Much has been written about the Cursed Cubs—maybe too much. Apparently only supernatural causes can be responsible for more than a century of World Series futility. Forget bad management, cheap and shortsighted owners, superstition, and maybe, just maybe, a fan base that actually enjoys the whole cursed lovable losers myth and wouldn’t know what the hell to do if the Cubs suddenly became winners. Look what happened to the Red Sox post 2004 after they broke the curse Babe Ruth allegedly placed on them after he was sold to the Yankees. They went from charming and unassuming to the second-biggest assholes on the east coast. (The Yankees will always be the biggest assholes.) This cursedness has become almost as good a marketing ploy as Beautiful Wrigley Field. Especially that goat.
The story goes that William “Billy Goat” Sianis, owner of the Billy Goat Tavern, attempted to bring his pet goat—named Murphy or Sonovia, depending on which account you read—to Wrigley Field for the 1945 World Series against the Detroit Tigers. The goat was denied admission. Enraged, Sianis placed a hex upon the Cubs that lasts until this day and gives Cubs fans an excuse to buy goat-themed merchandise, which they enjoy because goats are pretty cute.
By 1967, the taunting telegram had expanded into a full-fledged curse. In a profile of Sianis on the occasion of a new addition to the bar, including a Billy Goat “Wall of Fame,” William Granger wrote,
Green sent an emissary to the Billy Goat.
The Black Cat
The Ex-Cub Factor
