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["Thom/TFW" <mthomj@xxxxxxxxx>]

Curse of the Billy Goat
The Curse of the Billy Goat is an Urban legend concerning various 
regular-season and postseason woes of the Chicago_Cubs, a Major_League_Baseball 
team. It supposedly explains the Cubs not winning the World_Series since 
1908_World_Series and not even reaching the final series since 
1945_World_Series.

The Curse of "Billy The Goat" Sianis

As the story goes, Billy_Sianis, a Greek immigrant (from Paleopyrgos, Greece), 
who owned a nearby tavern (the now-famous Billy_Goat_Tavern), had two $7.20 box 
seat tickets to Game 4 of the 1945 World Series between the Chicago Cubs and 
the Detroit_Tigers, and decided to bring along his pet goat, Murphy (or Sinovia 
according to some references), which Sianis had restored to health when the 
goat had fallen off a truck and subsequently limped into his tavern. The goat 
wore a blanket with a sign pinned to it which read "We got Detroit's goat". 
Sianis and the goat were allowed into Wrigley_Field and even paraded about on 
the playing field before the game before ushers intervened and led them off the 
field. After a heated argument, both Sianis and the goat were permitted to stay 
in the stadium occupying the box seat for which he had tickets. At this point, 
Andy Frain (head of Wrigley Field's hired security company at the time), waved 
the goat's box-seat ticket in the air and proclaimed "If he eats the ticket 
that would solve everything.. However, the goat did not. Before the game was 
over, Sianis and the goat were ejected from the stadium at the command of Cubs 
owner Philip_Wrigley due to the animal's objectionable odor. Sianis was 
outraged at the ejection and allegedly placed a curse upon the Cubs that they 
would never win another pennant or play in a World Series at Wrigley Field 
again because the Cubs organization had insulted his goat, and subsequently 
left the U.S. to vacation in his home in Greece.

The Cubs lost Game 4 and eventually the 1945_World_Series, prompting Sianis to 
write to Wrigley from Greece, saying, "Who stinks now?" Following a third-place 
finish in the National_League in 1946, the Cubs would finish in the league's 
First_division for the next 20 consecutive years. This streak finally ended in 
1967, the year after 

Leo_Durocher became the club's manager. Since that time, the supposedly cursed 
Cubs have not won a National_League pennant or played in a World Series - the 
longest pennant drought in Major League history. Sianis died in 1970.

Attempts to break the curse

Billy Sianis's nephew Sam Sianis has been brought out on the field with a goat 
multiple times in attempts to break the curse: on Opening Day in 1984 and 1989 
(the Cubs won the division both years), in 1994 to stop a home losing streak, 
and in 1998 for the wild card play-in game (which the Cubs won).


A group of Cubs fans headed to Houston in 2003 with a Billy Goat named "Virgil 
Homer" and attempted to gain entrance to Minute Maid Park. After they were 
denied entrance, they unfurled a scroll and read a verse proclaiming they were 
"reversing the curse". Houston faded down the stretch allowing the Cubs to win 
the division. The Astros did win the NL pennant in 2005. The Cubs came within a 
game of the World Series in 2003, but apparent fan interference from 
Steve_Bartman is believed to have led to the Cubs losing the next two games, 
and the pennant, to the Florida_Marlins.

Before the 2004 season the Steve Bartman ball was ceremonially destroyed at 
Harry_Caray's Restaurant in Chicago.

The cure

According to an interview with Sam Sianis, William Sianis' nephew, the Curse of 
the Billy Goat can only be dispelled by the Chicago Cubs organization showing a 
true sincere fondness for goats, sincerely allowing them into Wrigley Field 
because they like them, and not simply for publicity reasons. 

Former Cubs who won a World Series title elsewhere

Another factor that may play a role in the curse is the number of players who 
won World Series titles after leaving the Cubs. These players include 
Andy_Pafko (who, coincidentally, played in the 1945 World Series as a Cub), 
Smoky_Burgess, Don_Hoak, Dale_Long, Lou_Brock, Lou_Johnson, Jim_Brewer, 
Moe_Drabowsky, Don_Cardwell, Ken_Holtzman, Billy_North, Bill_Madlock, 
Manny_Trillo, Rick_Monday, Burt_Hooton, Bruce_Sutter, "Willie_Hernndez, 
Joe_Niekro, Dennis_Eckersley, Joe_Carter, Greg_Maddux, Joe_Girardi, 
Glenallen_Hill (after his second stint with the Cubs), Luis_Gonzalez, 
Mike_Morgan, Mark_Grace, Mark_Bellhorn and Bill_Mueller. Dontrelle_Willis and 
Jon_Garland were traded as minor leaguers.

Former Cubs cursing other teams

Conversely, the 'Ex-Cubs_Factor" seemed to plague many a post-season qualifier 
that had too many former Cubs. This theory reached its zenith in 1990, when the 
factor "predicted" that the Oakland_Athletics were "doomed" in that year's 
1990_World_Series, and the A's were swept by the Cincinnati_Reds in a stunning 
upset( coincidently, then Reds manager, Lou_Pinella, is now the Chicago_Cubs 
manager) . In the 2001_World_Series, however, the Arizona_Diamondbacks faced 
the Yankees with three ex-Cubs on their roster, and not only won the Series in 
dramatic fashion, but won it on a rally started by Mark Grace, an ex-Cub, 
effectively discrediting the "Ex-Cubs" theory.

Boston_Red_Sox first baseman Bill_Buckner, who was blamed for Boston's 
1986_World_Series loss after a routine ground ball rolled through his legs, was 
also a former Cub. It has been recently uncovered that at the time of the play 
(and in many other instances), Buckner was wearing an old and tattered Chicago 
Cubs batting glove under his fielding glove.

Former Cub pitcher Mike_Krukow (who went on to play for the 
San_Francisco_Giants and is currently a broadcaster for them) is alleged to be 
the source of the legendary "Krukow Kurse". The "Krukow Kurse" is used to 
explain the Giants' fifty-plus year failure to win the "/wiki/World_Series" 
while in San_Francisco. Before the start of each season, Krukow states his 
usual optimistic prediction- during his radio show-that the Giants have a 
chance to ultimately win the World_Series. Once Krukow stops making such 
preseason predictions- says the legend- the Giants will, in fact, win the 
World_Series.

Another former Cub, Mitch_Williams, also suffered World Series heartbreak in 
1993_World_Series, when he gave up a legendary Walk-off_home_run to Joe_Carter 
of the Toronto_Blue_Jays in the ninth inning of Game 6, handing the World 
Championship to Toronto. Coincidentally, Carter was also a former Cub, but he 
and Williams had not been teammates in Chicago.





"Wisdom denotes the pursuing of the best ends by the best means" Francis 
Hutchenson a Scot philosopher

Thom
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