{"id":553778,"date":"2026-04-16T10:49:47","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T10:49:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/553778\/"},"modified":"2026-04-16T10:49:47","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T10:49:47","slug":"today-in-chicago-history-blackhawks-win-third-stanley-cup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/553778\/","title":{"rendered":"Today in Chicago History: Blackhawks win third Stanley Cup"},"content":{"rendered":"

Here\u2019s a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on April 16, according to the Tribune\u2019s archives.<\/p>\n

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

Front page flashback: April 17, 2012<\/p>\n

\"LongtimeLongtime Chicago Tribune columnist Mary Schmich was awarded a Pulitzer Prize on April 16, 2012. (Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

2012: Chicago Tribune columnist Mary Schmich<\/a> won the Pulitzer Prize<\/a> for commentary.<\/p>\n

Judges recognized Schmich \u201cfor her wide range of down-to-earth columns that reflect the character and capture the culture of her famed city.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chicago Tribune\u2019s 28 Pulitzer Prizes: A list of all the winners<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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

High temperature: 87 degrees (2002)
\nLow temperature: 18 degrees (1875)
\nPrecipitation: 1.97 inches (1921)
\nSnowfall: 5.4 inches (1961)<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Chicago Blackhawks beat the Detroit Red Wings on April 16, 1961, for the team’s third Stanley Cup. But snow, wind and ice prevented the Hawks from traveling back to Chicago that night. (Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

1961: The Chicago Blackhawks won their third Stanley Cup<\/a> and first since 1938. They beat the Detroit Red Wings, but couldn\u2019t get a flight out after because they were snowed in. Owner Jim Norris invited the team back to his Detroit hotel to party. He had one stipulation: \u201cBring along the Cup.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"RufusRufus Stokes, scientist and inventor of a patented anti-air pollution system, right, and Leonidas H. Berry, lecturer and research physician in gastric cancer at Cook County Hospital, hold up a drawing of a pyramid on Jan. 15, 1971, at the annual awards dinner of the Council for Bio-Medical Careers in Chicago. (William Bender\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

1968: Rufus Stokes<\/a>, an inventor who once worked as a security guard to support himself, earned a U.S. patent for his exhaust purifier. Stokes said independent testing firms found his invention to be 100% efficient. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, however, would not endorse its use, and Stokes and EPA officials had a decadelong dispute over the device. Stokes mounted his invention on a truck and took it around for demonstrations to businessmen, politicians, government officials and colleges.<\/p>\n

Vintage Chicago Tribune: Inventions and innovations by Black Chicagoans<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

In 1979, someone stole Stokes\u2019 mobile smoke elimination system. The even greater tragedy, said his son, is that the death of Stokes, who had worked in creating incinerator devices for more than 25 years, was apparently caused by his exposure to asbestos in his work.<\/p>\n

\"PitcherPitcher Burt Hooton of the Chicago Cubs rears back at Wrigley Field on April 16, 1972. (Ed Feeney\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

1972: Chicago Cubs rookie Burt Hooton threw a no-hitter<\/a> against the Philadelphia Phillies.<\/p>\n

\"MichaelMichael Jordan draws a foul from Atlanta’s Kevin Willis during the first period on April 16, 1987. (Bob Langer\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

1987: After dropping 61 points in a loss to the Atlanta Hawks, Michael Jordan<\/a> became the only player other than Wilt Chamberlain to score more than 3,000 points<\/a> in a season. He also set a league record by scoring 23 straight points in the game and became the second player (after Chamberlain) to score 50 points or more in three consecutive games.<\/p>\n

\u201cI certainly would have traded the 61 points for a win,\u201d Jordan said after the game.<\/p>\n

\"U.S.U.S. Rep. Mel Reynolds and his wife, Marisol, bottom left, arrive for a hearing on July 25, 1997. (Jos\u00e9 Mor\u00e9\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

1997: While he was serving a\u00a0five-year sentence<\/a> after his conviction for having sex with an underage intern, former U.S. Rep. Mel Reynolds was convicted<\/a> on 15 federal counts of bank and campaign fraud.<\/p>\n

The Dishonor Roll: Meet the public officials who helped build Illinois\u2019 culture of corruption<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

President Bill Clinton\u00a0commuted<\/a>\u00a0Reynolds\u2019 fraud sentence in 2001, with two years remaining to be served. Following his release, Reynolds tried repeatedly to regain his congressional seat.<\/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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