Curse of the Billy Goat

The Curse of the Billy Goat is an urban legend concerning various regular-season and postseason woes of the Chicago Cubs, a Major League Baseball team whose last World Series appearance was in 1945.

The Curse of Billy "The Goat" Sianis

Main article: Chicago Cubs futility theories

The Curse of the Billy Goat is a curse on the Chicago Cubs that was started in 1945. As the story goes, Billy Sianis, a Greek immigrant (from Paleopyrgos, Greece), 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". Sianis and the goat were allowed into Wrigley Field and even paraded about on the playing field before the game before ushers intervened and led them 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." However, the goat did not. Before the game was over, it started to rain and Sianis and the goat were ejected from the stadium at the command of Cubs owner Philip Knight Wrigley due to the objectionable odor of wet goat. 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?"

Attempts to break the curse

Sam Sianis, nephew of Billy Sianis, has been brought out on the field with a goat multiple times in attempts to break the curse: on Opening Day in 1984 and 1989 (the Cubs won the division both years), in 1994 to stop a home losing streak, and in 1998 for the wild card play-in game (which the Cubs won).

A group of Cubs fans headed to Houston in 2003 with a Billy Goat named "Virgil Homer" and attempted to gain entrance to Minute Maid Park. After they were denied entrance, they unfurled a scroll and read a verse proclaiming they were "reversing the curse". Houston faded down the stretch allowing the Cubs to win the division that year. The Cubs, however, came within 5 outs of the World Series in 2003, until fan Steve Bartman interfered with a foul ball catch by Moises Alou, and followed by a missed ground ball by shortstop Alex Gonzalez, which prevented an inning-ending double play. The Marlins went on to score 8 runs in the inning, to lead 8-3. The Cubs lost that game and the next game to the Florida Marlins, who went on to win the World Series against the New York Yankees. Bartman continues to avoid commenting on the incident to the press, and has expressed deep regret about the incident.

Before the 2004 season the Steve Bartman ball was ceremonially destroyed at Harry Caray's Restaurant in Chicago.

In another bizarre twist, it was reported that a butchered goat was hanged from the Harry Caray statue on October 3, 2007, but the Sun-Times noted: "If the prankster intended to reverse the supposed billy goat curse with the stunt, it doesn't appear to have worked." However, the Cubs did win the NL central title in 2007.

The cure

idk.. who knows?

According to three interviews with Sam Sianis, William Sianis' nephew-in-law, the Curse of The Billy Goat can be dispelled only by the Chicago Cubs organization's showing a sincere fondness for goats; allowing them into Wrigley Field because they genuinely want to, not simply for publicity reasons. Maybe the real cure, however, involves the Detroit Tigers, as the Cubs lost to them in the 1945 World Series, would've played them in the 1984 World Series had they beaten San Diego one more time, and, most importantly, beat them both times they won the World Series, in 1907 and 1908, respectively.

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), Gene Baker, Smoky Burgess, Don Hoak, Dale Long, Lou Brock (whose first title was in 1964 after a mid-season trade to the St. Louis Cardinals), Lou Johnson, Jim Brewer, Moe Drabowsky, Don Cardwell, Ken Holtzman, Billy 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; his title came in 2000 after he'd been traded in mid-season), Luis Gonzalez, Mike Morgan, Mark Grace, Mark Bellhorn and Bill Mueller. Dontrelle Willis and Jon Garland were traded as minor leaguers.

Former Cubs cursing other teams

Main article: Ex-Cubs Factor

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 the factor "predicted" that the Oakland Athletics were "doomed" in that year's World Series, and the A's were swept by the Cincinnati Reds in a stunning upset (coincidentally, then Reds manager, Lou Piniella, is now the Chicago Cubs manager) . In the 2001 World Series, however, the Arizona Diamondbacks faced the Yankees with three ex-Cubs on their roster, and not only won the Series in dramatic fashion, but won it on a rally started by Mark Grace, an ex-Cub, effectively discrediting the "Ex-Cubs" theory.

Boston Red Sox first baseman Bill Buckner, who was blamed for Boston's 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), Buckner was wearing an old and tattered Chicago Cubs batting glove under his fielding glove.

Former Cub pitcher Mike Krukow (who went on to play for the San Francisco Giants and is currently a broadcaster for them) is alleged to be the source of the legendary "Krukow Kurse". The "Krukow Kurse" is used to explain the Giants' fifty-plus year failure to win the World Series while in San Francisco. Before the start of each season, Krukow states his usual optimistic prediction- during his radio show-that the Giants have a chance to ultimately win the World Series. Once Krukow stops making such preseason predictions- says the legend- the Giants will, in fact, win the World Series.

Another former Cub, Mitch Williams, also suffered from the World Series heartbreak in 1993, when he gave up a legendary walk-off home run to Joe Carter of the Toronto Blue Jays in the ninth inning of Game 6, handing the World Championship to Toronto. Williams would then play for the Houston Astros, who missed a possible chance to win the NL pennant due to the 1994 strike. Coincidentally, Carter was also a former Cub, but he and Williams had not been teammates in Chicago.

Other cultural references

• 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.
• Chicago pro-wrestler Colt Cabana named one of his finishers, an inverted Boston crab, the "Billy Goat's Curse".
• In the 1989 film Back to the Future Part II a news announcement is made in 2015 that the Cubs have won the World Series.

See also: Sports-related curses