Great-great nephew of William Sianis happy with Cubs’ first World Series title in 108 years

ADELAIDE’S Dimi Sianis lives thousands of kilometres from Chicago but the 70-year curse that had plagued the city’s luckless baseball team, the Cubs, is in his blood.

Dimi Sianis is a great-great nephew of William Sianis, the man who put the “Curse of the Billy Goat” on the Chicago Cubs baseball team in 1945. The curse lasted for 71 years until the Cubs won their first World Series since 1908 this month. Picture: Campbell Brodie.

ADELAIDE’S Dimi Sianis lives thousands of kilometres from Chicago but the 70-year curse that had plagued the city’s luckless baseball team, the Cubs, is in his blood.

The “Curse of the Billy Goat” haunted Cubs fans and became part of sporting folklore after baseball’s 1945 World Series.

Supposedly, the owner of Chicago’s Billy Goat Tavern, William Sianis, put a hex on the team, saying “them Cubs, they ain’t gonna win no more”, after he was asked to leave its home ground, Wrigley Field, because his pet goat Murphy’s stench was bothering other supporters.

The Cubs went on to lose that World Series and had not reached baseball’s biggest stage again until this year.

Yesterday, Dimi – a great-great nephew of William Sianis – followed scores on a phone from work in Adelaide, Australia as the Cubs ended the curse by winning their first World Series title since 1908.

Despite his family starting the curse, Dimi is a Cubs fan and is happy they beat Cleveland Indians 8-7 in the final game of the best-of-seven series.

“(The family link to the Cubs) is the main reason I support them,” Dimi, 24, said.

“I was a bit nervous and thought they were going to lose (game seven).

“I’m relieved that the curse is over.”

The origin of the “Billy Goat Curse” - Billy Goat Tavern owner William Sianis with his pet goat Murphy at Wrigley Field during the 1945 World Series.

Dimi was born in Australia but learnt about his family’s part in the Cubs’ history as a youngster.

“To find out my family was the one who started it was quite interesting,” he said.

“We’re famous for the wrong reasons.

“As I got into high school I started learning about it and reading up more and more about it.”

Dimi has relatives that live in Chicago, including a few who are still affiliated with the Billy Goat Tavern.

Some Chicago-based family members went to games at Wrigley Field during the World Series but they have occasionally copped stick from Cubs fans for being relatives of the man who started the bad luck streak.

Over the years, Cubs supporters had tried a host of ways to try to end the curse, including taking goats to Wrigley Field and inviting priests to splash holy water on the ballpark’s dugout.

“They’ve tried to end the curse so many times through lots of methods so to end it is good for the locals over in Chicago and all the Sianis’s over there,” Dimi said.

“The family in Chicago will soak it up.”

Originally published as Great-great nephew of William Sianis happy with Cubs’ first World Series title in 108 years