{"id":159273,"date":"2025-09-25T09:50:10","date_gmt":"2025-09-25T09:50:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/159273\/"},"modified":"2025-09-25T09:50:10","modified_gmt":"2025-09-25T09:50:10","slug":"spectators-place-final-racing-bets-at-arlington-park","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/159273\/","title":{"rendered":"Spectators place final racing bets at Arlington Park"},"content":{"rendered":"

Here\u2019s a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on Sept. 25, according to the Tribune\u2019s archives.<\/p>\n

Is an important event missing from this date? Email us<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Weather records (from the National Weather Service, Chicago<\/a>)<\/p>\n

High temperature: 92 degrees (2017)
\nLow temperature: 30 degrees (1942)
\nPrecipitation: 1.85 inches (1961)
\nSnowfall: Trace (1942)<\/p>\n

\"FieldField Museum expert Karl Schmidt recorded what happened to him after he was bitten on Sept. 25, 1957, by a venomous African tree snake known as a boomslang. “The diary was written in perfect penmanship of the old school, on several sheets of ruled note paper, and covered a 15-hour period from the time Dr. Schmidt boarded a suburban train at 4:30 p.m. on the day he was bitten until the next morning,” the Tribune reported. Schmidt died the next day at his Homewood home. (Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

1957: Field Museum curator emeritus Karl Patterson Schmidt<\/a> was bit on his left thumb by a boomslang, a poisonous African tree snake, while examining the creature at the museum at the request of Lincoln Park Zoo director Marlon Perkins. Since the snake was young and the bite was small, Schmidt decided against using an anti-venom serum.<\/p>\n

Schmidt fell ill at his Homewood home and recorded his observations<\/a> in a diary before he died the next day.<\/p>\n

\"LegendaryLegendary Chicago bluesman Buddy Guy at Buddy Guy’s Legends on June 10, 2024. (Armando L. Sanchez\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

Also in 1957: Bluesman George \u201cBuddy\u201d Guy<\/a> left rural Louisiana for Chicago. He\u2019s made 19 records under his own name and many others with friends and collaborators. He\u2019s won eight Grammys, and he never took a single guitar lesson.<\/p>\n

\"TimerTimer Mike Murphy tolls the end of Floyd Patterson’s reign as heavyweight champion as he counts Patterson out at 2:06 of the first round on Sept. 25, 1962, at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Patterson lost the title before a crowd of 18,894 to Sonny Liston, left, of Philadelphia. (Chicago Tribune historical photo)<\/p>\n

1962: Charles \u201cSonny\u201d Liston knocked out<\/a> champion Floyd Patterson in 2 minutes and 6 seconds of the first round and won the heavyweight title<\/a> at Comiskey Park. As he left Chicago, Patterson tried to disguise himself by wearing fake whiskers.<\/p>\n

\"DanDan Cloeter, 25, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, is welcomed by an official as he crosses the finish line near Buckingham Fountain to win the Mayor Daley Marathon on Sept. 25, 1977. (Michael Budrys\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

1977: The Chicago Marathon<\/a> \u2014 then known as the Mayor Daley Marathon \u2014 debuted. Theology student Dan Cloeter<\/a>, 25, from Fort Wayne, Indiana, won it with a time of 2 hours, 17 minutes, 52 seconds.<\/p>\n

\"TicketsTickets for a series of Led Zeppelin concerts at Chicago Stadium planned for November 1980 required a mail-in form, which was published on Sept. 25, 1980, in the Tribune. (Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

1980: An estimated 1,000 people lined up to buy the Tribune because of something special within its pages \u2014 a mail-order form for tickets<\/a> to four nights of Led Zeppelin shows at the Chicago Stadium. The band was supposed to appear several times in Chicago in 1977<\/a>, but canceled following the death of singer Robert Plant\u2019s oldest son, Karac. Needless to say, fans were excited for the band\u2019s return.<\/p>\n

As \u2018Becoming Led Zeppelin\u2019 nears theaters, a look back at the pivotal shows the band played in Chicago \u2014 or almost did<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Little did the fans who camped out in front of Tribune Tower know, however, Led Zeppelin\u2019s drummer John Bonham was found dead<\/a> in England the same day, reportedly after drinking the equivalent of 40 shots of vodka. The 1980 concert tour was immediately canceled, and the band parted ways just a few months later. Tickets, however, had already been printed for the four Chicago shows. They gathered dust inside Chicago Stadium until 1986. That\u2019s when Michael Dehn bought 79,652 undistributed tickets to the canceled shows for $9,000, and set a Guinness World Record<\/a>. Dehn now sells them online in various commemorative sets.<\/p>\n

Vintage Chicago Tribune: How McCormick Place\u2019s Lakeside Center came to be on the lakefront<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

1991: Gov. Jim Edgar<\/a> signed legislation worth nearly $1 billion to expand McCormick Place.<\/p>\n

\"HorsesHorses cross the finish line on the final race day ever at Arlington International Racecourse on Sept. 25, 2021. (Chris Sweda\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

2021:\u00a0An estimated 10,000 people attended\u00a0Arlington Park\u2019s final day<\/a>\u00a0of the season, placing their last bets ever at the racetrack.<\/p>\n

The Chicago Bears\u00a0finalized a deal to buy the site<\/a>\u00a0in February 2023. The team is expected to publicly present their\u00a0latest plans for a new stadium<\/a>\u00a0in Arlington Heights this fall, officials said earlier this month, with the hope of\u00a0breaking ground<\/a>\u00a0by spring.<\/p>\n

Want more vintage Chicago?<\/p>\n

Subscribe to the free\u00a0Vintage Chicago Tribune<\/a>\u00a0newsletter, join our\u00a0Chicagoland history Facebook group,<\/a> stay current with Today in Chicago History<\/a> and follow us on Instagram<\/a>\u00a0for more from Chicago\u2019s past.<\/p>\n

Have an idea for Vintage Chicago Tribune? Share it with Kori Rumore and Marianne Mather at krumore@chicagotribune.com<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0mmather@chicagotribune.com<\/a><\/p>\n

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