1 00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:09,280 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is production of iHeartRadio. Hello 2 00:00:09,600 --> 00:00:13,400 Speaker 1: and welcome to This Day in History Class, a show 3 00:00:13,440 --> 00:00:16,759 Speaker 1: that shines a light on the big and bizarre moments 4 00:00:16,760 --> 00:00:21,280 Speaker 1: of history. I'm Gabe Luesier, and today we're talking about 5 00:00:21,320 --> 00:00:24,600 Speaker 1: one of the most infamous sports superstitions of all time, 6 00:00:25,440 --> 00:00:34,320 Speaker 1: the dreaded Curse of the Billy Goat. The day was 7 00:00:34,360 --> 00:00:39,920 Speaker 1: October sixth, nineteen forty five. William Cyanis allegedly put a 8 00:00:39,960 --> 00:00:43,040 Speaker 1: curse on the Chicago Cubs after he and his pet 9 00:00:43,040 --> 00:00:47,360 Speaker 1: goat were ejected from Wrigley Field. The so called Curse 10 00:00:47,400 --> 00:00:50,240 Speaker 1: of the Billygoat was widely believed to be the cause 11 00:00:50,280 --> 00:00:54,160 Speaker 1: of the team's one hundred and eight year championship losing streak, 12 00:00:54,520 --> 00:00:58,320 Speaker 1: and although Syanis passed away in nineteen seventy, the legend 13 00:00:58,400 --> 00:01:01,480 Speaker 1: of his curse and its suppose it effects lived on. 14 00:01:02,560 --> 00:01:06,320 Speaker 1: The story begins in nineteen thirty four, when Greek immigrant 15 00:01:06,319 --> 00:01:11,080 Speaker 1: William Syanis bought the Lincoln Tavern on Chicago's West Madison Street. 16 00:01:11,720 --> 00:01:14,720 Speaker 1: One day, not long after, a goat jumped off a 17 00:01:14,760 --> 00:01:18,560 Speaker 1: passing truck and found its way into the bar. Amused 18 00:01:18,560 --> 00:01:21,880 Speaker 1: by this random occurrence, Cyanis adopted the goat and named 19 00:01:21,959 --> 00:01:26,360 Speaker 1: him Murphy. The animal eventually became the bar's beloved mascot, 20 00:01:26,640 --> 00:01:29,440 Speaker 1: with Cyanis growing a goatee to look more like him 21 00:01:29,600 --> 00:01:33,600 Speaker 1: and even renaming his business the Billy Goat Tavern. The 22 00:01:33,720 --> 00:01:37,280 Speaker 1: unusual theming turned out to be good for business, and Cyanis, 23 00:01:37,440 --> 00:01:40,800 Speaker 1: being a shrewd entrepreneur, was quick to capitalize on it 24 00:01:40,880 --> 00:01:44,800 Speaker 1: with a series of promotional stunts. His most notorious came 25 00:01:44,840 --> 00:01:47,920 Speaker 1: in nineteen forty five, when the Chicago Cubs were playing 26 00:01:47,960 --> 00:01:52,640 Speaker 1: the World Series against the American League's Detroit Tigers. Sianis 27 00:01:52,680 --> 00:01:55,520 Speaker 1: had a special banner made for the occasion, which read, 28 00:01:55,960 --> 00:01:59,280 Speaker 1: we got Detroit's Goat. Then he bought two tickets to 29 00:01:59,360 --> 00:02:03,200 Speaker 1: Game four of the series, draped the banner over Murphy's body, 30 00:02:03,440 --> 00:02:05,920 Speaker 1: and set off for Wriggly Field with the goat by 31 00:02:05,920 --> 00:02:09,600 Speaker 1: his side. There are two commonly told versions of what 32 00:02:09,760 --> 00:02:13,280 Speaker 1: happened next. The first is that Cyanis and Murphy were 33 00:02:13,320 --> 00:02:17,480 Speaker 1: turned away at the stadium gate by Cubs president P. K. Wriggly, 34 00:02:17,720 --> 00:02:22,960 Speaker 1: who reportedly objected to the animal's noxious odor. Other sources, however, 35 00:02:23,200 --> 00:02:25,880 Speaker 1: claimed that the tavern owner and his bearded companion were 36 00:02:25,919 --> 00:02:28,800 Speaker 1: allowed into the ballpark after Syanis pointed out that the 37 00:02:28,840 --> 00:02:33,079 Speaker 1: tickets didn't specifically bar goats from entry, but then after 38 00:02:33,120 --> 00:02:36,160 Speaker 1: several complaints to the ushers about the animal's strong smell, 39 00:02:36,480 --> 00:02:40,079 Speaker 1: they were kicked out anyway. In either case, according to 40 00:02:40,120 --> 00:02:44,320 Speaker 1: the tavern's website, a furious Cyanis quote threw up his 41 00:02:44,520 --> 00:02:47,880 Speaker 1: arms and exclaimed, the Cubs ain't gonna win no more. 42 00:02:48,360 --> 00:02:51,440 Speaker 1: The Cubs will never win a World Series so long 43 00:02:51,480 --> 00:02:55,560 Speaker 1: as the goat is not allowed in Wriggly Field. The 44 00:02:55,560 --> 00:02:59,000 Speaker 1: bar owner's jink seemed to take hold right away, as 45 00:02:59,040 --> 00:03:01,440 Speaker 1: even though the Cubs that had entered Game four up 46 00:03:01,520 --> 00:03:04,320 Speaker 1: two to one, they went on to lose the forty 47 00:03:04,360 --> 00:03:08,400 Speaker 1: five series to Detroit in Game seven. After the loss, 48 00:03:08,560 --> 00:03:12,760 Speaker 1: Cyanis supposedly sent a telegram to P. K. Wrigley, asking 49 00:03:13,120 --> 00:03:17,440 Speaker 1: who stinks now. It's worth noting that although the goat 50 00:03:17,480 --> 00:03:20,920 Speaker 1: incident at the ballpark was reported in nineteen forty five, 51 00:03:21,280 --> 00:03:24,040 Speaker 1: there wasn't any mention of a curse until about a 52 00:03:24,080 --> 00:03:27,639 Speaker 1: decade later. By that point, the Cubs were deep into 53 00:03:27,680 --> 00:03:30,680 Speaker 1: their championship drought, and since the team hadn't won a 54 00:03:30,720 --> 00:03:34,880 Speaker 1: season since Murphy was expelled from the stadium, some sportswriters 55 00:03:34,960 --> 00:03:37,880 Speaker 1: began to wonder if Syanis had cursed the team out 56 00:03:37,920 --> 00:03:41,960 Speaker 1: of spite. The tavern owner quickly confirmed their suspicion, and 57 00:03:42,040 --> 00:03:44,800 Speaker 1: he and his family have stuck to that story ever since. 58 00:03:45,440 --> 00:03:48,880 Speaker 1: But whether Sianis actually jinks the team or just knew 59 00:03:48,880 --> 00:03:52,880 Speaker 1: good publicity when he saw it is anybody's guess. What 60 00:03:52,960 --> 00:03:55,760 Speaker 1: we know for certain is that the Billy Goat Tavern 61 00:03:55,840 --> 00:03:59,720 Speaker 1: became a Chicago institution after all the curse talk took off. 62 00:04:00,280 --> 00:04:03,280 Speaker 1: In nineteen sixty four, the watering Hole moved to its 63 00:04:03,280 --> 00:04:06,840 Speaker 1: current location and later spawned a chain of other spots 64 00:04:06,920 --> 00:04:11,080 Speaker 1: all across town. The legend of the Billygoat curse proved 65 00:04:11,120 --> 00:04:14,040 Speaker 1: even better for business than the Goat itself, and the 66 00:04:14,120 --> 00:04:17,360 Speaker 1: Cyanis family, which still owns the bar to day, has 67 00:04:17,400 --> 00:04:21,000 Speaker 1: made sure to keep it going. That said, there doesn't 68 00:04:21,000 --> 00:04:23,800 Speaker 1: seem to be any ill will between the tavern and 69 00:04:23,839 --> 00:04:27,920 Speaker 1: the Cubs. In fact, the family has spearheaded multiple stunts 70 00:04:27,960 --> 00:04:30,640 Speaker 1: over the years in an effort to reverse the curse. 71 00:04:31,160 --> 00:04:34,760 Speaker 1: The first came from William Cyanus himself, who in nineteen 72 00:04:34,839 --> 00:04:37,799 Speaker 1: fifty wrote a letter to the Wrigglies offering to lift 73 00:04:37,800 --> 00:04:41,480 Speaker 1: the curse in exchange for an apology. P K Wriggly 74 00:04:41,560 --> 00:04:46,919 Speaker 1: gladly obliged, but alas the curse remained in effect. Another 75 00:04:47,040 --> 00:04:50,200 Speaker 1: attempt was made in nineteen eighty four, when Cubs manager 76 00:04:50,279 --> 00:04:54,479 Speaker 1: Dallas Green invited Cyanus's nephew Sam to march across the 77 00:04:54,520 --> 00:04:58,359 Speaker 1: field with a goat during a pregame ceremony. Once again, 78 00:04:58,400 --> 00:05:02,680 Speaker 1: though the Cubs continued to lose year after year. It 79 00:05:02,760 --> 00:05:05,760 Speaker 1: was the same story in nineteen ninety four and nineteen 80 00:05:05,839 --> 00:05:09,440 Speaker 1: ninety seven, when other members of the Cyanis family also 81 00:05:09,600 --> 00:05:13,800 Speaker 1: walked goats across the field to no avail. Cubs fans 82 00:05:13,880 --> 00:05:17,720 Speaker 1: tried a different tack in twenty fifteen. Instead of honoring 83 00:05:17,760 --> 00:05:20,680 Speaker 1: a goat, they devoured one as part of an eating 84 00:05:20,720 --> 00:05:25,120 Speaker 1: competition hosted at a Chicago restaurant. The forty pound animal 85 00:05:25,200 --> 00:05:29,080 Speaker 1: was consumed in just fourteen minutes, but shockingly, it didn't 86 00:05:29,080 --> 00:05:33,719 Speaker 1: seem to improve the Cub's performance. Finally, on November two, 87 00:05:33,920 --> 00:05:37,600 Speaker 1: twenty sixteen, the goat curse was broken at last, when 88 00:05:37,600 --> 00:05:41,520 Speaker 1: the Chicago Cubs claimed their first World Series victory since 89 00:05:41,640 --> 00:05:45,880 Speaker 1: nineteen oh eight. They narrowly defeated the Cleveland Indians eight 90 00:05:45,920 --> 00:05:49,240 Speaker 1: to seven in the tenth inning of the series seventh game. 91 00:05:50,000 --> 00:05:52,919 Speaker 1: The win marked the end of the longest title drought 92 00:05:53,000 --> 00:05:56,960 Speaker 1: in Major League Baseball history, and Cubs manager Joe Madden 93 00:05:57,240 --> 00:05:59,359 Speaker 1: was eager to make clear that it was time to 94 00:05:59,360 --> 00:06:02,839 Speaker 1: put the curse behind them. The burden has been lifted, 95 00:06:03,080 --> 00:06:05,760 Speaker 1: he said in a press conference. It should have never 96 00:06:05,839 --> 00:06:08,240 Speaker 1: been there in the first place, I don't think, but 97 00:06:08,400 --> 00:06:13,159 Speaker 1: now we can move forward. Decades of coordinated efforts to 98 00:06:13,240 --> 00:06:16,640 Speaker 1: remove the curse had all failed, leading many to question 99 00:06:16,800 --> 00:06:19,800 Speaker 1: whether the curse was ever real to begin with. The 100 00:06:19,880 --> 00:06:23,440 Speaker 1: answer may seem obvious to more skeptical listeners, but it 101 00:06:23,520 --> 00:06:28,120 Speaker 1: is tough to rationalize a century long losing streak. Still, 102 00:06:28,320 --> 00:06:31,640 Speaker 1: there are some possible explanations for the Cubs record setting 103 00:06:31,680 --> 00:06:36,200 Speaker 1: drought that don't involve magical thinking. For instance, the Chicago 104 00:06:36,279 --> 00:06:40,320 Speaker 1: Cubs drag their feet on racial integration, cutting themselves off 105 00:06:40,360 --> 00:06:42,960 Speaker 1: from a pool of non white talent all through the 106 00:06:43,040 --> 00:06:46,720 Speaker 1: nineteen forties and fifties, while integrated teams such as the 107 00:06:46,760 --> 00:06:50,560 Speaker 1: Brooklyn Dodgers and the Cleveland Indians claimed title after title. 108 00:06:51,440 --> 00:06:54,800 Speaker 1: Another potential contributor to the team's long string of bad 109 00:06:54,880 --> 00:06:58,120 Speaker 1: luck is people's belief in the goat curse rather than 110 00:06:58,160 --> 00:07:02,640 Speaker 1: the curse itself, the very idea of the curse may 111 00:07:02,680 --> 00:07:06,240 Speaker 1: have unconsciously affected the team's performance, kind of like a 112 00:07:06,240 --> 00:07:10,440 Speaker 1: placebo effect. If Cubs players truly thought their team was cursed, 113 00:07:10,680 --> 00:07:13,840 Speaker 1: they may have lost confidence and focus, believing that they 114 00:07:13,840 --> 00:07:17,080 Speaker 1: were doomed to fail no matter what. As for what 115 00:07:17,280 --> 00:07:21,040 Speaker 1: finally broke the pattern in twenty sixteen, it's tough to say. 116 00:07:21,760 --> 00:07:24,560 Speaker 1: It could be that the team simply had an exceptionally 117 00:07:24,640 --> 00:07:27,800 Speaker 1: strong crop of players that year, or that their opponents 118 00:07:27,840 --> 00:07:30,480 Speaker 1: had an off day of their own, or it could 119 00:07:30,480 --> 00:07:34,000 Speaker 1: have been down to sheer luck. There's one more option, though, 120 00:07:34,040 --> 00:07:39,080 Speaker 1: that's worth considering, a statistical phenomenon called regression to the mean. 121 00:07:39,880 --> 00:07:42,920 Speaker 1: The basic idea is that in any event where luck 122 00:07:43,000 --> 00:07:46,760 Speaker 1: is involved, extreme outcomes are likely to be followed by 123 00:07:46,880 --> 00:07:50,320 Speaker 1: more moderate ones. So on a long enough timeline, a 124 00:07:50,360 --> 00:07:54,200 Speaker 1: team that traditionally wins will eventually lose, and a team 125 00:07:54,240 --> 00:07:59,480 Speaker 1: that traditionally loses will eventually win. Of course, one hundred 126 00:07:59,480 --> 00:08:02,400 Speaker 1: and eighty year is an unusually long time for that 127 00:08:02,520 --> 00:08:06,000 Speaker 1: reversal of fortune to kick in, So maybe the Cub's 128 00:08:06,120 --> 00:08:09,920 Speaker 1: long overdue win would have happened a lot sooner if 129 00:08:09,960 --> 00:08:14,720 Speaker 1: not for the Curse of the Billy Goat. I'm Gabe 130 00:08:14,720 --> 00:08:18,200 Speaker 1: Bluesier and hopefully you now know a little more about 131 00:08:18,240 --> 00:08:22,360 Speaker 1: baseball history today than you did yesterday. If you have 132 00:08:22,440 --> 00:08:26,680 Speaker 1: a second and you're so inclined, consider following us on Twitter, Facebook, 133 00:08:26,760 --> 00:08:31,800 Speaker 1: and Instagram at TDI HC Show. You can also rate 134 00:08:31,840 --> 00:08:35,120 Speaker 1: and review the show on Apple Podcasts that's always appreciated, 135 00:08:35,600 --> 00:08:38,080 Speaker 1: or you can get in touch directly by writing to 136 00:08:38,160 --> 00:08:42,760 Speaker 1: This Day at iHeartMedia dot com. Thanks to Chandler Mays 137 00:08:42,880 --> 00:08:45,960 Speaker 1: for producing the show, and thank you for listening. I'll 138 00:08:45,960 --> 00:08:48,960 Speaker 1: see you back here again soon for another Day in 139 00:08:49,160 --> 00:09:01,599 Speaker 1: History class.