Bears introduce new coach Ralph Jones
Here’s a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on Dec. 27, according to Tribune archives.
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Weather records (from the National Weather Service, Chicago)
- High temperature: 61 degrees (2008)
- Low temperature: Minus 10 degrees (1950)
- Precipitation: 1.74 inches (2008)
- Snowfall: 10.1 inches (1894)
1929: The Chicago Bears introduced Lake Forest Academy’s Ralph Jones as coach.
From George Halas to Ben Johnson: What was said about every Chicago Bears coach when they were hired
“We believe our hope of developing a winning team would increase if we could put the team under professional coaching,” said Bears co-owner George Halas. “Neither Ed (Sternaman) nor I had time to coach the Bears. Last season, the worst since we entered professional football with the old Staleys, the coaching responsibility was split between us and Ralph Scott. As a result, our offense was in tatters and by midseason the team had lost morale.”
Jones was 24-10-7 (.706) during the 1930-32 seasons.
1944: Eight months after Sewell Avery, president of Montgomery Ward & Co., refused to renew a union contract at the behest of the War Labor Board — and the federal government stepped in, literally, and forced Avery out — President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered another seizure of the company.
The National Guard has been activated in Chicago 18 times between 1877 and 2021. Here’s a breakdown.
The company opposed the government takeover, saying its products were not linked to the war effort, but it lost its battle in court.
Avery didn’t get his business back until 1945. Then, fearing a postwar depression, he refused to expand with his competitors, and Wards desperately lost ground.
1968: Shaken by turbulence at the wingtip of a plane that had just taken off, a North Central Airlines Convair 580 lost control on takeoff and struck a hangar at O’Hare. Twenty-eight people died and 27 others were injured, including several people on the ground.
Vintage Chicago Tribune: Plane Crashes That Stunned Our City
This and other accidents prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to require a longer interval between takeoff and landing for jets.
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