Chicago Sports Then and Now

In 1953 Chicago native Johnny Lattner won the Heisman Trophy.

Chicago native, Johnny Lattner, who is now 87 years old, went on to have a distinguished collegiate career at Notre Dame from 1951-53. During his three years with the Irish, Lattner was a two-way player, a running back and a defensive back. The legendary journalist Jimmy Breslin said that Lattner in 1952 “was the best two-way player in the business.”

In 1953, Lattner had a great year generating 1279 yards of total offense. As a T-formation halfback, he rushed for 651 yards and caught 204 yards worth of passes. He ran eight kickoff returns for 321 yards, returning two for touchdowns. He also returned ten punt returns for 103 yards. Lattner also intercepted four passes on defense. Lattner won the Heisman Trophy that year and was elected to the College Hall of Fame in 1979.

Lattner was the Steelers first-round draft pick in 1954. He had a decent rookie year, rushing for 237 yards, with 305 yards of pass receptions. He returned kickoffs and punts, and gained 413 and 73 yards respectively. He scored seven touchdowns.

He served in the Air Force for two years after his rookie year, and he severely hurt his knee in a service game. This injury prevented him from ever playing in another NFL game.

In 2005 the White Sox claimed the first World Series title for the city since 1917.

With the first decade of the 21st Century coming to a close, we look back at 10 memorable sports moments for Chicago area sports teams during the last 10 years.

 Loading ...

(10) Cub –Yankee Game—June 7, 2003
In interleague play, the Yankees return to Wrigley Field for the first time since the 1938 World Series. The atmosphere at the ballpark is electric, as Kerry Wood outduels  Roger Clemens to secure a Cub victory.

(9) Bulls-Celtics Playoff Series-April -May, 2009
The Bulls surprise the defending NBA champion Boston Celtics in the first round of the playoffs with their tenacious play and amazing  shooting  accuracy. The teams set an NBA record playing four overtime games in a playoff round, but eventually Boston triumphs in game seven to win the series. Read the rest of this entry →

Jordan was not a gracious host during the 1988 All-Star Game

This morning I woke up at 7 am and, in my normal routine, I switched on NBA TV. The 1988 All-Star game was playing. While composing my “Tendon-Gate” article, and hearing Dick Stockton doing the play by play in the background, I had to stop and watch.

“Tendon-Gate” was on hold for now…

As I watched, I realized this may have been the game that encompassed everything the 1980’s were. As the decade was winding down and the NBA greats of that era were moving passed their prime, this exhibition was extremely hard fought with a blend of fundamentals and gritty determination – qualities that are far lacking in today’s All-Star games.

These guys wanted to defeat their peers, they saw this game as less of an exhibition for fun and more of an artistic exhibit of talent in a 5 on 5 competition of who is the best conference – not player.

Until today, I never realized what a bridge year 1988 was. The natural evolution of the game was perfectly displayed in Chicago Stadium on that Sunday afternoon.

Read the rest of this entry →

Michael Jordan was a "human highlight film" almost every time he took to the court.

In honor of Michael Jordan’s induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame, rather than writing a lengthy column articulating his many accomplishments, we thought it was best to use YouTube to remind us of just how amazing Jordan was.

Here are some of the great highlights of Jordan’s career available on You Tube

Highlights From The Early Years:

Read the rest of this entry →