Here\u2019s a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on March 27, according to the Tribune\u2019s archives.<\/p>\n
Is an important event missing from this date? Email us<\/a>.<\/p>\n Sports front flashback: March 28, 1939<\/p>\n 1939: The first NCAA men\u2019s basketball championship was played at Northwestern University.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n After the National Invitational Tournament had its first postseason affair in 1938, Ohio State coach Harold Olsen suggested the National Association of Basketball Coaches (the NCAA took over the next year) get in on the action and\u00a0have its own tournament<\/a>.<\/p>\n NABC members agreed and, with travel a primary consideration, chose a central location for the championship game \u2014 Northwestern\u2019s old Patten Gymnasium on Sheridan Road in Evanston.<\/p>\n The\u00a0Oregon Ducks<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 or the \u201cWebfeet,\u201d as the\u00a0Tribune\u00a0often identified the team \u2014 prevailed over Ohio State 46-33.<\/p>\n Weather records (from the National Weather Service, Chicago<\/a>)<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n High temperature: 82 degrees (1945)<\/p>\n Low temperature: 12 degrees (1996)<\/p>\n Precipitation: 1.28 inches (1908)<\/p>\n Snowfall: 2.9 inches (1942)<\/p>\n 1902: Though commonly referred to as the \u201cColts\u201d by the Tribune, the Chicago Daily News was credited with giving the North Side baseball team its nickname \u2014 Chicago Cubs<\/a>. The article reported that the team\u2019s manager Frank Selee would \u201cdevote his strongest efforts on the team work of the new Cubs this year.\u201d The word \u201ccub\u201d was slang for a young player, and some history writers have speculated that a typesetter mistakenly used a capital C, creating a team name that stuck.<\/p>\n The team was once called the White Stockings and also had unofficial nicknames<\/a> such as the Remnants, Orphans, Zephyrs, Microbes and Spuds.<\/p>\n Vintage Chicago Tribune: Cubs anniversaries to celebrate during the 2026 season<\/a><\/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 Advertisement<\/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