“Any team can have a bad century.” – Jack Brickhouse (reference to the Chicago Cubs)
In October of 1945, Billy Sianis brought his pet goat to Game 4 of the World Series at Wrigley Field. The Cubs were playing the Detroit Tigers, and Sianis thought it fitting to have his goat join him in the stands that day. So began one of the strangest and sorrowful stories in all of baseball – the Chicago Cubs Billy Goat Curse.
William “Billy Goat” Sianis was a Greek immigrant and Chicago tavern owner. He came to the U. S. in 1912, learned English by reading the newspapers, and began his pursuit of the American dream. In 1924, just months after the repeal of Prohibition, he bought the Lincoln Tavern located on West Madison Street in downtown Chicago for $205 (later moving to a location on Michigan Avenue in 1964).
Sianis earned the nickname “Billy Goat” after a baby goat fell off a passing truck and wandered into his bar. This event also inspired a name change for his establishment. With the arrival of his now pet goat (named “Murphy”) the bar became The Billy Goat Tavern & Grill.
In time, the Billy Goat Tavern became a legendary hangout spot for local journalists, writers, and assorted celebrities. Interesting fact – the recurring and hilarious Olympia Restaurant sketch (“Cheezeborger, Cheezeborger, Cheezeborger”) on the hit TV show Saturday Night Live was inspired by the Billy Goat Tavern & Grill. John Belushi and Bill Murray frequented the Billy Goat during their time in Chicago with Second City TV. They loved the place enshrining it in comedy history. And Bill Murray is a devoted Cubs fan. He can often be seen hobnobbing around Chicago (one afternoon years ago I saw him at Wrigley when my buddy Chris and I were at a Cubs game). Murray is a frequent visitor at the Billy Goat Tavern when he is in town.
Back to baseball and Game 4. There is some variation in the stories of what happened that day. Here is, I believe, the correct version. Billy Sianis arrived at Wrigley intending to cheer on the Cubs. He purchased two box seats (for the princely sum of $7.20), and before the game Sianis was allowed to parade his goat around Wrigley’s infield sporting a placard that read “We Got Detroit’s Goat.” After this exhibition, Sianis and his goat Murphy settled into their seats. And they enjoyed the game until the fourth inning, when ushers arrived and asked them to leave. Apparently, Murphy’s smell was too much for the neighboring fans, some of whom were seen dry heaving into the aisles nearby. If you’ve spent any time around odorous billy goats, you know how bad they can smell.
Again, accounts vary as to what happened next. Suffice it to say that Sianis was not pleased. In the process of being ejected from the stadium, Sianis cursed the franchise declaring that the Cubs would never again play in a World Series game at Wrigley Field. Still angry the following day, Sianis sent a telegram to the then owner of the Cubs, Phillip K. Wrigley, saying the team would lose the 1945 World Series and never win another, all because they had slighted his beloved pet goat. The curse apparently worked. The Tigers swept the remaining three games, and the Cubs lost the World Series.
There are those who reject the idea that this Billy Goat Curse had any effect. They claim that Chicago’s consistent losing record afterward was the result of poor management and more. But it must be noted that prior to the curse, the Cubs were one of the most successful teams in baseball. After winning back-to- back World Series titles in 1907 and 1908 (the first team in major league baseball to do this) they captured pennants in 1910, 1918, 1929, 1932, 1935, 1938, and finally 1945, playing in the World Series each of those years. From 1876 to 1945, they posted a .559 record, with 51 winning seasons, 16 first place finishes, and 16 pennants and World Series appearances. But after the curse, the Cubs’ luck changed for the worse, with zero pennants won and World Series chances eluding them every year.
Year after year the Cubs came close, but in the end, they always seemed to choke. In 1969, their winning season was crushed by the “Miracle” Mets. In 1973 their mid-season first-place lead withered away. 1984 brought hope, but in the end, all was wrecked by the Padres. After their division title in 1989, the Cubs were blown out in post-season play. Another division title in 2003 brought more pain when October baseball was marred by freak on-field errors and zealous fan interference. Throughout these years, Sam Sianis, Billy’s nephew and now the owner of the Billy Goat Tavern (after Billy’s passing), made efforts to break the curse by bringing goats to Wrigley regularly (descendants of the original goat Murphy), but nothing changed. When the goat was denied entrance, which happened often, fans could be heard chanting, “Let the Goat in! Let the Goat in!”
Finally, in 2016 the Cubs ended their 108-year World Series drought. Apparently, the curse was broken. The Cubs that year won the World Series beating the Cleveland Indians in seven games.
I love my Texas teams, both the Rangers and Astros, but I also have always been a Cubs fan. Take in a game at Wrigley Field and you will be too. The famed baseball author and political columnist George F. Will once said, “Chicago Cubs fans are 90% scar tissue.” He was referencing the collective heartbreak shared and the emotional resilience necessary when rooting for the Cubs. I was reminded of this recently, watching the Padres spank the Cubs in this year’s post-season play. Well, maybe next year – you gotta love baseball.