Trivia Tuesday: The Deadliest Accident

     Okay folks, we're back for more trivia.  But first, here's the answer to last week's question. The Chicago Sports Museum has any number of items on display, and I asked you to name 3 of them.  You could have said any of the following:

The home plate from Kerry Wood's final game before retiring(signed by Woody himself, of course)

The blasted smithereens of what used to be a baseball(that fell by a certain seat) used in a certain baseball game on October 14, 2003

Several pieces of memorabilia from the actor James Denton(who used to bus tables at the establishment when he was a struggling young actor)

Richard Dent's 1985 Super Bowl trophy

The bat used to make the final out of the 2005 World Series

Several old newspaper clippings reporting on classic moments in Chicago Sports History

     And now, on to this week's question:

The deadliest aviation accident on American soil happened right here in Chicago.  What date did it happen on?  For bonus points, what airport did the plane fly out of?  For extra bonus points, what was the name of the pilot of the plane?

     Best of luck, and we'll be back next week with the answer and more trivia.

Coming in a Blase of Glory: Chicago's New Archbishop

     Back in September, Pope Francis named Blase Cupich as the successor to the 77-year-old Cardinal Francis George as Archbishop of Chicago. On Tuesday, the appointment was made official when Cupich was installed as the new Archbishop in front of a packed house in Holy Name Cathedral. In his installation speech, he advocated for not becoming complacent with "the mountaintop of our self-assuredness, but rather walk into the mess". By all accounts, Archbishop Cupich is a demonstration of how Pope Francis is shaping the new face of the Catholic Church as a compassionate, caring front that is working to welcome back parishioners who have been jaded by the recent scandals that have befallen the Church.


     In his installation Cupich used an implement that had also been used by George Mundelein (a leader who was considered to be a compassionate and caring figure in his time as well) in his installation 99 years earlier, further symbolizing his reformist views.  In his installation address, Blase avoided making any overt political statements, instead making a point to recognize those who had shaped his ministry, such as his immigrant ancestors from Croatia and the Native Americans he had met as bishop of Rapid City, South Dakota(his previous posting).  Due to an interesting rule, Archbishop Cupich is not actually a Cardinal.  A diocese can only have one voting Cardinal at a time, and Francis George is eligible to remain one for another three years. After he turns 80, Cupich will become a Cardinal.


     Our new Archbishop is getting right down to business, going on a preaching tour of several ethnic parishes in the diocese.  He'll be going to the largest Polish parish in the city next month, but tomorrow he'll be going to a Lawndale parish that was caught right in the middle of the sex abuse scandal.  We can be sure that there are changes to come in the future, but through it all, Chicago has always had, and will continue to have, guidance from strong Archbishops, a club now joined by Blase Cupich.

Walking in the Sky: Surreal Chicago Week Day 5

     Back on November 2 (which was the night before the Red Bull Air Force made their appearance in Chicago), Discovery Channel broadcast a two hour television special talking about Nik Wallenda's attempt to add Chicago to his list of daredevil walks (if this sounds slightly familiar, that's because I've mentioned it before). In the days leading up to the walk, the hype train reached incredible speeds, and several articles were put out (like this one) that elaborated on some of the details of the walk. Since the actual walk only took up the last half hour of the show, they needed to throw in quite a bit of filler, so they started out the show by talking to such assorted personalities as his family, his parents, and even Pastor Joel Osteen. Yeah, Joel Osteen(you just can't make this stuff up[though to be fair, Wallenda did mention his faith several times, but it still seems like they were reaching a bit]). Then the time came for his walk. I'll elaborate more in a second, but to start off with, let's take in the walk looking straight down from Wallenda's perspective.


     Feel dizzy yet?  Here's what happened. First Wallenda crossed between one of the Marina City towers and the Leo Burnett building, going over the Chicago River in the process, and walking 451 feet across the river. After that, he took an elevator down to the ground, walked back to the other side of the river, then walked between the two Marina City towers, blindfolded. Yeah, you read that right, his plan was to walk 581 feet off the ground completely blind. They don't call him a daredevil for nothing.  After he safely made it across on his second walk, everybody let out a big sigh of relief, and Nik Wallenda was able to put yet another feather into his daredevil cap.

The Golden Throat is NOT toast: Surreal Chicago Week Day 4

     You've seen him amongst the throngs at Wrigley to take in a Cubs game(perhaps in the Bleachers). You've seen him at the Toast to Harry Caray. You've seen him at the Cubs Convention. Hell, I've even seen him walking down Clark Street at 11:00 on a Saturday night. But wherever he goes, he's always wearing a well-worn Cubs uniform with two words on back. "Woo Woo".


     Ronald Wickers first started attending Cubs games in the late 1940s. By the end of the 1950s, he had started his own unique cheer. By the 80s, he was firmly entrenched in the annals of Cubs Lore. In 1983, Bill Veeck asserted that "The best way to appreciate Ronnie is when he's about 100 feet away and not in your ear. All throughout the glory years of the 60s(even the heartbreak of '69), and the Bleacher Bum era of the '70s, Ronnie was there.  when some of his family members died in the 1980s, he all of a sudden found himself homeless without a stable job.  Between 1984 and 1990, he even attended Cubs games off of the grace of fellow fans.  In the 1987 season there was a period where he stopped showing up at Cubs games, and some loyal fans began to worry that he had died.  Eventually Ronnie contacted a local news organization to confirm that he was still very much among the living.


     Since 1990, Wickers' life has taken a minor upswing.  He has found several sources of income, be they washing windows in the Wrigleyville neighborhood, selling Streetwise magazines, and even working a job set up for him by a friend.  In 2001, he sailed to new heights when he sang "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" at Wrigley, joining such luminaries as Bill Murray, William Petersen, and (cough)Mike Ditka.  Ronnie is still a persistent presence at all things Cubs to this day, retaining his position as the city's Biggest Cubs Fan.

Meteors, Skydivers, and Cans: Surreal Chicago Week Day 3

     Back on November 3, there was a strange sight flying over Chicago.  Some people thought they saw a meteor.  Others thought they saw a fireball descending from the night sky.  Here's a video, maybe you can see it for yourself:

     As you can see, the apocalypse is not upon us(so stop the mad dash to the doomsday shelters).  In fact, what it was that night were 3 members of the Red Bull Air Force doing a jump.  The Red Bull Air Force is a team of skydivers who tours the country doing different performances and showing off their death-defying leaps.  They were in Chicago to do a promotion for the Red Bull Art of Can exhibit that ran in Millennium Park earlier this month.  From the 7th through the 16th, the public was welcomed to a special indoor facility on the Chase Promenade where they could see different works of art by various artists.  The catch?  All the art had to be constructed out of empty cans of Red Bull.  Even with the somewhat interesting materials requirement, there were still several very ambitious and interesting pieces that came out of the exhibition, such as a deer head, a swing set, a jeep, and a cobra, all made out of cans of Red Bull.  Both the exhibition and the skydive went well, and certainly made Red Bull's contribution to the city this month very surreal.

Spider Dan: Surreal Chicago Week Day 2

     The 1980s in Chicago. A time of Chicagofest, big hair, NO DISCO, Da Bears(and their Superfans), and many other things. One of the more surreal Chicago events from that decade came in 1981. First, on Memorial Day, a gentleman by the name of Dan Goodwin scaled the Sears Tower using (among other things) suction cups in an effort to call attention to the challenges of rescuing people from high-rise fires(a peril he knew firsthand from watching the infamous MGM Grand fire a year earlier in Las Vegas). His climb took seven hours, and aside from a few attempts by the Fire Department to stop him, he reached the top of the tower and unfurled the flag to honor his father.

     Six months later Dan came back for Veterans Day. After having just climbed 56 stories in Dallas 4 days earlier, this time he had his sights set on the 100 story John Hancock Center. He started out, this time in a wetsuit made to resemble a Spider Man outfit. As he went, he swung across the building on a rope in order to elude firefighters who were trying to catch him with a window-washing machine. The firefighters then switched to using fire hoses in an attempt to blow him off the side of the building, while at the same time using axes to break the windows of the Hancock in order to deprive Goodwin of handholds. In addition to all of that, they also stuck poles through the windows to dislodge him. Finally, Mayor Jane Byrne stepped in to stop the madness and allowed Spider Dan to finish his climb unimpeded. Of course he was arrested at the top of the building, but he raised awareness anyway.

     Over the intervening 33 years, Goodwin has climbed several more buildings, including the CN Tower, the North Tower of the World Trade Center, and even a building in Chile this past March, but Chicagoans will remember him as the man who took on the 2 tallest buildings in the city-and lived to tell the tale.

Trivia Tuesday: Chicago's Sporting Past.

     Readers, it is time for more trivia.  YAY!  But first, here's the answer to last week's question: Chicago's very first Planetarium was the Atwood Sphere, which opened up in the Chicago Academy of Sciences on October 27, 1913(17 years before the Adler Planetarium).  And now, for this week's question:

The Chicago Sports Museum inside the Navy Pier location of Harry Caray's has many items from Chicago's sporting past.  Name 3 of them on display.

     Thanks for playing, and we'll be back next week with the answer and more trivia.  Cheers!