MLB Playoffs: What is the Curse of the Billy Goat?
The Chicago Cubs are cursed. You probably already knew that, but do you know the origins of the Curse of the Billy Goat?
The Chicago Cubs have not won a World Series since 1908, but the fact they haven’t even appeared in a Fall Classic since 1945 is not their fault. The franchise is cursed. That year, the Cubs squared off against the Detroit Tigers. Prior to Game 4, the Cubs offended tavern owner Billy Sianis by refusing to allow him to bring his pet goat, Murphy, to the game.
The owner of the well-named Billy Goat Tavern, loudly declared, “Them Cubs, they ain’t gonna win no more.”
Accounts vary as to the exact nature of Sianis’ curse. Some have interpreted his curse to mean the Cubs will never play another World Series game in Wrigley Field, while others believe it was all-encompassing, regardless of venue. The goat owner’s descendants claim that he went so far as to send a telegram to the team’s owner. The text is alleged to have said the following, “You are going to lose this World Series and you are never going to win another World Series again. You are never going to win a World Series again because you insulted my goat.”
The Cubs did go on to lose the 1945 World Series by a margin of 4-3. At the time of the alleged curse, they were up 2-1. The Cubs did win Game 6, but were beaten soundly by a score of 9-3 in the deciding Game 7.
Over the years, there have been various close calls with the World Series for the downtrodden Cubs franchise. They played in the NLCS in 2003, and were a few outs away from winning before the infamous meltdown that began with Steve Bartman interfering with a foul ball. The curse does not exactly explain away the botched inning-ending double-play ball that followed the fan interference. The Cubs also blew a 5-3 lead in Game 7 of that series.
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Last year, the Cubs made it to the NLCS again, but ran into Daniel Murphy (insert comment about the goat also being named Murphy here), and were swept out of the playoffs by the Mets. Somehow, the World Series win for the Cubs that was proclaimed in the Back to the Future movies went unfulfilled.
The Cubs enter the postseason this year with baseball’s best record, best starting rotation, best manager, several MVP candidates, and a closer that throws a 105-mph fastball. If this team does not win the World Series, perhaps it will be time to start believing in curses.