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Chicago Tribune
2 hours ago
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
Today in Chicago History: Bears legend Walter Payton — ‘Sweetness' — inducted into Pro Football Hall of Fame
Here's a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on July 31, according to the Tribune's archives. Is an important event missing from this date? Email us. Weather records (from the National Weather Service, Chicago) 1928: Women's track was added to the Olympics for the first time at Amsterdam. In the finals of the first event, 16-year-old Betty Robinson of Riverdale, Illinois, won the gold medal in the 100-meter dash. Her time: 12.2 seconds. Two finalists were disqualified for two false starts apiece. Myrtle Cook of Canada sobbed almost out of control. Germany's Helene Schmidt shook her fist at the starter and swore revenge. Robinson was seriously injured in a plane crash and could not defend her title in the 1932 Games in Los Angeles. Aided in her rehab at Northwestern University by Wildcats coach Frank Hill and trainer Carl Erickson, Robinson ran a leg on the gold-medal U.S. 4-x-100 relay team in the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Another Northwestern sprinter, Annette Rogers, ran on the same relay team. 1985: An early morning fire in Arlington Park's adjacent Post and Paddock Club led to greater ruin when the fire spread and destroyed the main grandstand. No one was injured. Fire tore through Arlington Park racetrack 40 years ago. Less than a month later, the season's biggest event went on as than a month later, more than 35,000 fans crowded into temporary tents and bleachers to watch the 'Miracle Million,' as Great Britain's Teleprompter defeated Greinton by less than a length. The Arlington team was recognized by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association with an Eclipse Award, the first ever awarded to a racetrack. 1993: Chicago Bears running back Walter Payton was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. 'Life is short, it is oh so sweet, there are a lot of people that we meet as we walk through these hallowed halls, but the things that mean the most are the friendships that you meet and take along with you,' Payton told the crowd in Canton, Ohio. The 5-foot-10-inch, 200-pound Payton retired after the 1987 season as the NFL's all-time leading rusher with 16,726 yards, pushing well past Jim Brown's previous record of 12,312. It is the closest thing football has to baseball's hallowed home run mark, and Payton held it for 15 years before Emmitt Smith passed him in 2002 and ended up with 18,355. Walter Payton: The life, career of the Chicago Bears Hall of Famer better known as 'Sweetness'When he died at 45 of bile duct cancer and liver failure on Nov. 1, 1999, the city mourned. His public memorial brought 20,000 people to Soldier Field, where speakers included NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue, Hall of Famers Dan Hampton and Mike Ditka and the Rev. Jesse Jackson. The NFL Man of the Year Award, which he won along with his MVP in 1977, was renamed after Payton in 2000. Subscribe to the free Vintage Chicago Tribune newsletter, join our Chicagoland history Facebook group, stay current with Today in Chicago History and follow us on Instagram for more from Chicago's past.
BBC News
3 hours ago
- Climate
- BBC News
Rain drives fans away at exposed Soldier Field
Premier League officials had been hoping for an attendance of just under 50,000 for the second game of their three-match Summer there were far fewer in the stands by the end as the awful conditions soaked the fans who had rain was swept across one end of Soldier Field to the other. There is no cover at the 61,500 arena, which is a surprise given the freezing temperatures this city experiences in the winter and the fact the stadium hosts the Chicago Bears NFL attending tonight's game suggested it was a source of pride for Bears fans that they brave such conditions but evidently, that view is not shared by league chiefs who have never hosted a Super Bowl in Chicago.
Washington Post
9 hours ago
- Sport
- Washington Post
Better practices show Bears QB Caleb Williams has gained confidence in new offense
LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Quarterback Caleb Williams' confidence has hit a new high in the Chicago Bears offense while the number of interceptions he is throwing in practice is declining. Williams has practiced for a week in new coach Ben Johnson's offense and after struggling initially with turnovers, the second-year quarterback seems to have stabilized within the attack.
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Better practices show Bears QB Caleb Williams has gained confidence in new offense
LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — Quarterback Caleb Williams' confidence has hit a new high in the Chicago Bears offense while the number of interceptions he is throwing in practice is declining. Williams has practiced for a week in new coach Ben Johnson's offense and after struggling initially with turnovers, the second-year quarterback seems to have stabilized within the attack. 'I think as of right now I think I'm rolling,' Williams said. 'I'm pretty smooth with it as of right now.' It's not perfect, as the offense continued Wednesday at practice to have difficulty getting into the end zone from within the red zone. Still, it does look more consistent and Williams is finding more of his playmakers on time. 'It comes down to just a little bit more studying, it comes down to a little bit more practicing, a lot more reps and things like that over time,' Williams said. 'So I think that's where it is. I think that's where it is right now. We're going to keep progressing, and I'm going to keep progressing and getting after it.' Initially, Williams' troubles were in simple things such as pre-snap procedure or even getting the snap from center. The snaps were understandable because the Bears took most of their snaps in shotgun formation under former coach Matt Eberflus and his two offensive coordinators last season. Now Williams is under center extensively for the first time in his career going back through college. 'I think right now I'm doing well with the process, whether that's before the snap, whether it's after the snap whether it's footwork, all these different things,' Williams said. 'Protecting the football these last couple of practices has been key and important. 'It's important in any season, in any moment.' Johnson confirms Williams' advancement, even if he is hollering at times and actually pulled the offense back off the field on Day 1. 'I see growth. He is so much more comfortable right now,' Johnson said of Williams. 'Even (Monday), the walkthrough ... just in terms of moving around. We go from gun, to under (center), to the tight ends are moving, the receivers are moving, we're adding a few more every single day. 'His process, and I told him this on the player day off, his process is really clean right now. I'm talking about how he's preparing. I'm really pleased with it. He's doing the work behind the scenes that no one else is seeing and we're starting to see the dividends being paid from it.' It helps having all of his playmakers available. Throughout OTAs and even the start of training camp, they were getting little participation from rookie first-round tight end Colston Loveland because of his postseason shoulder surgery. Second-round wide receiver Luther Burden III did not practice from early May through the first week of training camp because of a soft tissue injury. Both are back and catching passes now during practice. Loveland has formed a quick connection. 'He's been great,' Williams. 'He's a smart cat. We've hung out a few times. Actually, him and a couple other teammates, we went down to the city on our off day and had dinner. 'We're hanging out, building that bond, building that trust. On the field-wise, he's smart, he knows what he's doing, he's a young cat so there are going to be a few mistakes, maybe hand placement. But when the ball goes up, I got all faith in him.' Burden had a rocky start. He got pulled off the field once for lining up wrong, the product of so much time away from practices. 'It shows up already,' Johnson said. 'We were in the walkthrough yesterday afternoon and the misalignments, we had to re-huddle. We had to start it all over again. He's a little bit behind right now.' Burden made up for it on Wednesday with a catch in traffic and a touchdown in red zone work. Johnson didn't lay all of the earlier problems on Williams or receivers. Their rebuilt offensive line has had to work to keep up with coordinator Dennis Allen's defense. 'We need to do a better job giving our quarterbacks a clean pocket,' Johnson said. 'We're having to work the scramble drill a little bit more than we would like.' ___ AP NFL:
Associated Press
12 hours ago
- Sport
- Associated Press
Better practices show Bears QB Caleb Williams has gained confidence in new offense
LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — Quarterback Caleb Williams' confidence has hit a new high in the Chicago Bears offense while the number of interceptions he is throwing in practice is declining. Williams has practiced for a week in new coach Ben Johnson's offense and after struggling initially with turnovers, the second-year quarterback seems to have stabilized within the attack. 'I think as of right now I think I'm rolling,' Williams said. 'I'm pretty smooth with it as of right now.' It's not perfect, as the offense continued Wednesday at practice to have difficulty getting into the end zone from within the red zone. Still, it does look more consistent and Williams is finding more of his playmakers on time. 'It comes down to just a little bit more studying, it comes down to a little bit more practicing, a lot more reps and things like that over time,' Williams said. 'So I think that's where it is. I think that's where it is right now. We're going to keep progressing, and I'm going to keep progressing and getting after it.' Initially, Williams' troubles were in simple things such as pre-snap procedure or even getting the snap from center. The snaps were understandable because the Bears took most of their snaps in shotgun formation under former coach Matt Eberflus and his two offensive coordinators last season. Now Williams is under center extensively for the first time in his career going back through college. 'I think right now I'm doing well with the process, whether that's before the snap, whether it's after the snap whether it's footwork, all these different things,' Williams said. 'Protecting the football these last couple of practices has been key and important. 'It's important in any season, in any moment.' Johnson confirms Williams' advancement, even if he is hollering at times and actually pulled the offense back off the field on Day 1. 'I see growth. He is so much more comfortable right now,' Johnson said of Williams. 'Even (Monday), the walkthrough ... just in terms of moving around. We go from gun, to under (center), to the tight ends are moving, the receivers are moving, we're adding a few more every single day. 'His process, and I told him this on the player day off, his process is really clean right now. I'm talking about how he's preparing. I'm really pleased with it. He's doing the work behind the scenes that no one else is seeing and we're starting to see the dividends being paid from it.' It helps having all of his playmakers available. Throughout OTAs and even the start of training camp, they were getting little participation from rookie first-round tight end Colston Loveland because of his postseason shoulder surgery. Second-round wide receiver Luther Burden III did not practice from early May through the first week of training camp because of a soft tissue injury. Both are back and catching passes now during practice. Loveland has formed a quick connection. 'He's been great,' Williams. 'He's a smart cat. We've hung out a few times. Actually, him and a couple other teammates, we went down to the city on our off day and had dinner. 'We're hanging out, building that bond, building that trust. On the field-wise, he's smart, he knows what he's doing, he's a young cat so there are going to be a few mistakes, maybe hand placement. But when the ball goes up, I got all faith in him.' Burden had a rocky start. He got pulled off the field once for lining up wrong, the product of so much time away from practices. 'It shows up already,' Johnson said. 'We were in the walkthrough yesterday afternoon and the misalignments, we had to re-huddle. We had to start it all over again. He's a little bit behind right now.' Burden made up for it on Wednesday with a catch in traffic and a touchdown in red zone work. Johnson didn't lay all of the earlier problems on Williams or receivers. Their rebuilt offensive line has had to work to keep up with coordinator Dennis Allen's defense. 'We need to do a better job giving our quarterbacks a clean pocket,' Johnson said. 'We're having to work the scramble drill a little bit more than we would like.' ___ AP NFL:
