Publisher
Protar House LLC
P. O. Box 14007
Lansing, MI 48933
info@protarhouse.com
Contact Author at stevegatto@hotmail.com
Curse of the Billy Goat Timeline
Da Curse of the Billy Goat, The Chicago Cubs, Pennant Races, and Curses is a new book that traces the history of the infamous Curse of the Billy Goat from its inception in October 1945 to 2004. In Da Curse of the Billy Goat, Steve Gatto has sifted through vivid newspaper articles from Chicago's past to uncover the true story of the Curse of the Billy Goat. Gatto discusses the evolution of the curse from an urban legend to one of the most infamous baseball curses in the history of baseball, in conjunction with the Chicago Cubs' 1969 late September fold, and the post-season collapses of 1984 and 2003. Today, the Curse of the Billy Goat is inextricably intertwined with the history of Chicago and the Chicago Cubs.
Included in Da Curse of the Billy Goat are long forgotten photographs of William "Billy Goat" Sianis, the originator of the Curse of the Billy Goat, and his goat Murphy, at Wrigley Field the day they were ejected from the stadium by Chicago Cubs' owner Philip Knight Wrigley, due to the animal's objectionable odor. Other photographs include the ticket Billy Goat Sianis tried to use for his goat, and two occasions when Sam Sianis, the nephew of Billy Goat Sianis and current owner of the famous Billy Goat Tavern, was invited to bring a goat into Wrigley Field in order to lift the Curse of the Billy Goat.
Additional Information about the Curse of the Billy Goat
On
After a heated argument, Billy Goat Sianis and the animal were allowed to occupy the box seat for which he had tickets. Billy Goat Sianis and his goat were ejected from the stadium, however, prior to the end of the game at the command of Cubs' owner Philip Knight Wrigley, reportedly because of the anima's objectionable odor. Sianis was outraged by the ejection, and in response, he placed a curse upon the Chicago Cubs that they would never another pennant of play in a World Series. The Chicago Cubs eventually lost the 1945 World Series when they were soundly beaten in game seven. After the loss, Billy Goat Sianis sent a telegram to Wrigley that read, "Who Smells Now"?
With the passage of time and repetitive losing seasons, the Curse of the Billy Goat gradually became an urban legend in
Today, the Curse of the Billy Goat has found a permanent place in baseball lore as one of the most famous sports curses of all time, and it is inextricably intertwined with the history of the Chicago Cubs.
The Chicago Cubs 2005 Season:
Just prior the start of the 2005 season, the Chicago Cubs hopes of winning a National League Pennant rested with their pitching rotation. Yet, Cubs hopes for a healthy pitching staff were dashed before the season began and talk of the Billy Goat Curse only got worse. Mark Prior suffered from inflammation of the right elbow and began the season on the 15-day disabled list. Kerry Wood continued to have shoulder problems and was placed on the disabled list on May 3, 2005. When Prior got off the disabled list he seemed to be getting stronger with each outing, compiling a 4-1 record and a 2.93 ERA. But the Cubs continued to have injury problems. Shortstop Nomar Garciaparra, suffered a freakish groin injury while running out of the batters box in a game and may be out the remainder of the season. The Cubs fell well off the first place pace set by the St. Louis Cardinals early in the season and were a considerable distance back in the wildcard race as well. Nevertheless, the Cubs offense has come to life recently, thanks in large part to the hitting of Derrek Lee, and has closed the gap in the wildcard race. Unfortunately, Mark Prior was again injured in late May when Colorado's Brad Hawpe lined a ball off of Prior's right elbow. More recently, Carlos Zambrano, who earlier was advised to watch his internet e-mail time for fear it would harm his pitching arm, suffered turf toe while making an "ugly slide" into second based against the Boston Red Sox. The good new is that Zambrano is not expected to miss a start and the Cubs are right at the top in the hunt for a wildcard berth. Moreover, Wood and Prior seemed to progessing well and hopefully will be a full strength for the stretch run for a division title or wildcard berth. Although Cubs fans are weary of the Curse of the Billy Goat, they are hoping the Cubs pitchers can regain their health, that the Cubs bats will stay hot, and that the Cubs can make it to the 2005 playoffs.
The Chicago Cubs Preseason 2005:
The Chicago Cubs hopes of winning a National League Pennant rest with their highly rated pitching rotation which is projected to include Mark Prior, Kerry Wood, Carlos Zambrano, Greg Maddux, and Glendon Rusch. Again considered one of the best pitching rotations in baseball. Nevertheless, the key to the 2005 season likely will be the health of Prior and Wood, who both experienced injury problems that prevented them from pitching their best throughout the season. Prior developed a strained Achilles tendon and sore elbow during spring training. Wood experienced pain in his tricep, missed about a month of the season, and was inconsistent the remainder of the year. Still, the Cubs managed to win one more game than the previous year. Although finishing in third place after losing several games to end the season.
For the first time in thirteen years, the Cubs will be without slugger Sammy Sosa, who was traded to the Baltimore Orioles in the off-season. Yet, if the Cubs are ever to win another pennant, it will be due to the strength of their the pitching rotation, not homerun power. And it appears that Sosa may have become more of a distraction to the Cubs than a leader. A healthy Nomar Garciaparra, traded to the Cubs from the Red Sox last season, might help to provide needed leadership. With the Red Sox finally ending their so-called curse, talk of the Billy Goat Curse should increase as the season progresses. Harry Caray's restaurant has already stated the curse talk by serving a "curse meal"-a spaghetti dinner with sauce that includes remnants of the infamous Bartman ball (blown up prior to last season at Harry Caray's restaurant) that was soaked in Budweiser beer. Loyal Chicago Cubs fans no doubt, once the 2005 season begins, will believe that the Chicago Cubs can end the Curse and that the Cubbies can win a National League pennant and a World Series Championship in 2005. After all, the Boston Red Sox have provided the Cubs a roadmap to ending the curse. Nevertheless, some Cubs curse theorists will likely hold fast to the belief that the Curse of the Billy Goat, unlike the Bambino Curse, cannot be beaten and must be lifted in order for the Chicago Cubs to win a pennant.
The Chicago Cubs 2004 Season:
During the off-season of 2004, the Chicago Cubs added to their roster Greg Maddux, a former Cubs pitcher, who left to join the Atlanta Braves after the 1992 season. His return made the Cubs' 2004 pitching rotation, which included Kerry Wood, Greg Maddux, Mark Prior, Matt Clement, and Carlos Zambrano, one of the best in baseball. Tickets for the 2004 Chicago Cubs home games went on sale at the end of February, and fans bought over 572,000 tickets in one day - a major-league ticket sales record. No doubt the ticket sales reflected the high expectations that fans had for the upcoming season.
There was no escaping the Billy Goat Curse talk throughout the year. Indeed, the Chicago Cubs Curse received more recognition by the media in 2004 than any other preseason since its inception in 1945. Many loyal Chicago Cubs fans, once the 2004 season began, steadfastly maintain that there is no Chicago Cubs Curse and that the Cubbies would win a National League pennant and a World Series Championship in 2004 - the club's first pennant since 1945 and first World Series Championship since 1908. Nevertheless, curse theorists held fast to the belief that the Curse of the Billy Goat could not be beaten and must be lifted in order for the Chicago Cubs to win a pennant. Injuries to Mark Prior and Kerry Wood helped keep the pitching rotation from achieving its expected results. Other injuries, including Sammy Sosa's back spasms from a violent sneeze affected the Cubs as well. At the end of the season, the Cubs were still in reasonable position for a wildcard birth in the postseason. With thirteen games remaining, the Cubs clung to a half game lead over the Houston Astros for a wildcard birth. The Cubs even managed to win four straight games, pushing their lead over the Astros for the wildcard slot to two and a half games. Nevertheless, in classic Cubs fashion, the team folded down the stretch, losing seven of the next nine games. Did the Curse of the Billy Goat strike again? The team finished the disappointing 2004 season in third place. Ironically, the team's final record was slightly better than the record of the year before.