Da Curse of the Billy Goat

The Curse of the Billy Goat has its beginnings with the fourth game of the 1945 World Series between the Chicago Cubs and the Detroit Tigers. On October 6, 1945, William "Billy Goat" Sianis and his pet goat Murphy, with two $7.20 box seat tickets in hand, was allowed into Wrigley Field. Sianis subsequently took the goat onto the playing field before the game and was eventually escorted off the field by ushers. After a heated argument, he and the goat were allowed to use the box seats for which he had tickets. But at the command of Cubs' owner Philip Knight Wrigley, both Sianis and the goat were ejected from the stadium due to the animal's objectionable odor. Following his ejection from Wrigley Field, William Sianis place a curse on the Cubs that they would never win another pennant and would not play in another World Series at Wrigley Field. The Cubs eventually lost the 1945 World Series and have not been back to the championship series since.

Although it lacks the recent notoriety of another baseball curse, the Curse of the Bambino, it became a part of baseball lore long before the Bambino hex was even named. With the passage of time and repetitive losing seasons, the Curse of the Billy Goat gradually became an urban legend in Chicago and part of baseball lore. Today, it is generally accepted that the Greek tavern owner place a hex on the Cubs that they would never win another pennant or play in the World Series. Despite William Sianis' own lifting of the curse in 1969 and several later attempts to lift the curse by Sam Sianis, Billy Goat's nephew, once even on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, the curse seemingly remains intact after fifty-eight years.

Da Curse generated much notoriety during the 2003 National League Championship Series and has already received more attention in the preseason than any other year in its history. There's little doubt that talk of Da Curse of the Billy Goat will be more deafening in the coming 2004 season that it ever was before.