Chicago Cubs win World Series to end the 108-year Billy Goat curse, but others aren't so lucky

The Chicago Cubs finally lifted the 'Curse of the Billy Goat' with their historic World Series win - but where does their tale rank among sport's strangest curses?

(Getty Images)

Until today, you might not have heard of the ‘Curse of the Billy Goat’.

The Chicago Cubs finally ended their 108-year wait for a World Series title by beating the Cleveland Indians on Wednesday night – and in the process lifted one of sport’s longest curses.

It was a curse that lasted 71 years from the day in 1945 when Billy Goat Tavern owner William Sianis was asked to leave Wrigley Field during a game. Outraged, Sianis allegedly cried “Them Cubs, they ain’t gonna win no more…” And for more than a century, they didn't.

Below, we look at some of sport’s other famous curses.

The Mayo curse
Everyone in Ireland can tell you about the curse of Mayo, the story of a team’s 65-year wait for an All-Ireland senior football title that truly is the stuff of legend.

In September, Mayo’s latest effort to end the famine resulted in a 1-15 to 1-14 defeat to Dublin at Croke Park. It was eighth time since 1989 Mayo had reached the final and lost.

The curse dates back to one day in 1951, when the Mayo team were heading home after enjoying a win over Meath. According to the legend, when they passed a funeral in the town of Foxford without paying their respects, a priest cast a curse that Mayo would never again win the All-Ireland Championship until all the members of that team had died.

They have never won it since. Two members of that team are still alive…

Derby County and Birmingham City – The Romani curse
Upset the Romani people and suffer a hundred years of bad luck – at least, that is what Birmingham City will tell you after a curse that is said to have lasted a century.

Legend has it that when the club moved from Muntz Street to St Andrews in 1906 the Romani people, forced off their land, put a 100-year hex on the new stadium.

Several managers tried to lift the curse – Barry Fry is said to have urinated in all four corners of the pitch on one occasion. It is said the curse was lifted on Boxing Day 2006 when Birmingham beat QPR 2-1. Four years later they won their first trophy, beating Arsenal 2-1 to win the League Cup.

Derby County also fell foul of the Romani people, it is said, when they forced them off the land to build the Baseball Ground. The curse said Derby would never win the FA Cup. They lost three finals between 1896 and 1903, before the curse was finally lifted when they won the 1946 final.

Barry Fry went to great lengths to lift the Birmingham City curse (Getty Images)

Cruz Azul – Cursed by blood
The final of the Mexican League winter tournament in 1997 between Cruz Azul and Club Leon was about to turn nasty.

With the scores level in the closing minutes Leon goalkeeper Angel Comizzo kicked Carlos Hermosillo in the face, conceding a penalty and causing Hermosillo to bleed. When the referee asked him to wipe off the blood he refused – and scored the penalty.

It is claimed the blood cursed both sides. Leon were relegated in 2002 and Azul went on to lose finals in the Mexican League, the CONCACAF Champions League and the Copa Libertadores.

Hibernian – Curse of the gypsy woman
Hibernian’s 2016 Scottish Cup win over Rangers was 114 years in the making.

Before that triumph, the SPL side had lost an incredible 10 straight cup finals. League titles came and went, but the cup was elusive – all down to the curse of a gypsy woman. During renovation works on Easter Road stadium in the 1950s a harp crest was removed and did not reappear.

In the 2015-16 season the club’s crest, which includes a harp, was placed on the façade of the west stand. Less than eight months later, Hibernian’s long wait for cup glory was ended.

Boston Red Sox – The curse of the Bambino
Before the Boston Red Sox sold Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees in 1918 they had won four titles in seven years between 1912 and 1918. After the sale they had to wait 86 years for another World Series win, which they finally achieved by beating the Yankees in 2004.

A statue of Babe Ruth (Getty Images)

Croatia’s curse of ‘95
At the 1995 FIBA European Championship medal ceremony, before the Yugoslavia team were about to collect their gold medals, the third-placed Croatian team left the podium and walked off the stage. Despite continuing success for Croatia in other sports, their basketball team has not set foot on any major international podium since.

Kevin Durant – The basedGod’s curse
In May 2011, Oklahoma City Thunder small forward Kevin Durant tweeted an insult criticising cult rapper Lil B’s music. In response, Lil B tweeted out the BasedGod’s Curse, claiming Durant would never win the NBA Championship. The following year, Durant’s side lose to Miami Heat in the NBA finals. They haven’t been back since and Durant, now at Golden State Warriors has never been back to the biggest stage.

The Crucible curse
Snooker, that most gentlemanly of games, has a dark side. No first-time winner of the World Snooker Championship has ever successfully defended his title since the event was first held at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield in 1977. When you consider that list includes the names Steve Davis, Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O’Sullivan, you can see why many call this the curse of the Crucible.

Ronnie O'Sullivan (Getty Images)

The Kennett curse
Jeff Kennett, the president of AFL club Hawthorn, did not pick his words wisely in 2008 when he claimed rivals Geelong ‘lacked the mentality to defeat Hawthorn in big games’. He would live to regret those words, as Geelong went on to win the next 11 games between the sides, stretching from the 2008 AFL Grand Final to the 2013 Preliminary Final.