Curse of the Billy Goat

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The Curse of the Billy Goat, or Billy Goat Curse is the name of an urban myth, superstition, used to explain the World Series drought that Major League Baseball's Chicago Cubs have had to endure since their last appearance in the 1945 World Series, and their last World Series championship in 1908. The curse is a classic example of a scapegoat.

1 The Curse
2 Recent events
3 The Cure
4 Former Cubs who won a World Series title elsewhere
5 Former Cubs cursing other teams
6 See also
7 Notes
8 Sources

[edit] The Curse

As the story goes, Billy Sianis, a Greek immigrant (from Paleopyrgos, Greece^[1]), who owned a nearby tavern (the now-famous Billy Goat Tavern), had two $7.20 box seat tickets to Game 4 of the 1945 World Series between the Chicago Cubs and the Detroit Tigers, and decided to bring along his pet goat, Murphy (or Sinovia according to some references), which Sianis had restored to health when the goat had fallen off a truck and subsequently limped into his tavern. The goat wore a blanket with a sign pinned to it which read "We got Detroit's goat"^[2]. Sianis and the goat were allowed into Wrigley Field and even paraded about on the playing field before the game before ushers intervened. They were led off the field. After a heated argument, both Sianis and the goat were permitted to stay in the stadium occupying the box seat for which he had tickets. At this point, Andy Frain (head of Wrigley Field's hired security company at the time), waved the goat's box-seat ticket in the air and proclaimed "If he eats the ticket that would solve everything"^[3]. But the goat didn't. Before the game was over, Sianis and the goat were ejected from the stadium at the command of Cubs owner Philip Knight Wrigley due to the animal's objectionable odor. Sianis was outraged at the ejection and allegedly placed a curse upon the Cubs that they would never win another pennant or play in a World Series at Wrigley Field again because the Cubs organization had insulted his goat, and subsequently left the U.S. to vacation in his home in Greece.

The Cubs lost Game 4 and eventually the 1945 World Series, prompting Sianis to write to Wrigley from Greece, saying, "Who stinks now?" Following a third-place finish in the National League in 1946, the Cubs would finish in the league's second division for the next 20 consecutive years. This streak finally ended in 1967, the year after Leo Durocher became the club's manager. Since that time, the cursed Cubs have not won a National League pennant or played in a World Series --the longest pennantless drought in Major League history. Sianis died in 1970.

[edit] Recent events

[edit] 1969 and 1973

In 1969, the Cubs opened an 8½-game lead in the National League's Eastern Division during the second week in August, but faltered badly thereafter, ultimately finishing second to the New York Mets, who then went on to win both the National League Championship Series and the World Series. In a game against the Mets in 1969, a black cat somehow got onto the field at Shea Stadium, and crossed third baseman Ron Santo's path as he was taking practice swings. In 1973, the Cubs fell apart in the second half of the season in an even worse fashion, losing 49 of their last 76 games to finish next-to-last in the division after having led it for much of the year.

[edit] 1984 and 1989

The Cubs would finally win the division for the first time in 1984, but they then lost to the San Diego Padres 3 games to 2 in the NLCS after having won the first two games of the series, this collapse doing much to revive popular interest in the curse. In the pivotal fifth game of the best-of-five game series, Cubs first baseman Leon Durham let a ball through his glove, leading many fans to blame the curse again. In 1989, the Cubs won the NL East, but lost in the NLCS that year too, 4 games to 1 to the San Francisco Giants (the League Championship Series in both leagues having been lengthened to best-of-seven from best-of-five in 1985).

[edit] 2003 and 2004

The curse seemed to be fading in the 2003 playoffs. In the National League Division Series, the Chicago Cubs beat the Atlanta Braves three games to two, winning Game 5, 5-1, at Turner Field in Atlanta, the first time in 95 years they won a playoff series. The curse seemed to be on the point of extinction when the Cubs led the eventual World Series champion Florida Marlins three games to one in the National League Championship Series after four games. Only one win in the last three games of the series would have given the Cubs the NL pennant. The Cubs lost Game 5 in Miami 4-0. Game 6 shifted back to Wrigley Field. Many Cubs fans felt home field advantage would produce a Cubs win. In the top of the eighth inning of Game 6, they held a 3-0 lead with only five outs between them and a trip to the World Series. In fact, T-shirts proclaiming the Chicago Cubs as National League Champions were waiting outside Wrigley to be worn by Cubs fans. Also, guest singer for "Take Me out to the Ballgame", Bernie Mac said, "Root, root, root for the champs" instead of "Root, root, root for the Cubbies."

However, this bedlam for the Cubs would not last. In the top of the eighth inning, with one out, Luis Castillo of the Marlins hit a high foul ball to left field where it was heading into the stands. The Cubs' Moises Alou, thinking he could nab the ball for the second out, headed toward the stands with his glove held high and was just about to fit his glove around the ball when Cubs fan Steve Bartman interrupted Alou's poise and the ball deflected off his hand and into the stands. Even though the Cubs tried to get a fan interference call, the field umpire labeled it foul, declaring it "up for grabs." (The actual ball was eventually bought by a Harry Caray's restaurant owner Grant DePorter for $113,824.16 with the intent to destroy it to end the curse. 20,000 fans sent DePorter ideas on how to do it. On February 26, 2004 it was exploded into shreds by Academy Award-winning special effects expert Michael Lantieri in a nationally televised event. DePorter tried again in 2005 to end the curse by taking the top other ideas from Cubs fans. The remnants of the ball were infused in vodka and beer and were mixed into a special "Foul Ball Spaghetti Sauce", which was then sold to some 4000 diners.)

With a chance at a second out eliminated, the Cubs unraveled. Cubs pitcher Mark Prior walked Castillo. Afterwards, Marlins catcher Ivan Rodriguez singled to score Juan Pierre. Miguel Cabrera then hit a ground ball to Cubs shortstop Alex S. Gonzalez, who led all National League shortstops in fielding percentage. Instead of fielding the ball cleanly, however, Gonzalez closed his glove a split second early and the ball dropped harmlessly into the dirt, loading the bases.

The Marlins would go on to score seven more runs in the inning to take an 8-3 lead and win the game. The series, instead of ending with the Cubs being NL champs, was now tied at three games each. In Game 7, the Marlins would have to face Cubs pitcher Kerry Wood, who was arguably the best pitcher in the National League. The Marlins were down 5-3 in the bottom of the fifth, but took a 9-6 win, thanks to aggressive hitting and the eventual World Series MVP Josh Beckett. The Marlins were declared the National League Champions and moved on to the World Series, where they eventually beat the New York Yankees in six games.

The Cubs, trying to put the heartbreak behind them, eventually traded for Derrek Lee from the Marlins in the off-season and destroyed the Bartman Ball, hoping to finally end their continuing misfortunes.

The curse showed up again in 2004, when the Cubs led by 1.5 games in the NL wild card with only one week remaining. Playing the New York Mets, they won the first game but lost the next two games. In the second game, the Cubs led 3-0 going into the ninth inning before the Mets rallied for a three-run homer in the ninth and a solo home run in the 11th inning to win the game. Victor Diaz, who grew up in Chicago as a Cubs fan and famously was a guest at Sammy Sosa's house as a high-schooler, hit a three run blast with two outs in the bottom of the 9th inning to tie the game. Diaz had only been called up to the major leagues eleven days earlier. The Cubs never recovered and went on to lose two games against the Braves on the last weekend of the season to be eliminated from playoff contention. The Cubs' division rivals, the Houston Astros, won the NL wild card with a win over the Colorado Rockies.

[edit] The Cure

According to an interview with Sam Sianis, William Sianis' nephew, the Curse of the Billy Goat can only be dispelled by the Chicago Cubs organization showing a true sincere fondness for goats, sincerely allowing them into Wrigley Field because they like them, and not simply for publicity reasons^[4].

[edit] Former Cubs who won a World Series title elsewhere

Another factor that may play a role in the curse is the number of players who won World Series titles after leaving the Cubs. These players include Andy Pafko (who, coincidentally, played in the 1945 World Series as a Cub), Smoky Burgess, Don Hoak, Dale Long, Lou Brock, Lou Johnson, Jim Brewer, Moe Drabowsky, Don Cardwell, Ken Holtzman, Bill North, Bill Madlock, Manny Trillo, Rick Monday, Burt Hooton, Bruce Sutter, Willie Hernández, Joe Niekro, Dennis Eckersley, Joe Carter, Greg Maddux, Joe Girardi, Glenallen Hill (after his second stint with the Cubs), Luis González, Mike Morgan, Mark Grace, Mark Bellhorn and Bill Mueller. Dontrelle Willis and Jon Garland were traded as minor leaguers.

[edit] Former Cubs cursing other teams

Conversely, the "Ex-Cubs Factor" seemed to plague many a post-season qualifier that had too many former Cubs. This theory reached its zenith in 1990, when this factor "predicted" that the Oakland Athletics were "doomed" in the Series, and in fact were swept by the Cincinnati Reds in a stunning upset. In 2001, the Arizona Diamondbacks faced the Yankees with 3 ex-Cubs on their roster, and won the Series in dramatic fashion, pretty well burying that "curse".

Boston Red Sox first baseman Bill Buckner, who was blamed for the Red Sox 1986 World Series loss after a routine ground ball rolled through his legs, was also a former Cub. It has been recently uncovered that at the time of the play (and in many other instances) Bill Buckner was wearing an old and tattered Chicago Cubs batting glove under his fielding glove.

Former Cub reliever, Mitch "Wild Thing" Williams, gave up the 1993 World Series winning home-run to Joe Carter in game 6.

[edit] See also

The other cursed team in Major League Baseball, the Boston Red Sox, also came within 5 outs of reaching the 2003 World Series. The following season, however, the Red Sox were finally able to break free by sweeping the Yankees after being down by three games to them, then the Cardinals in the 2004 World Series. (Ironically, the Red Sox won the Series after trading longtime star Nomar Garciaparra to the Cubs in midseason.) For more details, see Curse of the Bambino.
The Chicago White Sox broke the Curse of the Black Sox by beating the Houston Astros in the 2005 World Series, one year after the Red Sox's victory.
In addition, all of the sports teams of Philadelphia have been characterized as being under a curse since the mid 1980s; for more details on this subject, see Curse of Billy Penn.
Similar to Philadelphia's dilemma, all sports teams based in Houston has been characterized as being under a curse or experiencing bad luck when being close to a championship since the 1960s. This curse was ended in the mid-90s by the Houston Rockets, Major League Baseball team Houston Astros finally won their first ever National League Pennant in 2005 in their 40th Anniversary season.
Japanese baseball team Hanshin Tigers is said to suffer from the Curse of the Colonel.
Sufjan Stevens recorded an album about Illinois and included a goat on its cover in reference to this legend.
Philadelphia based musician Chuck Brodsky has written and recorded a song, The Curse of the Billy Goat on his 2006 album Tulips For Lunch.
The Cubs' current owner, the Tribune Company is often thought to be the source of the team's problems recently, rather than the Curse.
There is a thought that the Mets could be cursed with the Curse of the 7's, because they won their first World Series game in their 7th year, and they won their next one 17 years later in 1986. (Note: Their next "scheduled" World Series win is in 2013.)