On October 6, 1945, Billy Sianis brought his goat Murphy with him to Wrigley Field to watch the Chicago Cubs take on the Detroit Tigers in game 4 of the World Series. Murphy, who bore a sign reading “We Got Detroit’s Goat,” was invited to take a lap of the bases before the game started, following which he and Billy returned to their box seats to watch the action. At some point during the game, making a mistake that would echo throughout baseball history, stadium security heard complaints of the goat’s odor and decided to escort both Billy and Murphy from the ballpark. Some say it was right there on the spot, while his family claims he sent a telegram later that evening, but most Cubs fans are certain that Billy Sianis, so angry at his and Murphy’s ejection from the game, cursed the Cubs on that day and doomed them to never again win a World Series. It would seem the curse worked: the Cubs lost that series with the Tigers, and haven’t made it to another World Series since that 1945 run.
American sports are full of interesting curses that are often used to explain a given team’s persistent failure. Perhaps the most famous is the Curse of the Bambino, supposedly placed on the Boston Red Sox after selling Babe Ruth to the Yankees in 1920. In the intervening 84 years until they finally broke the curse by winning a World Series, the Red Sox would only actually make it to four World Series (losing in all four), while the Yankees went to 39 World Series and won 27. While Billy Sianis’ curse on the Cubs was well known from the start, the Curse of the Bambino wasn’t notable until the 1990’s when it was used, mostly in a farcical manner, to explain the lopsided records between the two teams.
Even beyond the world of baseball curses are a regular feature among sports fans. In the Major League Soccer team’s inaugural game in 1996 against the New England Revolution, New York MetroStars defender Nicola Caricola attempted to clear a ball out of play, but ended up chipping it into his own net. This put the Revolution up 2-1 with seconds left in the game and gave the MetroStars no chance to recover. This “Curse of Caricola” doomed the team not only to fail to win any trophies, but to do so in spectacular fashion. In the 2000 Conference Finals, the MetroStars scored the winning goal in a series against Chicago, but it was called back as offside. In the 2012 playoff series, Kenny Cooper scored a penalty against D.C. United, but it too was called back for illegal encroachment by his teammates. Finally winning their first trophy in 2013, the MetroStars (now the New York Red Bulls) were the last original Major League Soccer franchise to win silverware.
Curses abound across the pond as well, with a Birmingham City Football Club and Derby County Football Club both claiming curses stemming form their stadiums being built on Romani Gypsy land. Birmingham City suffered a supposed hundred year curse in 1906, which it seems they simply waited out, although they haven’t experienced great success since 2006. Derby County F.C. was more proactive, sending a representative of the club to apologize to the Gypsies before an important cup final match. During the ensuing game, which was tied 1-1, the ball burst during play. Derby County fans took it as a sign that the curse had been lifted as Derby County ended up dominating the rest of the game and winning 4-1. Whether you believe them or not, the notion of curses and superstition that pervades professional sport around the globe makes the games all the more interesting to watch, and adds an even higher level of drama to already exciting action.
