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Jack M Silverstein Profile picture
Jack M Silverstein
@readjack
Chicago's Sports Historian. Director, Content Studio, @WTWH_Media. Talking to strangers since 1981. "6 Rings" book coming. Avatar 📸 by @thought_poet77.
Feb 20, 2023 • 20 tweets • 8 min read
I don’t want to sound old but they really did used to play defense in the All-Star Game. 4th quarter is amazing now but we haven’t recovered from 192-182 in 2017. Incidentally, 2017 was the first All-Star Game after Kobe retired. He kept the competition level high, no Elam Ending required.
Feb 19, 2023 • 32 tweets • 20 min read
The last time the #NBAAllStar Game was in Utah, the three-time defending 3-point shootout champion was nearly left out of the competition. He eventually competed despite not being on a roster.

This is the story of how in 1993, Craig Hodges became a man without a team.

A thread. The NBA began its All-Star three-point contest (the “Long Distance Shootout”) in 1986. And six of the first seven contests split between two three-peat winners: Larry Bird and Craig Hodges.
Oct 13, 2022 • 13 tweets • 6 min read
Got your Bears - Washington @NFLonPrime drinking game here, Bears fans! Get lit and get a W.

🍺 🥃 🍾

@WCGridiron @bearsoverbeers @79thAndHalas @itsthebigs @TheJeffSchlegel Pay Roquan ✅
Rivera “quarterback” quote ✅
Sep 20, 2022 • 40 tweets • 20 min read
My full thoughts on the modern-era nominees for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2023 are to come, but one immediate reaction is that two players whose cases deserve discussion just lost their modern-era eligibility:

* Greg Lloyd
* Reggie Roby

profootballhof.me/Nominees

Image
Image Given that anyone can nominate players for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and that there are few automatic triggers to ensure that a player is on the list of nominees, there has to be a way to ensure that worthy candidates aren't left off, especially in their final five years.
Mar 18, 2022 • 10 tweets • 3 min read
When opinion writers want to write about so-called "cancel culture," and claim that Americans are being "shamed or shunned" for "free speech," editors should demand that they address these five questions.

A thread. 1. Provide the specific example of the "canceled," or would-be "canceled," speech — what the person said or wrote, word for word — and share where you, the opinion writer, stand on the substance of the statement.
Dec 12, 2021 • 24 tweets • 13 min read
On Oct. 25, 1992, we beat the Packers to extend our all-time rivalry lead to a record 24 games.

Since then, we are 14-45 vs. the Packers. We now trail the series by 7 games.

Here are our 14 wins — 14 in 29 seasons. I hope George and Ted see this.

A thread. Now you may be thinking, “Jack, with all due respect, WTF?”

Well, our now three-decade-long failure against our biggest rival distresses me to the core of my being. I’m not alone. We all feel that way, except perhaps the very people who can change it.

Dec 12, 2021 • 18 tweets • 6 min read
Other than 2004-2008, every Bears win over Green Bay since 1992 is a weirdo one-off.

The point of multiple sports teams in one city is balance.

The Bulls are weirdly decimated.

So f it: Bears 41, Packers 15. Open to interpretation.
Oct 30, 2021 • 4 tweets • 3 min read
Will confirm when I can but I think you’re right Jeff! Great call Sam! Vince Tobin on 11/6/88. I’ll check to see if Ditka missed other weeks. @SamHouseholder @gridironborn @WCGridiron

Oct 30, 2021 • 41 tweets • 18 min read
A star athlete facing an assault charge.

A local judge scared to hurt the team.

A fan's Go Fund Me for the athlete's debts.

Sounds modern? It's not. This is the true story of Cubs shortstop Joe Tinker, and his legal jam the week of the 1908 World Series.

A thread. “These are the saddest of possible words: Tinker to Evers to Chance.”

So began Franklin P. Adams’ 1910 poem about the legendary Cubs double-play combo, started by shortstop Joe Tinker. The team dominated the first decade of the 20th century — with help from a Chicago judge.
Sep 11, 2021 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
Watching the Netflix 9/11 doc and I still don't think we've collectively processed what happened. The tangible details. I need this though.
Jul 7, 2021 • 21 tweets • 13 min read
A shared executive. A shared Finals. Even a shared players intro song.

The Phoenix Suns are in the #NBAFinals and they’ve got a long shared history with our Chicago Bulls. Here are 18 facts (and one bonus) that bind our two franchises.

A thread. ImageImage Between 1966 and 1970, the NBA added eight expansion teams, going from nine teams to 17. Two of those teams were the Chicago Bulls and Phoenix Suns.

As we’ll see in this thread, they shared a helluva lot, starting with their first employee.

Chicago Heights’ Jerry Colangelo. Image
Mar 18, 2021 • 49 tweets • 21 min read
On Feb. 1, 1995, Michael Jordan was the projected left fielder for the AAA Nashville Sounds while Scottie Pippen was desperate to get himself traded off the Bulls.

45 days later, on March 18, they were reunited.

This is the day-by-day account of those 45 days.

A thread. Last year, @nbcschicago & I teamed up to tell the full story of “I’m Back.” I wanted to show how close MJ came to staying in baseball and how close Pip came to getting traded. I love the piece, but a bare bones look at the daily events is compelling too.

nbcsports.com/chicago/bulls/…
Feb 13, 2021 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
Great question/conversation here from Mark! I’m taking Red Grange. My Grange argument:
Feb 13, 2021 • 12 tweets • 7 min read
Happy 87th Birthday to a great man and leader and the greatest winner American team sports have ever seen. Salute to you, @RealBillRussell! ImageImageImage Nobody wins like Bill Russell.

🏆🏆'55-'56 NCAA champ
🥇'56 Olympic gold
#2 overall pick, 1956
🏆'57 NBA CHAMP
❌'58 NBA Finals runner-up
🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 '59-'66 NBA CHAMP
Replaces Red Auerbach as head coach while still playing
❌'67 East finals
🏆🏆 '68-'69 CHAMP

Retires ImageImageImage
Feb 7, 2021 • 111 tweets • 50 min read
Fumble return touchdowns! A backup QB! 4th quarter comebacks!

World Series heroics?

Here is the true story of two wild weeks at Soldier Field, and the iconic playmaking of a man Bears fans love.

The magical, the memorable, the magnificent.

The Mike Brown Games.

A thread. ImageImage In consecutive weeks in 2001, Oct. 28 & Nov. 4, the great Mike Brown delivered two of the most memorable plays in Bears history: a pair of walkoff OT interceptions.

These TDs fueled that great 2001 season, and shared connections to memorable Bears games before and after. ImageImage
Jan 14, 2021 • 19 tweets • 7 min read
I was talking to a Bears fan friend today after the press conference, discussing the basis for Bears fan fury, and it led me to look at some key numbers of the past 25 years comparing us, the Packers, and the Lions. And frankly, we're closer to being the Lions than the Packers. I summed up my personal Bears frustration with this, but even that wasn’t quite right, because no one is the Patriots. I’d settle for being a millionaire in this scenario, and that’s Green Bay.
Sep 18, 2020 • 44 tweets • 38 min read
It's been a question on my mind for a few years now: Where do the Bears rank among NFL franchises in terms of Black starting quarterbacks?

I've spent about a year crunching the numbers. Here are my findings.

A thread.

readjack.wordpress.com/2020/09/17/the… Starting in 2017, when the Bears chose Mitch Trubisky, Mike Glennon and Mark Sanchez over either Pat Mahomes or Deshaun Watson plus Colin Kaepernick, I started looking at our franchise's history with Black QBs.

May 17, 2020 • 81 tweets • 50 min read
The History of the Chicago Bulls Dynasty, by Jack M Silverstein.

A work in progress, in 72 parts.

A thread.

#TheLastDance As I work on "6 Rings: The Bulls, The City, and the Dynasty that Changed the Game," my work on the dynasty Bulls will continue to deepen and expand.

But as we prepare for the final night of #TheLastDance, I want to look back at what I've done so far.

May 16, 2020 • 12 tweets • 6 min read
I've been in and out of the room on Sunday nights during #TheLastDance and I've missed pieces here and there that I then catch during the week. Catching up on ep7 — definitely surprised they skipped this play. But I think I'm more surprised (and I discussed this on @LockedOnBulls last night) that the doc isn't doing a great job of tying together the two timelines: the '97-'98 story with the flashbacks. There is a huge reason why this play is so important:

Apr 19, 2020 • 39 tweets • 19 min read
The game’s best player. Its best coach. Its best GM. Disgruntled Hall of Famers. A quiet owner. The feud that consumed them all.

Why did a thriving dynasty become a lame-duck season?

This is the true story of how the 1998 Chicago Bulls became #TheLastDance.

A thread. Tonight, we bask in #TheLastDance, a documentary on the 1998 Chicago Bulls that takes its title from Phil Jackson’s branding of the season as such. There was truly nothing like this season: a dynasty at the peak of its powers given a preemptive expiration date.
Feb 17, 2020 • 98 tweets • 48 min read
ANNOUNCEMENT.

I am writing a book.

"6 Rings: The Bulls, The City, and the Dynasty that Changed the Game"

Coming in 2021.

Want to join me for my research ride?

Subscribe to my newsletter, right here: readjack.substack.com

What will this be? Let me tell you.

A thread. ImageImage If you were here for it,
If you were in the city or the suburbs,
If you were in the state or in the country,
If you were overseas or at the Stadium,
If you sat courtside or at home,
If you were a child or you’d seen it all,
The Dynasty was a lifestyle.