood in Chicago from 1885 to 1931. Originally ten stories and 138 ft (42.1 m) tall, it was designed by William Le Baron Jenney in 1884[12][13] Two floors were added in 1891, bringing its now finished height to 180 feet (54.9 meters). It was the first tall building to be supported both inside and outside by a fireproof structural steel frame, though it also included reinforced concrete. A landmark lost to history and is considered the world's first skyscraper. Chicago Water Tower and Chicago Avenue Pumping Station, circa 1886 1886 May 4, the Haymarket riot.[14] Chicago Evening Post published (until 1932).[1] 1887: Newberry Library established. 1888: Dearborn Observatory rebuilt. 1889 Hull House founded.[1][15] Auditorium Building completed.[1] Auditorium Theatre opened. 1890: The University of Chicago is founded by John D. Rockefeller. 1891 Chicago Symphony Orchestra founded by Theodore Thomas.[1] Provident Hospital founded.[1] 1892 June 6, The Chicago and South Side Rapid Transit Railroad, Chicago's first 'L' line, went into operation. Masonic Temple for two years, the tallest building in Chicago. Streetcar tunnels in Chicago (under the Chicago River) in use until 1906.[1] 1893 May 1 ? October 30, The World's Columbian Exposition (World's Fair); World's Parliament of Religions held.[16][1] October 28, Mayor Carter Harrison, Sr. was assassinated by Patrick Eugene Prendergast.[17] Sears, Roebuck and Company in business. First Ferris wheel built by George Washington Gale Ferris Jr. Art Institute of Chicago building opens.[1] Monadnock Building completed.[1] Universal Peace Congress held.[18] Chicago Civic Federation founded.[17] 1894 May 11 ? August 2, the Pullman Strike.[14][1] ?enské Listy women's magazine begins publication.[19][20] Field Museum of Natural History established.[1] 1895: Marquette Building completed.[1] 1896 1896 Democratic National Convention held; Bryan delivers Cross of Gold speech.[21] Campaign "to improve municipal service and politics" begun in 1896.[1] Abeny beauty shop[22] and Tonnesen Sisters photo studio[23] in business. 1897 March 12, The Chicago Elevator Protective Association of Chicago was formed. Later, on July 15, 1901, to become the International Union of Elevator Constructors Local 2. The Union Loop Elevated is completed. National union of meat packers formed.[1] 1898: National peace jubilee was held.[1] 1899 Cook County juvenile court established.[24] Municipal Art League established.[1] Carson, Pirie, Scott and Company Building constructed. Chicago-Sanitary-and-Ship-Canal, during construction Chicago USA. Map of the business portion of Chicago. 1905 Source The New International Encyclopædia, v. 4, 1905, between pp. 610?11. 1900 Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal opens;[25] the Chicago River is completely reversed. Municipal Reference Library active (approximate date).[26] Labor strike of machinists.[8] Population: 1,698,575.[1] 20th century Construction of the Chicago Drainage Canal, 1900s 1900s?1940s See also: Chicago in the 1930s 1902: Meatpacking strike.[8] 1903 December 30, Iroquois Theater Fire City Club of Chicago formed. 1905 The Industrial Workers of the World was founded in June[27] Teamsters' strike.[1] Chicago Defender newspaper begins publication.[28] City Hall rebuilding completed.[1] Chicago Federal Building completed.[1] 1906 Municipal court established.[24] The Chicago White Sox defeated the Chicago Cubs in the only all-Chicago World Series. Sinclair's fictional The Jungle published.[14] Chicago Tunnel Company operated a 2 ft. narrow-gauge railway freight tunnel network (until 1959).[1] 1907: Adolph Kroch opens a bookstore which will evolve into Kroch's and Brentano's 1908 The Chicago Cubs win the World Series for the second year in a row Binga Bank in business.[29] 1909: Burnham's Plan of Chicago presented.[14] 1910: Population: 2,185,283.[1][30] July 1: Comiskey Park opened (originally called White Sox Park). December 22: Chicago Union Stock Yards fire (1910) 1911: Chicago and North Western Railway Terminal completed.[1] 1912: Harriet Monroe starts Poetry, which will soon make Chicago a magnet for modern poets. 1913 Great Lakes Storm of 1913 Wabash Avenue YMCA opens.[31] 1914: Alpha Suffrage Club active.[32] April 23: Wrigley Field opened (originally called Weeghman Park). All Star Tournament, 18 Inch Balke Line, Chicago, May 7?14, 1906 Jewish men and boys standing on a sidewalk in Chicago, 1903 Theodore Roosevelt in Chicago, 1915 During construction, 1915 (Chicago Daily News) 1915 July 24, the SS Eastland Disaster.[1] Chicago Municipal Tuberculosis Sanitarium founded.[30] 1916 Rebuilding of the American Fort Navy Pier built. [30] 1918 Micheaux Film and Book Company in business.[33] The Spanish flu killed over 8,500 people in Chicago between September and November 1918. 1919 July 27, the Chicago race riot of 1919. Real estate broker Archibald Teller opened the first Fannie May candy store. 1920: Population: 2,701,705.[30] 1921 Balaban and Katz Chicago Theatre built, (later the Chicago Theatre). Field Museum of Natural History relocates to Chicago Park District.[30] Street-widening and street-opening projects underway.[30] Medill School of Journalism opens.[30] 1922: Chicago Council on Global Affairs established.[34] 1924 Murder trial and conviction of Leopold and Loeb. October 9: Soldier Field opened. 1925 Goodman Theatre established. Chicago railway station opened.[30] The Tribune Tower was completed on Michigan Avenue. The building's large Gothic entrance contains pieces of stone from other famous buildings: Westminster Abbey, Cologne Cathedral, the Alamo, the Taj Mahal, the Great Pyramid, and the Arc de Triomphe. 1926 Nederlander Theatre opened. Granada Theatre opened. 1927: Originally called the Chicago Municipal Airport, Chicago Midway International Airport opened. It was renamed in 1949 to honor the Battle of Midway in World War II. July 28: 27 people, mostly women and children, were killed in the Favorite Boat Disaster. 1929 February 14, the St. Valentine's Day Massacre.[21][35] Oscar De Priest becomes U.S. representative for Illinois's 1st congressional district.[36][37] Civic Opera Building & Civic Opera House opened. 1930 March 6: 50,000 gather for International Unemployment Day, capping 10 days of protest against Great Depression conditions. May 12, Adler Planetarium opened, through a gift from local merchant Max Adler. It was the first planetarium in the Western Hemisphere.[38] April 6, Twinkies are in Invented in Schiller Park. May 30, Shedd Aquarium opens. The Merchandise Mart was built for Marshall Field & Co. The $32 million, 4.2 million square foot (390,000 m2) building was the world's largest commercial building. It was sold it to Joseph P. Kennedy in 1945. 1933 Museum of Science and Industry (Chicago) opened. March 6: Mayor Anton Cermak was killed while riding in a car with President-elect Roosevelt. The assassin was thought to have been aiming for Roosevelt. 1933?34: Century of Progress World's Fair. 1934 May 19: Chicago Union Stock Yards fire (1934) July 1: Brookfield Zoo opened. July 22: John Dillinger was shot by the FBI in the alley next to the Biograph Theater.[21] 1935 January 19: Coopers Inc. sells the world's first briefs. Jay Berwanger of the University of Chicago is awarded the very first Heisman Trophy 1937: Labor strike of steelworkers.[8] 1938: Community Factbook begins publication.[39] 1944: Premiere of Williams' play The Glass Menagerie. 1945: Ebony magazine begins publication.[40] 1946: Construction of Thatcher Homes begins. 1948: Chicago Daily Sun and Times newspaper begins publication.[9] 1950s?1990s 1950: Chess Records in business.[41] 1954: Johnson Products Company in business. 1955: The first McDonald's franchise restaurant, owned by Ray Kroc, opened in the suburb of Des Plaines. 1958 December 1, Our Lady of the Angels School Fire. The last streetcar ran in the city. At one time, Chicago had the largest streetcar system in the world. 1959: Second City comedy troupe active. 1960 September 26: Nixon-Kennedy televised presidential debate held.[21] The first of the Playboy Clubs, featuring bunnies, opened in Chicago. 1963 ? Donald Rumsfeld became U.S. representative for Illinois's 13th congressional district.[42] 1965?66 ? The Chicago Freedom Movement, centering on the topic of open housing, paves the way for the 1968 Fair Housing Act. 1966 July 13?14: Chicago student nurse massacre 1967 January 26 ? 27, Major snowstorm deposits 23 inches of snow, closing the city for several days.[2] August 1: maiden voyage of UAC TurboTrain. 1968: February 7: Mickelberry Sausage Company plant explosion kills nine and injured 70. August 26 ? 29, 1968 Democratic National Convention and its accompanying anti-Vietnam War protests. 1969 October: Weathermen's antiwar demonstration.[43] December 4: Black Panther Fred Hampton assassinated. The Chicago 8 trial opens. The 100-floor John Hancock Center was built. 1970 Soul Train television program begins broadcasting. Casa Aztlán (organization) founded.[44] 1971: Segundo Ruiz Belvis Cultural Center founded.[45] 1972: Vietnam Veterans Against the War headquartered in Chicago. 1973: Sears Tower, the tallest building in the world for the next 25 years, was completed. 1974: Steppenwolf Theatre Company founded. 1977: Chicago Marathon begins.[41] 1978: First BBS goes online on February 16. 1979 Heavy snowstorm and city's slow response lead to upset of incumbent mayor. May 25, the American Airlines Flight 191 crashes. Chicago's first female mayor, Jane M. Byrne, takes office. Woodstock Institute headquartered in city.[46] 1981: Hill Street Blues television show premieres on January 15. 1982 September ? October: Chicago Tylenol murders 1983 Harold Washington became the first African American mayor.[47] Ordinance banning handguns takes effect.[35][48] 1984 The Chicago Cubs reach the postseason for the first time since 1945 The Nike shoe Air Jordan is made for superstar basketball player of the Chicago Bulls Michael Jordan. Heartland Institute headquartered in city.[49] 1986 Oprah Winfrey's Harpo Productions, Inc. in business. The Chicago Bears win Super Bowl XX Presidential Towers complex completed 1988 Lights are installed in Wrigley Field Christian Peacemaker Teams headquartered in city.[49] 1990: Population: 2,783,726.[3] 1991: May 28, at the Consumer Electronics Show in Chicago, Sony proudly revealed that it was working with Nintendo to create a version of the Super NES with an in-built CD drive. The two Japanese companies had been working together in secret on the project, tentatively titled the Nintendo PlayStation, since 1989 and with the hype about CD-ROM reaching fever pitch, Sony?s announcement should have been a highlight of the trade show. Eventually leads to betrayal of the company Nintendo to Sony into Leading to the beginning of PlayStation Counsel.[50] 1992: April 13, the Chicago Flood. 1995 The Chicago Heat Wave of 1995. Your Radio Playhouse begins broadcasting. Kroch's and Brentano's, once the largest privately owned bookstore chain in the US, closes. 1996 Chicago hosts the 1996 Democratic National Convention, sparking protests such as the one whereby Civil Rights Movement historian Randy Kryn and 10 others were arrested by the Federal Protective Service.[51] City website online (approximate date).[52][53] 1998: The Chicago Bulls won their sixth NBA championship in eight years. 21st century 2001: 9/11 Chicago International Speedway is opened. Boeing moves its headquarters from Seattle to Chicago A video game company called Bungie Launches Halo that would give Rise to Microsoft's Xbox counsels. 2002: Lakeview Polar Bear Club founded (now known as the Chicago Polar Bear Club). 2003 Meigs Field closed after having large X-shaped gouges dug into the runway surface by bulldozers in the middle of the night. Chicago Film Archives founded. February 17: 2003 E2 nightclub stampede June 29: 2003 Chicago balcony collapse 2004: Millennium Park opens.[54] 2005 The Chicago White Sox win their first World Series in 88 years. Regional Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning established.[55] 2006 May 1, the 2006 U.S. immigration reform protests draw over 400,000. Cloud Gate artwork installed in Millennium Park. 2008: November 4, US President-elect Barack Obama makes his victory speech in Grant Park. In 2009, an Amtrak Lake Shore Limited train backing into Chicago Union Station Chicago Theater in 2011 2010 June 28: US supreme court case McDonald v. City of Chicago decided; overturns city handgun ban.[48] Chicago Blackhawks win the Stanley Cup. City of Chicago Data Portal launched.[3] 2011 February 2: 900 cars abandoned on Lake Shore Drive due to Blizzard. March 30: Last of Cabrini Green towers torn down. Rahm Emanuel becomes mayor. Population: 8,707,120; metro 17,504,753.[56] 2012 38th G8 summit and 2012 Chicago Summit are to take place in Chicago. The first of an ongoing franchise of NBC Chicago-set dramas, Chicago Fire, makes its world premiere on WMAQ 2013 Chicago Blackhawks win the Stanley Cup scoring 2 goals in 17 seconds to defeat the Boston Bruins Robin Kelly becomes U.S. representative for Illinois's 2nd congressional district. 2014: January: Chiberia August: Archer Daniels Midland completes its headquarters move from Decatur to the Loop. November 2: Wallenda performs high-wire stunt.[57] 2015 606 linear park opens. Chicago Blackhawks win the Stanley Cup yet again for the third time in six years, establishing a "puck dynasty" nationwide and arguably becoming the best team in the NHL. Video of the murder of Laquan McDonald is released by court order, and protests ensue. 2016: June 16: McDonald's announces it will move its headquarters from Oak Brook to the West Loop by 2018. ConAgra completes its headquarters move from Omaha to the Merchandise Mart. November 2: Cubs win the world series. Navy Pier in 2017 2017 January 21: Women's protest against U.S. president Trump.[58] City approves public high school "post-graduation plan" graduation requirement (to be effected 2020).[59] 2018: Walgreens announces the move of its headquarters from Deerfield, including 2,000 jobs, to the Old Chicago Main Post Office. 14th Street Coach Yard and Willis Tower, October 2018 2019 May 20: Lori Lightfoot becomes the first female African-American mayor of Chicago. 2020 March 16: First Chicago death due to the COVID-19 pandemic; Governor J.B. Pritzker and Mayor Lori Lightfoot issue a stay at home order. Over 7,700 people in Chicago died in the pandemic. May 28 ? June 1: George Floyd protests in Chicago 2022 May ? July: 2022-2023 abortion protests 2023 May 15: Brandon Johnson becomes mayor. See also History of Chicago List of mayors of Chicago National Register of Historic Places listings in Chicago
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