Usually, lists like this provoke nasty comments such as “you picked that?!?!” and “how could you leave THAT one off?!?!”
↵In its August issue, Chicago Magazine picks its own top 40 Chicago sports moments and surprisingly, not only have they done a good job of not simply looking over the last 20 or so years — they go back to the 1930’s for several and include both the Cubs and White Sox world championships from the first decade of the 20th Century — but they also have done a good job of ranking them, in the Deep Dish’s view.
↵You may disagree, and that’s the reason publications do these lists — to provoke discussion.
↵They did miss one big one, though — the December 18, 1932 NFL playoff game between the Bears and the Portsmouth Spartans.
↵Before 1932, the NFL title was simply awarded to the team with the most wins. The Bears and Spartans (who two years later would become the Detroit Lions) had tied with 6-1 records, so a playoff game was scheduled. Unfortunately, Chicago was hit with brutally cold weather that day, and promoters thought no one would show up — so the game was moved from Wrigley Field to the old Chicago Stadium.
↵It was played on dirt and on a short field, but it’s generally considered to be the first NFL championship game, and certainly should have been mentioned in any list of top Chicago sports events. The Bears won 9-0.