WBEZ 91.5 Chicago

The baseball season opens this week. Before we become too involved in the annual tragedies of the Sox and Cubs, let's pause to consider an actual Chicago baseball tragedy: the story of Eddie Waitkus.

Unlike some other baseball players, Eddie did not have a reputation as a horndog. That made the event doubly tragic.

After returning from World War II in 1946, Waitkus became the Cubs’ regular first baseman. He was a fine defensive player and a solid line-drive hitter. In 1948 he played in the All-Star game.

Waitkus was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies after the 1948 season. In June 1949 he returned to Chicago with his new team. While in town, the Phillies stayed at the Edgewater Beach Hotel on Sheridan Road.

About 11 p.m.

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Could you find your way around the Chicago of the past?

The picture above was taken in 1975. The location is the South Side--in this case, somewhere east of Western, between Roosevelt and 79th Street. Most of the area looks different today, but there are clues that can help you identify the site.

If you think you know the location, send in your guess to the "Comments" section. I'll post a contemporary photo tomorrow.

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It's primary day in Illinois!

And with politics on our minds, we look back at the strange events of an election day in 1936. On November 3 that year, Richard J. Daley--future Democratic boss, future mayor, future father of a future mayor--was elected to his first political office . . . as a Republican.

The election was for the Illinois House of Representatives from the 9th District. In 1936 the state was divided into 51 legislative districts. Each district sent three reps to the House.

The two major parties had a cozy arrangement then. In each of those 51 districts, the Democrats would run no more than two candidates, and the Republicans would run no more than two candidates. That way, whichever party wound up in the minority would get at least one-third of the total seats.

The 9th District was the area around Bridgeport, heavily Democrat. David Shanahan had held the 9th's "Republican" seat without much effort since 1894. Fifteen days before the 1936 election, Shanahan died.

Shanahan was the only Republican who had filed in the district. His name was on the ballot, and it was too late to print new ballots. So the Republicans picked Robert E.

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How well did you find your way around the Chicago of 1952?

The location is one of three places where Broadway and Sheridan Road intersect. The famous Bowlium bowling alley has been replaced by a high-rise apartment. So have the smaller buildings on the left. But the building in the center rear remains--and after 60 years, someone has finally rented the billboard.

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How well could you find your way around the Chicago of the past?

The photo above is from 1952. The location is somewhere on the North Side--in this case, north of North Avenue and east of Western Avenue. If you think you can identify the site, submit your guess in the "Comments" box. I'll post a contemporary photo tomorrow.

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Today is the birthday of William E. Dever, Chicago's mayor from 1923 through 1927. It's not only his birthday, it's his Sesquicentennial. He was born 150 years ago today--March 13, 1862.

I wrote my doctoral dissertation on Mayor Dever. It was later published as a book, The Mayor Who Cleaned Up Chicago. More than twenty years later, the book is still in print. (Mainly because the first edition never sold out; that can happen with academic works.)

Why bother with an obscure, one-term mayor? I've already gone into that, and you can read the post here.

I don't think the city is planning a special Dever Sesquicentennial celebration. As for me, I'm going to have a beer in honor of my man Dever. That's probably the most appropriate way to honor this particular honest politician.

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The statues stand at one of the corners of the Emerald Necklace, where Marshall Boulevard swings east into 24th. Three men of the 17th Century are sculpted in bronze--an Algonquin man, a Catholic priest and a French soldier.

Father Jacques Marquette is the man in the middle, and the monument is officially dedicated to him. Chicago also remembers the Jesuit with two streets, a major park, a public school, a Southwest Side neighborhood, a downtown office building and at onetime, a police district.

Marquette was born in France in 1637. He was ordained at 28 and came to French North America as a missionary. Most of his early work was in the lands that are now Ontario and Michigan.

In 1673 Marquette was part of an expedition sent to explore the Mississippi River. On the return trip he became friendly with the Illini tribe. Marquette was heading back toward Lake Michigan, so the Illini told him about a shortcut.

This was the Chicago portage. The expedition took the Illini's route and found out it worked fine.

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