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Cleopatra Lived Closer to the Computer Age than to the Pyramids, and Other Atypical History Facts

Khalid Elhassan December 30, 2019 33 min

20. The Curse of the Billy Goat Begins

Heartbreaks were a constant for the Chicago Cubs during the Curse of the Billy Goat. Pinterest

An indignant “Billy Goat” Sianis, offended that the Chicago Cubs had kicked his Billy goat buddy out of the ballpark, fired off a telegram to Cubs’ team owner Philip K. Wrigley. In relevant part, it stated: “You are going to lose this World Series and you are never going to win another World Series again. You are never going to win a World Series again because you insulted my goat“.

The Chicago Cubs, who until then had been leading the World Series 2 to 1, dropped game 4, to even it at 2-2. They then proceeded to lose the best-of-seven series, 4 to 3. It was just the start or considering that the team was already in the midst of prolonged title drought, an extension, of the misery and heartbreak that marked Cubs’ fandom for over a century.

Written by

Khalid Elhassan

A lifelong history buff, I developed a particular passion for WW2 history as a child, when I spent hours listening to my grandfather, enraptured, as he recounted his wartime experiences in the British East African Campaign and with the British 8th Army in North Africa.

I graduated with a history BA from George Mason University, then went on to get a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. After lawyering for a decade, I moved to sunny Rio de Janeiro and a less demanding career, opening a tourism agency in Copacabana.

A big chunk of my free time is spent blogging (you can follow me on Quora https://www.quora.com/profile/Khalid-Elhassan ) or freelance writing, mostly about my favorite subject, history.