Superstition in American baseball
The
Curse of Coogan's Bluff
(also known as the
Curse of Eddie Grant
) (1958?2010) was a
baseball-related superstition
that allegedly prevented the
San Francisco Giants
Major League Baseball
franchise from winning the
World Series
following the club's
move
from
New York City
to
San Francisco
after the conclusion of the 1957 season. The curse began when upset Giants fans in the
New York metropolitan area
placed a hex on the relocated franchise. The curse proved true in the World Series of 1962, 1989, and 2002. It ended when the Giants won the
2010 World Series
in their fourth World Series appearance since the move to San Francisco.
Background and origin of the curse
[
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]
Although the actual curse began in 1958, the story goes back to 1918 when
Eddie Grant
was killed while fighting in World War I. The team honored him with a commemorative plaque on the center field wall at the
Polo Grounds
(which was located on a piece of land in New York called "Coogan's Bluff," so named for its owner/developer,
James J. Coogan
).
[1]
While the franchise was based in New York, the Giants won five World Series titles, with the longest drought between titles being 21 years. The last championship as the New York Giants came against the
Cleveland Indians
in
1954
, notably featuring
Willie Mays
' famous
catch
in Game 1.
In the 1950s, Giants' owner
Horace Stoneham
began to consider moving the team to another city while needing a new stadium to replace the crumbling Polo Grounds. San Francisco mayor
George Christopher
negotiated with Stoneham, approving the move to San Francisco starting with the 1958 season. The approval caused the upset Giants fans to storm the field during the last home game before the relocation, stealing the Eddie Grant plaque and losing the team identity.
[1]
[2]
Following the move, upset Giants' fans in New York allegedly placed a hex on the
San Francisco Giants
, claiming the franchise would never win the World Series while based in San Francisco.
[3]
Many believed all of the team's good luck is in New York.
[4]
World Series appearances during the curse
[
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]
During the 50 years after placing the alleged Curse of Coogan's Bluff, the Giants made three World Series appearances and lost each time, twice in a deciding Game 7. In 1962, the Giants tied for first place in the
National League
, then won a three-game playoff against the
rival
Los Angeles Dodgers
with a dramatic comeback in the 9th inning of the third game to win the National League pennant. But in Game 7 of the
1962 World Series
, against their former crosstown
rival
New York Yankees
, down 1?0 and with runners on second and third,
Willie McCovey
hit a sharp line drive, and the ball was caught by Yankees' second baseman
Bobby Richardson
to end the game and the Series.
In the
1989 World Series
, the Giants were swept by another
San Francisco Bay Area
team, the
Oakland Athletics
. The 1989 Series was infamous for the
large earthquake
that struck the San Francisco Bay Area, delaying Games 3 and 4 of the World Series by 10 days. In the
2002 World Series
against the
Anaheim Angels
, the Giants led 3 games to 2 heading back to Anaheim for Games 6 and 7, but the Giants lost the last two games for their third World Series loss since moving to San Francisco. In Game 6 of that Series, the Giants held a commanding 5?0 lead with starting pitcher
Russ Ortiz
on the mound heading into the 7th inning. However, the Giants allowed the Angels to score 6 unanswered runs in the 7th and 8th innings for one of the greatest comebacks in World Series history. The Giants lost Game 7 (and the Series) the next day 4?1.
Within the same timeframe, the Dodgers, who had only one World Series win in Brooklyn (
1955
), had much better luck in Los Angeles, winning in
1959
,
1963
,
1965
,
1981
and
1988
; they would go on to win a sixth in their current city, and seventh overall, in
2020
.
The end of the curse
[
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]
In 2001, historian and author Mike Hanlon suggested to Giants owner
Peter Magowan
to have a new plaque to be installed at AT&T Park (now named
Oracle Park
) in an effort to end the curse. In 2006 the development of the new plaque began but took two years due to problems of production. In 2008 the Eddie Grant plaque was installed on the tower at right field.
[2]
The installation of the plaque would prove fortuitous for the team's chances of winning the championship. In 2010, the Giants won the division after passing the
San Diego Padres
for the
NL West
division lead on the final day of the season. The Giants qualified to play in the World Series after defeating the
Atlanta Braves
in the
National League Division Series
and the
Philadelphia Phillies
(who made back-to-back World Series appearances in the previous year) in the
National League Championship Series
. The Giants defeated the
Texas Rangers
in five games to win the
World Series
championship for the first time since moving to San Francisco in 1958, thus ending the 52-year Curse of Coogan's Bluff. Following their 2010 championship, the Giants would win two more world championships in the next four years?in
2012
and in
2014
. All three championships were won away from San Francisco.
See also
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References
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City-wide curses
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Miscellaneous
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