We often get to hear horror stories, Urban legends, and superstations these are matters of great interest to some people. If you like these stories and you’re also a sports fan then today is your lucky day in this Halloween special article we explore some of the famous supernatural stories and urban legends from the world of sports. So without any tricks let’s dive into treats.
Billy The Goat Curse
One of the most interesting stories about sports-related curses is related to the Major League Baseball Team, the Chicago Cubs. It began in 1945 when a fan named Billy Sianis was in Wrigley Field the home of the Cubs. He was asked to leave because his pet goat Murphy’s odor was bothering other fans. Sianis was outrageous about this. He allegedly cursed the team while leaving the stadium he said “Them Cubs, they ain’t gonna win no more” At that point no one took that seriously later on it seemed that the curse was true but then it was too late.
The Cubs lost the following World Series to the Detroit Tigers. Mike Royko’s columns in Newspaper made this curse more popular and it was made more mainstream in 2003 due to a Fox TV broadcast when commentators highlighted this curse.
Frustrated fans took the matter into their hand and tried various methods to break this alleged curse. Billy Sianis himself made the first attempt to break the curse. He and his nephew went to Wrigley Field with a goat and made multiple attempts to lift the curse. Including the opening day game in 1984. Another bizarre attempt to lift the curse was made on 3 October 2007 it was reported that a butchered goat was hung from the Harry Caray statue. The Chicago Sun-Times noted: “If the prankster intended to reverse the supposed billy goat curse with the stunt, it doesn’t appear to have worked.
A Greek Orthodox priest was called during the 2008 playoffs he sprayed holy water into the Cubs dugout that did not work either.
There were countless more attempts but none of them worked. The curse was finally lifted in 2016 when the Cubs won the International Series by defeating with a 103–58 (640) record. It was their first 100-win season since 1935 (100–54, .649), their best since 1910 (104–50, .675), and the sixth 100-win season in franchise history.
The Curse of the Bambino
Talking of MLB-related curses another that got famous was when the Red Sox player Babe Ruth was sold to the New York Yankees and the curse began.
In 1919 Red Sox owner Harry Fraze sold Babe Ruth for $125,000 to the New York Yankees supposedly to fund a Broadway play. Before this Red Sox won 5 series in just 15 years and the Yankees had not won any.
Things changed drastically after this as the Red Sox went 86 years without a World Series win. The Yankees’ fortune was also changed as they established themselves as baseball giants by winning 26 titles after this. Red Sox fans attributed their lack of success to “the curse”. It was also called The Curse of the Bambino.
During this supposed “curse” they faced major setbacks some of which were their 1946 loss against the Cardinals in World Series game 7 of the World Series. In 1978 New York Yankees overtook a 14-game Red Sox lead, culminating in a one-game playoff where a light-hitting Yankee, Bucky Dent, hit a pivotal home run. This game was later known as the “Boston Massacre”.
Just like the Billy the Goats curse fans also attempted to lift the curse from placing a Red Sox cap on Mount Everest to finding and “exorcising” a piano Babe Ruth allegedly pushed into a pond. Musician Jimmy Buffett even staged a comedic ceremony at Fenway in 2004, dressed as a witch doctor.
In 2004 the curse was lifted with an emphatic victory over rivals Yankees. They came back in the game from a 3-0 deficit to defeat the Yankees in the ALCS, then swept the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series. This win marked the official end of the curse and led to nationwide celebration among Red Sox fans.
This curse is now rotted into the team’s identity even after 20 years when the curse was lifted.
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The Curse of Béla Guttmann
The supposed curses and urban legends are not limited to baseball the world of football has its fair share of these stories. One of the famous curses is attributed to Portuges Club Benfica and their Manager Bela Guttman.
The story starts in 1959 when Portuguese club Benfica appointed Belgian coach Béla Guttmann as their manager. With his appointment, he made drastic changes to the team where he replaced the senior players with the young ones.
Guttmann’s efforts paid off and Benfica beat Barcelona 3-2 to win the European Cup in 1961. Just a year later, in 1962, they faced Real Madrid in the final, and once more, were victorious, winning 5-3 to claim back-to-back European titles.
With this success, Guttman thought that he deserved some reward for his success. He demanded the pay raise but the club president refused it stating that this was not in his contract. Guttman who was known to be outspoken left the room in rage and it is believed that he said “Not in a hundred years from now will Benfica ever be European champion,” Although some people disagreed and said the media exaggerated the 100-year claims he said 30 years.
After this Incident Benfica played 8 European Championship finals and lost all of them. The latest of their defeat came in 2014 when they lost to Spanish club Sevilla 4-2 in penalties. The defeats in finals have come against AC Milan (twice), Inter, Manchester United and PSV Eindhoven in the European Cup and Anderlecht, Chelsea and Sevilla in the Europa League, or UEFA Cup as it was previously known. This losing “Curse” also extended to their youth teams and their youth team lost two finals making a total number of losses 10.
Unlike other supposed curses this curse is yet to be lifted no one knows when maybe in 2062 100 years will be completed or earlier who knows
The Curse of Aaron Ramsey
The next supposed “ curse” is also from the world of football. Unlike previous stories discussed where teams were unable to win major titles this one is a serious one. There is a bizarre urban legend that whenever the Welish footballer Aaron Ramsey scores a goal a famous person dies.
Aaron Ramsey played for Arsenal and Wales as a midfielder. The discussion sparked a theory on social media that whenever the Welsh get the ball in the net someone famous passes away.
Ramsey scored 78 career goals out of which 27 were followed by a major celebrity’s death. In 2009 three days after he scored a goal against Portsmouth three days later US Senator Ted Kennedy died. On 2 May 2011, Osama Bin Laden was killed just after two days of scoring a goal against Manchester United.
Some of the other victims of the supposed “ Aaron Ramsey Curse” are Steve Jobs, Paul Walker, Robin Willams, and Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi. There are a total of 27 deaths after Aron Ramsey’s goal.
Ramsey isn’t going to retire till 2026. He is planning to play till then so who knows how many victims this supposed curse will claim.
Estadio Hernando Siles Ghost
After the curses now let’s talk about a supposed ghost spotting in a stadium in Bolivia. This was also captured on camera means people making this claim have solid evidence.
During a match in the Bolivian football league, the strongest beat the rival club 2-0. There was a notable moment in that game that left everyone shocked. During the 70th minute of the game, a shadowy figure was spotted in the stands. The viral video shows the shadowy figure running around the curve of the ground. Despite the supposed ghost figure being too close to the fans they did not react to this. Some people believed it was the ghost on the other hand some dismissed these claims by simply saying it was due to the camera angle. You can decide for yourself by watching the video here.
