View source for Curse of Billy Penn

{{Short description|Philadelphia sports curse}}
{{Original research|date=November 2022}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}}
[[Image:Phila City Hall Twilight2.jpg|thumb|[[Philadelphia City Hall]] with the statue of [[William Penn]] in the tower's top]]
The '''Curse of Billy Penn''' (1987–2008) was a [[Sports-related curses|sports-related curse]], [[urban legend]], and [[Sports-related curses|popular explanation]] for the failure of major [[Sports in Philadelphia|Philadelphia professional sports teams]] to win championships following the March 1987 construction of the [[Liberty Place|One Liberty Place]] skyscraper, which exceeded the height of [[William Penn (Calder)|William Penn's statue]] atop [[Philadelphia City Hall]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Does the Curse of Billy Penn Continue to Haunt Philadelphia?|date=June 12, 2007|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB118165107120832442|first=Jim|last=Chairusmi|newspaper=[[The Wall Street Journal]]}}</ref> For decades prior to the construction of One Liberty Place, there had been a [[gentlemen's agreement]] in place to ensure that no building in [[Philadelphia]] would be permitted to be higher than the [[William Penn]] statue atop [[Philadelphia City Hall]].<ref>{{cite video|publisher=Fox Sports|title=Major League Baseball on Fox: Game 5 of 2008 World Series|date=October 29, 2008}}</ref>

The curse ended on October&nbsp;29, 2008, when the [[Philadelphia Phillies]] won the [[2008 World Series]], a year and four months after a statuette of the William Penn figure atop City Hall was affixed to the final beam during the June 2007 topping-off of the [[Comcast Center (office building)|Comcast Center]], which made it the highest building structure in the city at the time.<ref name="TallestBuilding">{{cite web|last=Matza|first=Michael|title=Lifting the curse of William Penn|date=October 22, 2008 |work=philly.com|url=http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/20081022_Lifting_the_curse_of_William_Penn.html|access-date=2009-01-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081203105408/http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/20081022_Lifting_the_curse_of_William_Penn.html|archive-date=2008-12-03}}</ref>

==Origins==
Atop [[Philadelphia City Hall]] stands a statue of [[William Penn]], the city founder and original proprietor of the colonial-era [[Province of Pennsylvania]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Appleby|first=J Ph.D.|year=2005|title=The American Vision|publisher=Glencoe|page=75}}</ref> For decades, a "gentlemen's agreement" stated that the Philadelphia Art Commission would approve no building in the city which would rise above this statue.<ref>{{cite video|publisher=Fox Sports|title=Major League Baseball on Fox: Game 5 of 2008 World Series|date=October 29, 2008}}</ref> This ended in March&nbsp;1987, when a modern steel-and-glass [[skyscraper]], [[One Liberty Place]], opened three blocks away. One Liberty Place is taller than City Hall by {{convert|397|ft|m}}, rising {{convert|945|ft|m}} in height compared to the height of Penn's hat on City Hall, {{convert|547|ft|m}}. Its sister skyscraper, [[Two Liberty Place]], at {{convert|848|ft|m|abbr=on}}, followed in 1990.

Philadelphia sports teams had previously enjoyed a run of success in the years prior to the construction and opening of One Liberty Place. [[Major League Baseball]]'s [[Philadelphia Phillies|Phillies]] won the [[1980 World Series]] and the [[1983 National League Championship Series|1983 National League pennant]]; the [[National Hockey League]]'s [[Philadelphia Flyers|Flyers]] won back-to-back [[Stanley Cup]]s in {{scfy|1974}} and {{scfy|1975}}, and appeared in the finals in {{scfy|1976}}, {{scfy|1980}}, {{scfy|1985}}, and {{scfy|1987}}; the [[National Football League]]'s [[Philadelphia Eagles|Eagles]] appeared in [[Super Bowl XV]] following the 1980 season, losing to the [[Oakland Raiders]]; and the [[National Basketball Association]]'s [[Philadelphia 76ers|76ers]] swept the [[1983 NBA Finals]], as well as making the finals in {{nbafy|1977}}, {{nbafy|1980}}, and {{nbafy|1982}}. Before 1980, the Phillies had appeared in only two other World Series, in {{wsy|1915}} and {{wsy|1950}}, and the Eagles had won no [[National Football Conference|NFC]] conference championships since the 1966 agreement that had created the Super Bowl, while the 76ers won NBA titles in both Philadelphia and in their previous incarnation, the [[Syracuse Nationals]]. The [[Villanova Wildcats men's basketball|Villanova Wildcats]] won the [[1985 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament]] in one of the most famous upsets in sports history.

Construction on One Liberty Place began in 1985, two years after the last championship season in Philadelphia.

==Philadelphia sports since curse's inception==
=== Major-league sports===
[[Image:Phila.jpg|thumb|The skyline of [[Philadelphia]] from [[Citizens Bank Park]] in 2004 with [[William Penn]]'s statue visible in the right and much taller skycrapers, including [[One Liberty Place]], on the left]]
{{nowrap|After One Liberty Place}} opened, Philadelphia's franchises began a pattern of failures to win a world championship. The [[Philadelphia Flyers|Flyers]] lost the [[Stanley Cup Finals]] twice, in {{scfy|1987}} to the [[Edmonton Oilers]] in seven games (although the Oilers were heavily favored), two months after One Liberty Place opened, and in {{scfy|1997}}, in a four-game sweep by the [[Detroit Red Wings]] which was considered a collapse as the Flyers had home-ice advantage and had dominated the previous three playoff series en route to meeting the Red Wings. The [[Philadelphia Phillies|Phillies]] upset the [[Atlanta Braves]] to win the NLCS, but then lost the [[1993 World Series]] in six games to the [[Toronto Blue Jays]], with the Series ending on [[Joe Carter]]'s [[Walk-off home run|walk-off]] 3-run home run. The [[Philadelphia 76ers|76ers]] lost the [[2001 NBA Finals]] to the [[Los Angeles Lakers]] in five games, although the defending champion Lakers were favored despite the Sixers having league MVP [[Allen Iverson]]. The [[Philadelphia Eagles|Eagles]] lost three straight NFC Championship games from the 2001 through 2003 seasons, before reaching [[Super Bowl XXXIX]] after the 2004 season, only to lose to the [[New England Patriots]] by three points.

In fact, the only years that Philadelphia's franchises reached their league's championship round after One Liberty Place opened were years of [[United States presidential inauguration|presidential inaugurations]], except for the Flyers in 1987,<ref name="Philadelphia">{{cite news |last=Warren |first=Ken |date=June 2, 2010 |title=Two cities that could use a cup |page=B3 |work=[[Ottawa Citizen]] |url=https://ottawacitizen.newspapers.com/clip/112618214/two-cities-that-could-use-a-cup/ |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |access-date=November 5, 2022}}</ref> and losses during such years date back to the 76ers loss in {{nbafy|1977}}.<ref name="Philadelphia"/> When the [[Philadelphia Flyers|Flyers]] played for the [[2010 Stanley Cup Finals|2010 Stanley Cup]], ''[[Ottawa Citizen|The Ottawa Citizen]]'' reported that the main reason for that lengthy championship drought was because the only years the city's teams played for championships during that time were years [[United States presidential inauguration|presidents were inaugurated]].<ref name="Philadelphia"/> The city's teams had lost championships during such years, beginning with the 76ers themselves in {{nbafy|1977}}.<ref name=Philadelphia/> The exceptions during this period were the Phillies in {{wsy|1983}} and the Flyers in {{scfy|1987}}.<ref name=Philadelphia/>

In addition, losses in semifinal rounds had occurred ten times since the opening of One Liberty Place. Five of these semifinal eliminations were by the Flyers, in [[1989 Stanley Cup playoffs|1989]], [[1995 Stanley Cup playoffs|1995]], [[2000 Stanley Cup playoffs|2000]], [[2004 Stanley Cup playoffs|2004]] and [[2008 Stanley Cup playoffs|2008]]. The 2000 team was one win away from a [[2000 Stanley Cup Finals|Stanley Cup Finals]] appearance, after leading the eventual champion [[New Jersey Devils]] 3–1 before losing three straight (including Games 5 and 7 at home), the 2004 team lost Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals to the eventual champion [[Tampa Bay Lightning]], and the 2008 team lost to their cross-state rival [[Pittsburgh Penguins]] in five games. The Eagles accounted for the other three conference-final losses; they lost the [[National Football Conference|NFC]] Championship Game (the winner of which meets the winner of the [[American Football Conference|AFC]]'s corresponding game in the [[Super Bowl]]) three years in a row from {{nfly|2001}} to {{nfly|2003}}, thus becoming the first NFL team to do this in either conference since the [[Dallas Cowboys]] of {{nfly|1980}}–{{nfly|1982}}, losing the last two at home after posting the best record in the NFC. No other team in NFL history had lost back-to-back conference title games at home since the NFL began its practice in 1975 of awarding home-field advantage in postseason play based on regular-season record. The Eagles lost the 2001 NFC Championship game on the road to the St. Louis Rams 29–24, the 2002 NFC Championship game at home to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 27–10, and the 2003 NFC Championship game to the Carolina Panthers 14–3. The Rams and Panthers would both lose to the New England Patriots in [[Super Bowl XXXVI]] and [[Super Bowl XXXVIII]], while the Buccaneers won Super Bowl XXXVII over the Oakland Raiders.

===Other sports===
[[Image:Philadelphia City Hall-zoom.JPG|thumb|The bronze statue of William Penn atop Philadelphia City Hall]]
The curse was also said to have affected [[racehorse]]s from the Philadelphia area, such as the [[Bensalem Township, Pennsylvania|Bensalem-Township]]-based [[thoroughbred]] racehorse [[Smarty Jones]], who saw his bid for [[horse racing]]'s [[Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing|Triple Crown]] disappear when he finished second in the 2004 [[Belmont Stakes]] behind 36-1 longshot [[Birdstone]] after victories in the [[Kentucky Derby]] and [[Preakness Stakes]]. The curse has also been blamed for the death of the thoroughbred horse [[Barbaro (horse)|Barbaro]], who was born and raised in the Philadelphia area and was owned and bred by a couple from [[West Grove, Pennsylvania|West Grove]], a borough right outside Philadelphia. Though Barbaro won the 2006 Kentucky Derby, his leg was dramatically shattered two weeks later during the 2006 Preakness Stake, leading to the horse's death.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Buschel|first1=Bruce|title=Walking Broad: Looking for the Heart of Brotherly Love|date=August 1, 2007|publisher=Simon and Schuster|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GlV6d6iI7hUC&q=barbaro+curse+of+billy+penn&pg=PA210|isbn=9781416546214}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Stamm|first1=Dan|title=The Day That Smarty Jones Failed Us|url=http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/sports/Smarty-Jones-Anniversary.html|access-date=15 October 2015|agency=NBC Philadelphia|date=2009}}</ref>

Although the curse was not generally considered as extending to college sports, two Philadelphia-area college basketball teams, the [[St. Joseph's Hawks]] (in Philadelphia) and the [[Villanova Wildcats]] (in [[Villanova, Pennsylvania|Villanova]]), which had successful seasons in 2004 and 2006, respectively, failed to reach the [[Final Four]] of the NCAA basketball tournament. Both were eliminated in the fourth-round [[Elite Eight]] matches, with St. Joe's, first seed in the East Regional, losing in a close match to [[Oklahoma State]], and Villanova, first seed in the Minneapolis Regional, falling to eventual NCAA-champion [[University of Florida|Florida]]. Villanova won the national championship in [[1985 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|1985]], two years before the Liberty Place opening. A third Philadelphia-area team, the [[Temple Owls]] (in Philadelphia) has also lost five times in the Elite Eight (1988, 1991, 1993, 1999, 2001).

Villanova ended the college basketball drought for the Philadelphia teams with a national championship in [[2016 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship Game|2016]] and 2018.

The curse, however, was apparently not extended to professional teams outside the four major sports. The then–[[Philadelphia Wings (1987–2014)|Philadelphia Wings]] of the [[National Lacrosse League|NLL]] ([[Box lacrosse|indoor]] lacrosse winter league) won six titles between 1989 and 2001, before moving in 2014, and the now-defunct [[Philadelphia Barrage]] of the [[Major League Lacrosse|MLL]], an outdoor summer lacrosse league, won three championships (2004, 2006, and 2007). The [[American Hockey League|AHL]]'s [[Philadelphia Phantoms]], the Flyers' top minor-league affiliate from 1996 to 2009, won the [[Calder Cup]] championship in 1998 and 2005. Additionally, the [[Philadelphia KiXX]] of the [[Major Indoor Soccer League (2001–2008)|MISL]] won their league's championship in 2002 and 2007. The [[Arena Football League|AFL]]'s [[Philadelphia Soul]] won [[ArenaBowl XXII]] in 2008, [[ArenaBowl XXIX]] in 2016, and [[ArenaBowl XXX]] in 2017 before the league folded in 2019. The [[Philadelphia Freedoms]], a tennis team in the [[World Team Tennis]] league, also won titles in 2001 and 2006. One exception was the [[Philadelphia Charge]], a women's soccer team in the now-defunct [[Women's United Soccer Association|WUSA]], which did not win a championship during the three years the WUSA existed, from 2001 to 2003.

==Decoration of Penn's statue==
In spite of the Curse, when Philadelphia sports teams have reached their league's championship round, Penn's statue has sometimes been decorated to support that team's success. After the Phillies won the [[1993 National League Championship Series|1993&nbsp;National League pennant]], for instance, Penn was fitted with an oversized red Phillies baseball cap; when the Flyers went to the [[1997&nbsp;Stanley Cup Finals]], the city adorned Penn with an orange-torso-with-white-shoulders Flyers jersey, representing the Flyers' road jersey.

When the Sixers faced the [[Los Angeles Lakers|Lakers]] in the [[2001&nbsp;NBA Finals]], Penn's statue was not decorated.  [[Pat Croce]], president and part-owner of the Sixers, said he would have "decked out" the statue had the Sixers won but not before.<ref>{{cite journal | first=Bernard J. | last=Scally | date=November 11, 2006 | title=Are Philadelphia sports teams cursed by the city founder? | website=RoxReview.com | url=http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17470917&BRD=1680&PAG=461&dept_id=40301&rfi=6 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930031537/http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17470917&BRD=1680&PAG=461&dept_id=40301&rfi=6 | archive-date=September 30, 2007 }}</ref> Penn's statue was also left untouched when the Eagles went to [[Super Bowl XXXIX]] in [[2004 NFL season|2005]].

==The Curse lifted==
[[File:Players rushing field.JPG|thumb|[[Philadelphia Phillies]] players rush the field at [[Citizens Bank Park]] after winning the [[2008 World Series]]]]
On June 18, 2007, ironworkers helped raise the final beam in the construction of the [[Comcast Center]] at 17th Street and [[Pennsylvania Route 3#Philadelphia|John F. Kennedy Boulevard]] in [[Center City, Philadelphia|Center City Philadelphia]]. In an attempt to end the curse, workers John Joyce and Dan Ginion attached a small figurine of William Penn to the beam, along with the traditional American flag and small evergreen tree.<ref>{{cite news|last=Holcomb|first=Henry J.|title=Comcast Center topped off|url=http://www.philly.com/inquirer/multimedia/8055132.html|newspaper=[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]]|date=June 18, 2007|access-date=June 19, 2007|archive-date=July 8, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090708163004/http://www.philly.com/inquirer/multimedia/8055132.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

After the first William Penn figurine was stolen, it was replaced with a smaller 4-inch figure.<ref name="TallestBuilding"/>

On October&nbsp;29, 2008, the [[Philadelphia Phillies]] won the [[2008 World Series]] in five games against the [[Tampa Bay Rays]], ending the purported curse. It was the first major league professional sports title for the city of Philadelphia since the [[1983 NBA Finals|1983 NBA Championship]]. During the TV coverage of the parade which occurred two days later, Comcast aired an ad congratulating the Phillies which featured the small figurine of William Penn standing at the top of the Comcast Center.

On November 27, 2017, the day of the "topping out" of the new [[tallest building in Philadelphia]], the [[Comcast Technology Center]], ironworkers once again placed a new William Penn figurine atop the building's highest beam in hopes of warding off the curse.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.philly.com/philly/business/comcast/comcast-ironworkers-billy-penn-eagles-nfl-new-tower-20171130.html|title=Ironworkers plant Billy Penn atop new Comcast tower to help Eagles avoid curse - Philly|work=Philly.com|access-date=2018-02-06}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/The-Comcast-Technology-Center-Is-Phillys-Tallest-Building-and-Yes-Theres-a-Mini-Billy-Penn-Up-There-461105383.html|title=Yes, There's a Billy Penn Statue on Philly's New Skyscraper|work=NBC 10 Philadelphia|access-date=2018-02-06|language=en}}</ref>

On February 4, 2018, the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the [[New England Patriots]] in [[Super Bowl LII]] 41–33 to win their first Super Bowl in team history, and first championship since the [[1960 NFL Championship Game]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Wesseling|first=Chris|title=Philadelphia Eagles knock off Patriots, win Super Bowl|url=https://www.nfl.com/news/philadelphia-eagles-knock-off-patriots-win-super-bowl-0ap3000000914459|publisher=National Football League|date=February 4, 2018|access-date=February 5, 2018}}</ref> The Eagles would go on to win their second Super Bowl on February 9, 2025 when they defeated the [[Kansas City Chiefs]] in [[Super Bowl LIX]], 40–22, avenging their loss to the Chiefs in [[Super Bowl LVII]] two years prior and ending the [[United States presidential inauguration|Presidential Inauguration]] Curse.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/super-bowl/eagles-chiefs-score/4104608/|title=Eagles crush Chiefs 40-22 in Super Bowl, stop three-peat|date=February 9, 2025|first=Sanjesh|last=Singh|work=NBC Philadelphia|accessdate=February 9, 2025}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Curse of the Billy Goat]]
* [[Curse of the Bambino]]
* [[Curse of Shoeless Joe]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{YouTube|id=UcdPv0RkQPc|title=Comcast commercial Phillies ended The Curse of William Penn}}
* [https://throwingthings.blogspot.com/2003_01_19_throwingthings_archive.html#88006408 Throwing Things explanation]

{{Navboxes|list1=
{{Philadelphia Eagles}}
{{Philadelphia Flyers}}
{{Philadelphia Phillies}}
{{Philadelphia 76ers}}
{{Sports-related curses}}
}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Curse Of Billy Penn}}
[[Category:Culture of Philadelphia]]
[[Category:Philadelphia 76ers]]
[[Category:Philadelphia Eagles]]
[[Category:Philadelphia Flyers]]
[[Category:Philadelphia Phillies]]
[[Category:Sports in Philadelphia]]
[[Category:Sports-related curses]]
[[Category:Urban legends]]
[[Category:William Penn]]