Time Out Chicago / Issue 136 : Oct 4–10, 2007
Foul plays
To try and undo “The Curse” of 1945, Cubs fans have brought the goat back to Wrigley Field and blown up the Bartman ball. But maybe the real problem lies with the black cat of ’69.
By Leah Pietrusiak Illustrations by Emily Flake
The Curse of the Billy Goat
The rundown It all started with a smelly goat. In 1945, Cub fan Bill Sianis, owner of the Billy Goat Tavern, brought his goat Murphy to Game 4 of the World Series against the Detroit Tigers. Cubs owner P.K. Wrigley didn’t let Sianis’s pet stay, declaring that “the goat stinks.” An angry Sianis reportedly said, “The Cubs ain’t gonna win no more. The Cubs will never win a World Series so long as the goat is not allowed in Wrigley Field.” The Cubs lost the World Series, and haven’t made it back since.
Curse-reverse attempt
In 1973, a nephew of Sianis (named Sam) tried to bring into Wrigley a descendant of Murphy (named Socrates) wearing a sign that read
all is forgiven, let me lead the cubs to the pennant. They weren’t allowed in, and the Cubs had another losing season. Then on Opening Day in 1984, Sam and Socrates were invited into Wrigley; the Cubs won the division title. But there was no goat present for the second half of the playoffs in San Diego, and the Cubs fell to the Padres in Game 5 of the National League Championship Series. Similar instances have happened over the years, most notably in 1989 and 1998, spurring fans to proclaim, “Let the goat in!”
Steve Bartman
The rundown In Game 6 of the 2003 National League Championship Series, the Cubs were leading the Florida Marlins 3-0. Five more outs, and the North Siders would be in the World Series. With the bases empty, Marlin Luis Castillo hit a fly ball toward the left-field corner. Fan Steve Bartman lunged for the ball, preventing outfielder Moises Alou from making the catch. Alou freaked out, and the floodgates opened. The Marlins scored eight runs and won the game, then went on to win Game 7.
Curse-reverse attempt
In February 2004, Harry Caray’s restaurant bought “the Bartman ball” for almost $114,000. Then they invited Michael Lantieri—a Hollywood effects specialist who’s worked on movies like
Jurassic Park—to design explosives to blow it up inside a glass display case during an annual toast to the late legendary Cubs announcer. In April 2005, the restaurant boiled yarn from the ball in water, Budweiser, vodka, and herbs, and added the liquid to a “curse-ending” marinara sauce, which was served on the menu.
The black cat
The rundown The 1969 Cubs team had legends Ernie Banks and Ron Santo, and with a late-season 9½ game lead over the Mets, it looked like the Cubs could return to the World Series for the first time in 24 years. During a pivotal series in the battle for the National League Eastern Division title, a black cat scurried onto the field at Shea Stadium and ran around Santo three times while he was in the on-deck circle before it ran off. The Mets made it to the World Series; the Cubs did not.
Curse-reverse strategy
This is one manifestation of the curse that fans have yet to try and knock out out of the ballpark. Psychic advisor Neil Tobin says there is a potential way to reverse a feline curse: “With black cats crossing your path, you take 12 steps back before proceeding,” Tobin says. “Or you rely on that old standby for most any bad-luck harbinger—you spit.” It wouldn’t hurt to have a ritual that includes synchronized spitting, he adds: “It is, after all, an almost mandatory part of the ballgame experience anyway.
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