Murphy: Billy Goat Curse: Or, how the Chicago Cubs won the 2016 World Series

By Stanley Phillips

Murphy: Billy Goat Curse - Or, how the Chicago Cubs won the 2016 World Series
(This short story can also be found in Sports Legends - Or how the Chicago Cubs won the 2016 World Series)

"Them Cubs, they ain't gonna win no more." In 1945, when Frain's army of ushers heard those infamous words, they had no idea that Murphy, 'the goat, ' placed the curse on the Cubs and not his owner Billy Sianis.

By 2016, the Chicago Cubs had not been to a World Series since 1945. Some say it was due to the "Billy Goat Curse." Unbeknownst to them, the only way for the curse to be lifted was for someone to apologize to Murphy for being tossed out of Wrigley Field during the fourth game of the 1945 Fall Classic.

Even those who might fantasize about the curse being waged over a silly insult to a goat had to realize there was no way to break the curse. Murphy had been dead for many years, and why would anyone apologize to a dead goat?

Someone took pity on the poor Cub fans' plight from somewhere far beyond this earth. In the spirit of "Fair Play," Murphy, armed with the power of speech, is forced to leave his place of rest to return to the world of the living. He is to lift the curse in time to allow the Cubs during the Fall Classic. Otherwise, he will be allowed to return to his resting place.
Problems arise when Murphy declares he will not lift the curse unless he gets an apology. Murphy goes to the Billy Goat Tavern in Chicago without earthly assistance. There, he meets Daniel, a troubled young man who doesn't know how to better himself.

Right from the start, Murphy and Daniel butt much to the distress of Sara, the young man's wife. Thinking her husband has gone mad, she leaves him alone, hoping he will straighten himself out. She has no idea that Murphy is not an ordinary goat.

In the end, Murphy and Daniel work out their differences to arrive at a happy conclusion for all concerned in this delightful tale.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B09V2NMB34
• ISBN13: 9798429797083
• Release Date: March 2022
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 128 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 6.0" x 9.0"