Curse of Billy Penn

The Curse of William Penn (supposedly begun in March 1987) is an alleged curse sometimes used to explain the failure of professional sports teams based in the American city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to win championships in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.

Related Topics:
March - 1987 - Curse - American - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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Perched atop the City Hall building at Broad and Market Streets in Center City Philadelphia is a statue of William Penn, founder (and namer) of the city, and original proprietor of the then-British colony of Pennsylvania (meaning "Penn's Woods"). By tradition — although not by law — no building in the city could ever rise above this statue; however, in March 1987, a glass skyscraper, known as One Liberty Place, was opened for business approximately three blocks away. It dwarfed the City Hall building, exceeding its height by a whopping 397 feet (121m), reaching 945 feet (288m) compared with the latter's 548 feet (167m). Its sister scraper, Two Liberty Place, rising to 848 ft (258m), would soon follow.

Related Topics:
City Hall - William Penn - British - Colony - Pennsylvania - Tradition - March 1987 - Skyscraper - One Liberty Place - Two Liberty Place

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Philadelphia sports teams had, up until then, enjoyed an admirable run of recent success, as in 1980 Major League Baseball's Philadelphia Phillies had won the World Series, the NHL's Philadelphia Flyers had won back-to-back Stanley Cups in 1974 and 1975, and the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers had won the championship in 1983.{{fn|1}} In fact, prior to 1980, the Phillies had appeared in only two other World Series, in 1915 and 1950.

Related Topics:
1980 - Major League Baseball - Philadelphia Phillies - World Series - NHL - Philadelphia Flyers - Stanley Cup - 1974 - 1975 - NBA - Philadelphia 76ers - 1983 - 1915 - 1950

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Following the opening of One Liberty Place, Philadelphia's franchises commenced a pattern of narrow failures to win a championship: The Flyers have lost in the Stanley Cup finals twice since the skyscraper's construction (in 1987 — a mere two months after One Liberty Place opened — and again in 1997), the Phillies lost the 1993 World Series to the Toronto Blue Jays, the 76ers lost the 2001 NBA Finals to the Los Angeles Lakers, and the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles lost Super Bowl XXXIX to the New England Patriots.

Related Topics:
1987 - 1997 - 1993 World Series - Toronto Blue Jays - 2001 - Los Angeles Lakers - NFL - Philadelphia Eagles - Super Bowl XXXIX - New England Patriots

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In addition, losses in conference finals have occurred seven times since the opening of One Liberty Place, including four by the Flyers, in 1989, 1995, 2000 and 2004. The 2000 team was one win away from a Stanley Cup Finals appearance, leading the New Jersey Devils 3-1 before losing three straight, and in 2004, the Flyers lost Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals to the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Eagles accounted for the other three conference final losses; they lost the NFC Championship Game (the winner of which meets the winner of the AFC's corresponding game in the Super Bowl) three years in a row from 2002 to 2004, thus becoming the first NFL team to do this in either conference since the Dallas Cowboys of 1980-1982, losing the last two at home after posting the best record in the NFC. No other team in NFL history has lost back-to-back conference title games at home since the NFL began its practice of awarding home-field advantage in postseason games based on regular-season record in 1975.

Related Topics:
1989 - 1995 - 2000 - 2004 - Stanley Cup - New Jersey Devils - Tampa Bay Lightning - Super Bowl - 2002 - Dallas Cowboys - 1980 - 1982 - 1975

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The curse appeared to have manifested itself again on December 19, 2004. The Eagles clinched home-field for the NFC playoffs, but wide receiver Terrell Owens suffered a fractured fibula and a severe ankle sprain which was expected to end his season. Even so, the Eagles won the NFC Championship Game 27-10 over the Atlanta Falcons, breaking their three-game NFC Championship losing streak. However, the Eagles lost 24-21 to the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXIX on February 6, 2005, despite Owens returning for the game. Donovan McNabb threw three interceptions after having had only eight in the entire regular season, yet never gave up, throwing for three TDs and over 350 yards in the air.

Related Topics:
December 19 - 2004 - Terrell Owens - Atlanta Falcons - New England Patriots - Super Bowl XXXIX - February 6 - 2005 - Donovan McNabb

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The curse is sometimes also extended to include the saga of Philadelphia-based thoroughbred race horse Smarty Jones, who saw his bid for horse racing's Triple Crown evaporate when he finished second in the 2004 Belmont Stakes after registering decisive victories in both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, including having beaten the Belmont winner, Birdstone, by 15¼ lengths in the Derby.

Related Topics:
Thoroughbred - Smarty Jones - Horse racing - Triple Crown - 2004 - Belmont Stakes - Kentucky Derby - Preakness Stakes - Birdstone

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The curse, however, does not seem to affect Philadelphia's minor league hockey franchise, the AHL's Philadelphia Phantoms, who won their second Calder Cup championship trophy in 2005, nor the Philadelphia Wings of the National Lacrosse League, who have won six titles since 1989.

Related Topics:
AHL - Philadelphia Phantoms - Calder Cup - Philadelphia Wings - National Lacrosse League

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While several more skyscrapers have sprung up since Liberty Place's construction, it should be noted that all of the offending buildings stand to the west of City Hall, and that Billy Penn's statue faces northeast. As local sentiment goes, Penn may not be pleased, but at least his view of the Delaware River (where he and the Quaker settlers originally landed) is still unobstructed. Currently, construction is underway for what would become Philadelphia's largest edifice, the Comcast Tower, expected to be completed in 2007. Interestingly, Comcast-Spectacor, a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation, is the owner of two of the city's sports franchises, the Flyers and the 76ers. Such is likely to give the curse an added spin for years to come.

Related Topics:
Delaware River - Quaker - Currently - Comcast-Spectacor - Comcast Corporation

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