Here’s a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on Aug. 2, according to the Tribune’s archives.
Is an important event missing from this date? Email us.
Weather records (from the National Weather Service, Chicago)
- High temperature: 101 degrees (1991)
- Low temperature: 51 degrees (1985)
- Precipitation: 5.63 inches (1885)
- Snowfall: Trace (2015)
1921: Eight White Sox players had been charged with throwing the World Series. Despite earning the nickname the “Black Sox,” the men were acquitted by a jury that deliberated just 2 hours and 47 minutes.
A day after their acquittal, however, baseball Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis ruled that the players allegedly involved — Joe Jackson, Eddie Cicotte, Oscar Emil “Happy” Felsch, Chick Gandil, Frederick William McMullin, Swede Risberg, Buck Weaver and Lefty Williams — would be banned for life from organized baseball.
1990: Chicago White Sox rookie Frank Thomas knocked in the winning run in his first major-league game. The Sox beat the Milwaukee Brewers 4-3 during the opener of a doubleheader at County Stadium.
In addition to future Hall of Famer Thomas, the Sox’s lineup also included two of their No. 1 draft picks: Alex Fernandez (1990) and Robin Ventura (1988).
2001: Chicago Public Library launched its “One Book, One Chicago” initiative. The first book on the list: “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee — Mayor Richard M. Daley’s favorite.
2009: Brazilian soccer star Marta made her professional debut in the United States with her Los Angeles Sol team, which lost in a match against the Chicago Red Stars at Toyota Park in Bridgeview.
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