In 1908, the Chicago Cubs won their second World Series. During this time, William Howard Taft became the 27th President of the United States, ABC and NBC didn’t exist, and the National Football League was nowhere in sight.
108 years later, the Cubs won their third World Series and the city of Chicago now swims in champagne. This victory is what Cubs fans have been dreaming about for more than a century.
What is also so special about this triumph is the fact that the Cubs were down 3-1 against the Cleveland Indians before coming back to win it all in the 10th inning by one run. The last time a team came back to win the World Series after being down 3-1 was in 1985 when the Kansas City Royals rallied to beat the St. Louis Cardinals.
The Chicago Cubs aren’t the only team in MLB history to be down 3-1 and win the World Series. Other honorable mentions include the 1925 Pittsburgh Pirates who came back to beat the Washington Senators 9-7, the 1968 Detroit Tigers comeback over the St. Louis Cardinals and the 1958 New York Yankees who won the last two games of the series on the road to beat the Milwaukee Braves.
Probably the most familiar and more recent 3-1 comeback was by the Cleveland Cavaliers in mid-June against the Golden State Warriors. This NBA championship ended the city of Cleveland’s sports drought, which lasted 52 years. After their victory, the Cavaliers (and many others) heckled the Warriors for their inability to capitalize on their 3-1 lead.
However, because the Indians also blew a 3-1 lead to the Cubs, fans of Golden State can now wreak havoc with joke after joke.
It is interesting to note that two players from the Cavaliers, Lebron James and J.R. Smith, were at Progressive Field when the Cubs beat the Indians, leading skeptical fans to believe that their presence might have been a jinx on the team. This event further solidifies the statement, “what goes around, comes around.”
Despite karma being a possibility for Cleveland’s defeat, Chicago was coming off a crushing victory over Cleveland in Game 6 going up 7-0 at the top of the third and eventually tripling the Indians points at the end of the game with a score of 9-3. This caused them to gain momentum for Game 7 and not let the “Curse of the Billy Goat” get them.
The curse was supposedly placed on the Cubs by Billy Goat Tavern owner William Sianis after being asked to leave Wrigley Field during game 4 of the 1945 World Series.
Like the Cubs, the Indians haven’t won a World Series in a long time meaning this final game was crucial for both teams.
Before the game, Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon discussed with reporters how both teams had droughts, in regards to the two teams winning the World Series, and stated: “it’s just correct and apt that we’d go seven games.”
Before the top of the first extra inning, the infamous tarp was placed over the diamond due to rain. Many believe that this delay assisted the Cubs in winning the World Series, allowing them to regroup. After the rain subsided, Ben Zobrist, who was the World Series MVP and is the Cubs’ left fielder, stepped up to the plate with runners on 1st and 2nd base with one out.
With a 2-2 count, he hit a grounder to left field, causing pinch-runner Albert Almora to score and Zobrist to receive a RBI double. This single play ultimately led to the Cubs’ victory and many people in Chicago to scream “I ain’t afraid of no goats,” which are a play on words from Ray Parker Jr.’s most famous song, “Ghostbusters,” with the lyrics “I ain’t afraid of no ghosts.”
Even original Ghostbusters’ star Bill Murray wasn’t afraid to show his courage to the billy goat, as the Cubs now add another World Series trophy to their case.
