Cody Parkey’s ‘double doink’ for Bears

Here’s a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on Jan. 6, according to Tribune archives.

Is an important event missing on this date? Send us an email.

Front page flashback: January 7, 2021

Donald Trump loyalists stormed the US Capitol building, interrupting Congress’ counting of electoral votes to confirm President-elect Jo Biden’s victory.

Nationwide, more than 1,500 people have been arrested in all 50 states and the District of Columbia on charges stemming from the Capitol breach, an investigation that has been described by prosecutors as the largest criminal investigation in the nation’s history.

However, after his inauguration in January 2025, Trump pardoned or commuted the sentences of everyone involved.

Weather records (from the National Weather Service, Chicago)

• High temperature: 60 degrees (2008)
• Low temperature: Minus 16 degrees (2014)
• Precipitation: 1.44 inches (1918)
• Snowfall: 14.4 inches (1918)

1918: A two-day snowstorm (which began that day) dropped 14.9 inches of snow on Chicago. It was the ninth largest snowstorm in the city’s history.

Nearly 14 inches fell on the first day of the storm, which the Tribune described as “a third of the snowfall of 1917 and nearly half of that of 1915.” The newly fallen snow was already over 4 inches, already covering the ground.

The 10 biggest snowfalls in Chicago since 1886 – and how the Tribune covered them

Hundreds of vehicles were stuck in snowdrifts up to 6 feet deep, downed telephone and telegraph wires blocked communication with cities including Indianapolis, and more than 300 men were enlisted to clear snow from the Loop, exhausted by winds that recorded 44 mph there, according to the Weather Bureau (known today as the National Weather Service).

Deliveries of food, milk, and coal were impossible due to the conditions, and the city could not clear the roads despite “employing 2,200 workers, 631 crews, and seven snow plows.” A call was therefore made to men and students expelled from school to contribute to this effort.

1976: Evelyn Carmon Nicol received a US patent for the production of urokinase. A native of Kentucky, she was a highly respected immunologist for local companies Abbott and Baxter and one of the few black women to earn a patent in the sciences.

Vintage Chicago Tribune: Inventions and Innovations of Black Chicagoans

However, the first time his name appeared in the Tribune was after his death from coronavirus in 2020. Yet, thanks to his own meticulously kept archives, Nicol’s life story and incredible achievements can continue to be told for generations.

2019: The Chicago Bears took a 15-10 lead against the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC wild card game on a 22-yard touchdown pass from Mitch Trubisky to Allen Robinson with 9:04 left in the fourth quarter. The Bears’ vaunted defense nearly ended the game, stopping the Eagles on three straight plays from the 2-yard line in the final 2 minutes of the game.

Vintage Chicago Tribune: Bears playoff appearances, including the “Sneakers Game”, “Fog Bowl” and “Double Doink”

But on fourth-and-goal with 1:01 left, Nick Foles hit Golden Tate on a sprint to the right, and the Eagles took the lead. Tarik Cohen returned the ensuing kickoff 35 yards, and Trubisky located his second pass on the final drive for a 25-yard completion to Robinson, quickly putting the Bears within field goal range.

Chicago Bears kicker Cody Parkey nailed a 43-yard kick with 10 seconds remaining — only he would have to try again because the Eagles called it off with a timeout. His second attempt hit the uprights – hitting the left post before bouncing off the crossbar. Parkey’s double doink cost the Bears the game and a chance to advance in the playoffs.

49 people from Illinois have been charged for participating in the U.S. Capitol riot on January 6, 2021.

2021: At least 49 people from Illinois have been charged and convicted in the ongoing investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, which prosecutors have described as one of the largest criminal investigations in American history.

Federal government begins dismissing lawsuits filed Jan. 6 against Illinois residents after President Trump issues blanket pardon

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