Curse of the Billy Goat

The Curse of the Billy Goat was a sports curse that was supposedly placed on the Chicago Cubs Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise in 1945, by Billy Goat Tavern owner William Sianis. The curse lasted 71 years, from 1945 to 2016. During Game 4 of the 1945 World Series at Wrigley Field, Sianis's pet goat, named Murphy, was bothering other fans, and so the pair were asked to leave the stadium.[1][2] Outraged, Sianis allegedly declared, "Them Cubs, they ain't gonna win no more", which had been interpreted to mean that the Cubs would never win another National League (NL) pennant, at least for the remainder of Sianis's life.

The Cubs lost the 1945 World Series to the Detroit Tigers, and did not win a pennant or World Series championship again until 2016. The Cubs had last won the World Series in 1908. After the incident with Sianis and Murphy, the Cubs did not play in the World Series for the next 71 years until, on the 46th anniversary of William Sianis's death,[3] the "curse" was broken when they defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 5–0 in Game 6 of the 2016 National League Championship Series to win the NL pennant.[4] The Cubs then defeated the American League (AL) champion Cleveland Indians 8–7 in 10 innings in Game 7 to win the World Series, 108 years after their last win.[5]

  1. ^ Ferraro, Michael X.; Veneziano, John (2007). Numbelievable!. Chicago: Triumph Books. p. 119. ISBN 978-1-57243-990-0.
  2. ^ Newman, Mark (February 19, 2015). "Will the Cubs break the Curse of the Billy Goat in the 'Year of the Goat?'". MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media. Archived from the original on February 21, 2015. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
  3. ^ "Celebrity Deaths: William Sianis and the Curse of the Billy Goat". Legacy.com. Archived from the original on October 23, 2016. Retrieved October 22, 2016.
  4. ^ Gurnick, Ken; Muskat, Carrie (October 23, 2016). "Wait of the World: Cubs win NL pennant!". MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media. Archived from the original on May 2, 2018. Retrieved October 25, 2016.
  5. ^ Bastian, Jordan; Muskat, Carrie (November 2, 2016). "Cubs are heavy wait champions!". MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media. Archived from the original on May 2, 2018. Retrieved November 3, 2016.