‘McCaskey, you’re a bum!’ The coin flip that cost the Chicago Bears Terry Bradshaw.

On Jan. 21, 1979, George Halas arrived at Super Bowl XIII at the Orange Bowl in Miami in an antique car where he flipped a 1920 gold piece as part of the game’s ceremonial coin toss.

Here’s a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on Jan. 21, according to the Tribune’s archives.

Is an important event missing from this date? Email us.

Weather records (from the National Weather Service, Chicago)

1979: Chicago Bears owner and former coach George Halas arrived at Super Bowl XIII at the Orange Bowl in Miami in an antique car where he flipped a 1920 gold piece — the same year the NFL was founded — as part of the game’s ceremonial coin toss. Halas purchased the coin just for the occasion for $317. Halas gave the coin to the loser of the flip — the Pittsburgh Steelers.

It was the second time in a decade the Bears had been involved in a fateful coin flip with the Steelers. The last one had a grim ending for the Bears — they lost the No. 1 draft pick. The Steelers used it to select quarterback Terry Bradshaw, who led them to four Super Bowls.

Today in Chicago History: ‘McCaskey, you’re a bum!’ The coin flip that cost the Chicago Bears Terry Bradshaw

1987: Darby Williams and Perry Cobb became the first two Illinois Death Row inmates exonerated and released from prison following reinstatement of the death penalty.

2007: The 2006–07 NFC Championship Game granted the Bears their second trip to the Super Bowl — their first in 21 years — with a 39–14 victory over the New Orleans Saints.

2017: An estimated quarter-million demonstrators poured into downtown to draw attention to women’s rights, as well as other issues including civil rights, immigration and racial justice. Organizers of the Women’s March on Chicago said the event was planned for the day after President Donald Trump’s inauguration. Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators packed the streets of several other cities, from New York to Los Angeles and Paris to Sydney.

Want more vintage Chicago?

Subscribe to the free Vintage Chicago Tribune newsletter, join our Chicagoland history Facebook group, stay current with Today in Chicago History and follow us on Instagram for more from Chicago’s past.

Have an idea for Vintage Chicago Tribune? Share it with Kori Rumore and Marianne Mather at krumore@chicagotribune.com and mmather@chicagotribune.com