{"id":776969,"date":"2026-07-03T09:33:35","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T09:33:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/776969\/"},"modified":"2026-07-03T09:33:35","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T09:33:35","slug":"today-in-chicago-history-northwestern-coach-shot-and-killed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/776969\/","title":{"rendered":"Today in Chicago History: Northwestern coach shot and killed"},"content":{"rendered":"

Here\u2019s a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on July 3, according to the Tribune\u2019s archives.<\/p>\n

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

Front page flashback: July 4, 1999<\/p>\n

\"NorthwesternNorthwestern University men’s basketball coach Ricky Byrdsong was shot and killed on July 3, 1999, during a string of drive-by shootings by white supremacist Benjamin Smith. (Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

1999:\u00a0Northwestern University men\u2019s basketball coach\u00a0Ricky Byrdsong<\/a>\u00a0died after being shot while walking with his two young children in Skokie. The\u00a0lone gunman<\/a>, white supremacist Benjamin Smith, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound after a short police chase in southern Illinois. Smith was wanted in a spree of apparent hate crimes across Illinois and Indiana.<\/p>\n

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

High temperature: 102 degrees (1949)
\nLow temperature: 50 degrees (1980)
\nPrecipitation: 1.57 inches (1871)
\nSnowfall: None<\/p>\n

Illinois 250: Celebrating the state\u2019s fabulous firsts<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

1899: Judge Richard S. Tuthill, a Civil War veteran, presided over the first case in Cook Count Juvenile Court.<\/p>\n

Lena Campbell of 84 Hudson St. accused her 11-year-old son,\u00a0Henry Campbell<\/a>, of larceny. Instead of sending the boy to a penal institution, Tuthill\u00a0sent the boy to New York<\/a>\u00a0to live with his grandmother. For thousands of children, the \u201cchild-saver\u201d experiment was a huge success, and it expanded to all 50 states.<\/p>\n

\"AA crowd of 125,000 would end up filling Soldier Field for the Jewish Day pageant, “The Romance of a People,” during the Century of Progress World’s Fair in Chicago, in 1933. (Chicago Tribune historical photo)<\/p>\n

1933: An estimated 125,000 people attended \u201cThe Romance of a People\u201d<\/a> Jewish pageant. It was one of many cultural or religious events Soldier Field hosted during its early years.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Grateful Dead concert at Soldier Field in Chicago on July 3, 2015. (Zbigniew Bzdak\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

2015: The Grateful Dead<\/a> returned to Soldier Field for the first time since Jerry Garcia\u2019s death<\/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

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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