January 26, 1967: The Chicago Blizzard of '67

January 26, 1967: The Chicago Blizzard of '67 hits. It drops 23 inches of snow on the biggest city in the Midwest: Just short of 2 full feet. It remains the greatest single-storm snowfall in the city's history.

It took people by surprise, because the forecast for this day, on the day before, was for rain or snow, because a cold front was predicted to stall there. Later on the night of the 25th, the forecast was changed to 4 inches of snow. Please, Chicago is a city used to nasty weather, both in Summer and in Winter. Chicagoans? They can handle 4 inches of snow in their sleep.

On the morning of the 26th, a Thursday, the accumulation prediction was revised to 4 to 8 inches. Knowing that, the kids should not have been sent to school. But they were.

Snow fell continuously from 5:02 AM on Thursday until 10:10 AM on Friday. It messed up 2 morning rush hours and 1 evening rush hour. Both major airports, O'Hare and Midway, were closed. People were stranded in schools, offices, 1,100 buses and 20,000 cars. It was estimated that 50,000 cars were, at least temporarily, abandoned. For a 50th Anniversary newspaper feature in 2017, some people recalled their half-hour commutes to get home taking 6 hours. There were 26 deaths reported, mainly from car accidents and heart attacks while shoveling snow.

But the city's sense of community kicked in. People shoveled each other's walks. People not stranded got food and blankets to those who were.

Although Chicago's highest snowfall ever isn't close to New York's -- 30 inches in 1996, topping 26 inches in 1947 -- like an earthquake, it had "aftershocks." The following Wednesday, February 1, another 4 inches fell. The Sunday after that, February 5, they got another 8 1/2. 

But Mayor Richard J. Daley's herculean response to digging the city out, clearing the streets and the elevated railroad tracks, was a welcome sign that the city's slogan, "The City That Works," wasn't just words. He was overwhelmingly elected to a 4th term that Spring. In contrast, his eventual successor, Michael Bilandic, did not sufficiently respond to the blizzard of 1979, and it cost him the election.

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January 26, 1967, as I said, was a Thursday. Baseball and football were out of season. Only 1 game was played in the NBA, and it did not involve the Chicago Bulls, then playing their 1st season: The Detroit Pistons beat the Cincinnati Royals, 118-110 -- at the Cleveland Arena.

The Royals were trying to broaden their base. Oscar Robertson scored 35 points for them. But Dave Bing scored 32 for the Pistons, and future Knick legend Dave DeBusschere added 27 points and 17 rebounds.

The Chicago Black Hawks did play that night, but not at home. Detroit managed to avoid a major snowfall, and the Olympia Stadium hosted the Hawks' 4-3 win over the Detroit Red Wings. Also that night, the Boston Bruins beat the Montreal Canadiens, 4-1 at the Montreal Forum. The New York Rangers and the Toronto Maple Leafs, the other two of the "Original Six," were not scheduled to play.