Chicago Cubs fans haven’t been able to celebrate at the World Series for the past 108 years- until last night. The Cubs earned a victory against the Cleveland Indians in a thrilling extra inning game, breaking what many believed were century long curses.
There are eleven supposed curses that have held a World Series Trophy just out of reach for Chicago. Here are all of the curses that the Cubs surpassed last night:
- Curse of the Black Cat – A Black Cat, a bad omen, took a stroll in front of the Cubs dugout and circled the Cubs star pitchers, Ron Santo back in 1969. The Cubs held the First Place seed in the National League until they crumbled, losing their first place seed, and the eventual World Series Champions turned out to be the Mets.
- Babe Ruth’s Called Shot – Ever seen a picture of the notorious Babe Ruth holding his bat out toward the outfield before entering his batting stance and going yard? Yup, that was against the Cubbies in game 3 of the 1932 World Series, which the Cubs lost to the Yankees in a sweep losing 4 games in the best of 7.
- Prior/Wood Curse – The Cubs were geared to win the series as they were set behind aces Kerry Wood and Mark Prior. Injuries were not seldom within Chicago’s clubhouse and kept the Cubs outside of the world series despite their two aces.
- Kwa-Ma-Rolas Curse – 1929, Lake Shore Drive received an addition to its landscape, the Kwa-Ma-Rolas. The Native American symbol is facing Wrigley Field, when traditionally it should face east, in the direction of Lake Michigan.
- Back to the Future Curse – When Marty McFly slipped his feet into his self-lacing Nike shoes, he also noticed a billboard proclaiming Cubs won the World Series for the first time in 107 years, jinxing the Cubs.
- Curse of the Century – Exactly 100 years following the Cubs last World Series win, the Cubs ended the regular season with the best record and the best team in the League. Their chances of ending the drought seemed too great to fail. In their first, and only, three games of the 2008 postseason, the Dodgers swept the “unbeatable” Cubs, ending their postseason hopes.
- Greg Maddux Curse- Greg Maddux, Hall of Famer, started his career in Chicago. He turned into a reappearing act when October rolled around after he moved from Chicago to Atlanta. He turned into a Judas for the Cubs as he was part of two teams that eliminated them from the postseason: Braves, 1998; Dodgers, 2008.
- Curse of the Gatorade Glove – Game 5 of the NLCS in 1984 was lost when Leon Durham had an error that led to Chicago’s elimination. Gatorade had spilled in the dugout and drenched his glove, the main reason why he made the error.
- Brock for Broglio Curse – In 1964, The Cubs traded Lou Brock to the Cardinals, where Brock had a Hall of Fame career, and the cardinals gave Ernie Broglio in return. Broglio did not live up to the player he was traded for.
- Steve Bartman – Game 6, 2003, Steve Bartman was a Cubs fan sitting along the left field foul line. The Cubs were up 3 runs to none with only 5 outs remaining in the game, leading the series 3 games to 2 against the Marlins. Although as history shows, the Cubs were destined to fall. A foul ball hit right at the foul line that Steve Bartman shared with the left fielder Moises Alou. Bartman robbed Alou of the the out and the cubs self-destructed and the Marlins won the series and went on the win the World Series. Bartman is still in hiding today.
- Curse of the Billy Goat – Perhaps the most notorious curse in sports began during Game 4 of the 1945 World Series. A man, William Sianis, and his pet goat, Murphy, were enjoying the game until the both of them were kicked out because other fans were being bothered by the stench of the goat. Understandably upset, William proclaimed, “Them Cubs, they ain’t gonna win no more!” The cubs went on to lose the World Series and to this day the last time they were victorious in October was 1908.
Were these curses real, or were they scapegoats to soften bitter defeat? Have these curses come to an end after this victorious World Series, or will they continue for more years to come?