Today in Chicago History: White Sox flip the switch to host city's first MLB night game
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Weather records (from the National Weather Service, Chicago)
1939: The first Major League Baseball night game in Chicago took place on the South Side.
'It was as though one had suddenly walked into bright sunshine,' the Tribune reported after Charles Comiskey II flipped two switches at 8:25 p.m. to ignite Comiskey Park's new $140,000 'illuminating plant.' White Sox pitcher Johnny Rigney then threw a three-hitter and struck out 10 St. Louis Browns in a 5-2 win watched by more than 30,000 fans.
Vintage Chicago Tribune: How Wrigley Field got lights and why Cubs fans had to wait past 8-8-88 to raise 'W' flagCubs executives — including future Sox owner Bill Veeck — were also in attendance. Charles Drake, assistant to then-Cubs owner Philip K. Wrigley, told the Tribune that Wrigley Field would not be lit until the team was certain their fans want night baseball there.
1945: At 6 p.m. Chicago time, President Harry S. Truman gathered reporters in the Oval Office of the White House to announce that Japan's Emperor Hirohito agreed to surrender. Victory over Japan (or V-J) Day marked the end of World War II.
Vintage Chicago Tribune: How the city celebrated war's end and welcomed its veterans homeWithin minutes of the announcement, tens of thousands of people gathered in the Loop to celebrate.
'They were noisy. They represented all ages and all classes. Elderly men and women were as numerous as bobby soxers,' the Tribune reported. 'The celebrants shouted, they sang and danced, but they were orderly. Taverns and cocktail lounges had closed their doors immediately.'
1981: Chicagoan Willye White, the first woman to qualify for five Olympic Games, was inducted into the Track and Field Hall of Fame. White qualified for the Olympics in 1956, 1960, 1964, 1968 and 1972. She won a silver medal in the long jump as a 16-year-old at Melbourne in 1956. She later carried the U.S. flag in the Olympic parade and won 13 national titles.
1993: Eighteen-year-old Tricia Pacaccio was discovered by her father stabbed to death on the porch of their Glenview home. Police did not know the motive for the killing.
It wasn't until a decade later that investigators discovered that the DNA collected from her fingernails belonged to Michael Gargiulo, a neighbor who had moved to Los Angeles and was charged with Pacaccio's death in 2011. A jury found him guilty in three brutal knife attacks there in 2019. Gargiulo was extradited to Illinois in September 2024, to stand trial on charges of murder in the Glenview teen's slaying.
2004: What have come to be known as the 'Tinley Park lights' were seen as well as photographed by hundreds of people not only in Tinley Park but Oak Forest, Orland Park, Frankfort and Mokena, making it one of the better documented UFO phenomena in recent history.
Vintage Chicago Tribune: 'Close encounters' with UFOs in Illinois!!!!!All reports of the sightings described three red or white lights in a triangular pattern that moved in unison, hovered for up to 30 minutes and made no audible sound.
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She studied business analytics, led the Spartans in rebounds and steals and took second in the high jump at the Sun Belt Conference outdoor track and field championships. Geraci's college athletic career ended on a pleasant note. Nevertheless, she remained unfulfilled and now stricken by the notion of being done. 'I was just looking for other ways,' Geraci said. 'I thought, 'Something needs to fix me.'' Football never stopped summoning her. Briefly living in Charlotte, Geraci researched women's football leagues of all types. She spotted that Fulford was playing in the area and asked for guidance. 'I thought she was super-electric in the flag-football world,' Geraci said. 'I remember watching her highlights and thinking, 'Dang, I want to be able to do stuff like that.'' Fulford pointed her in the right direction and provided some local contacts who put Geraci in a league. But it wasn't until Fulford saw highlights of the newbie that she realized bigger dreams were possible. There's a national flag football team, Geraci learned. The Olympics. NFL involvement. Television. The big time. Fulford invited Geraci to play on her exclusive club team, a break that fast-tracked Geraci's development and elevated her platform. The right people soon noticed. Geraci called it 'serendipity.' Despite this, Fulford refused to acknowledge making any discovery. 'No, no, no, no, no,' Fulford muttered, then punctuating with one last, loud, 'No! That girl is phenomenal. She would've easily found her way on this team without me. I just brought her into certain situations.' Brownson, however, insisted on giving Fulford credit for recognizing a future USA teammate and — when on the road for tournaments — roommate. Three years from now, they could be on the Olympic medal stand together in Los Angeles. 'I appreciate Madison giving us credit that we would have found Izzy, but timing is everything,' Brownson said. 'Who knows what would've happened without Madison getting Izzy into the sport when she did? 'The impact that it's had over the past two years by getting Izzy in the pool, Madison deserves a ton of credit. Little did she know she was bringing in her '2' for that 1-2 punch they give us. It's changed the dynamic of our offense completely.' At the forefront of that overhauled roster, the U.S. could have used them at the World Games three years ago. Back then, Geraci couldn't have imagined any of this, not the 'USA' across her chest, not the world stage, not the talk of her being the best receiver in the world. She heard Brownson say those words, but all these months later the rookie still doesn't believe it. 'I can't even explain what it felt like to hear because I was so blown away that she would think that of me,' Geraci said. 'It drives me to want to be better every day because I want to meet that standard. I'm still asking questions and learning. I don't want to disappoint anyone and drop to a lower level. 'This happened really quickly. It's still a whirlwind.' This article originally appeared in The Athletic. NFL, Olympics, Global Sports, Women's Olympics 2025 The Athletic Media Company
