Columnist Paul Sullivan looks back at history of Chicago sports ahead of America's 250th anniversary
As America turns 250 years old in a few weeks, we're taking a closer look at Chicago's sports history.
Chicago's first documented professional team was founded back in 1870. The white stockings, who eventually became the Chicago Cubs, not the White Sox.
Since then, it's been decades of heartache offset by pockets of championship glory, with some of the most pivotal figures in American sports history.
"You can't talk about sports in America without talking about Chicago," said Chicago Tribune columnist Paul Sullivan
Sullivan has spent more than four decades chronicling the city's vast sports scene.
"The Bears, obviously, Papa Bear, um, basically invented pro football," he said.
And if we're talking about founding sports fathers, you gotta start with Papa Bear and George Halas.
The Bears were born as the Decatur Staleys in 1920, but George Halas built the NFL charter franchise into the monsters of the midway in Chicago. From Butkus to Urlacher, and Sayers to Sweetness, the Bears have the largest collection of pro football Hall of Famers. No team captivated the nation like the iconic '85 Super Bowl Bears.
"Yeah, I mean, Ditka is, uh... he just transcended everything, and obviously, the, you know, the Saturday Night Live skit, the super fans thing, uh, helped spread that thing," Sullivan said.
The Cubs had the country's longest-suffering fan base, enduring the curse of the billy goat, the '69 black cat, and the "Bartman ball" in 2003. However, the North Siders finally shook that "lovable losers" label in 2016, ending the franchise's over-century-long championship drought.
Between the 1919 Black Sox scandal and the 2005 World Series title, two-time White Sox owner Bill Veeck was a sports marketing pioneer.
"He truly added fireworks to the fan experience," Sullivan said.
Referencing the exploding scoreboard.
Before the dynamic duo of Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews led the Blackhawks to a trio of Stanley Cup titles in the 2010s, hockey legends Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita starred for the "Original 6" franchise during the rough and tumble days of the NHL, and there's nothing like the rip-roaring rendition of the national anthem at the Madhouse on Madison.
Harry Caray made singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" a staple at Wrigley Field. The seventh-inning stretch tradition actually started on the South Side when Caray was broadcasting for the White Sox in the 70s.
Michael Jordan is immortalized atop the Mt. Rushmore of Chicago sports superstars. "His Airness" elevated the city on the global stage with the Bulls soaring to six championships during the electrifying 90s dynasty.
"You know, to this day, you still see people in other countries wearing Bulls hats, even though he's been out of the game for so long," Sullivan said. "I mean, it just, it just permeates the whole, uh, American culture of Chicago sports. And, uh, you know, we were talking about, is it the best sports city in America? And, uh, I think there's a good argument that it is, just because Chicago fans are so passionate and so loyal."
Also worth noting, the term "March Madness" was coined right here in the high school hoops hotbed of Illinois.
The first-ever Final Four was played in Evanston, and the 1963 Loyola Ramblers remain the only team from the state to win a Division 1 national championship while also making history with the groundbreaking "Game of Change" that led to college basketball integration.
