The Curse of Billy Penn

Over an Irish dinner of shepherd's pie and a pint of stout, Adam and Matt gave me the lowdown on the 'The Curse of William Penn'. Even though the curse ended on October 29, 2008 (one year ago today) it's a cute story to share.

A statue of William Penn (the city founder) was placed on top of City Hall during construction between 1871 and 1901. Builders intended it to be the highest point ever reached in Philly and it was until 1987.

Before that, Philly was the proud home of victorious sports teams like the Flyers who won Stanley Cups in 1974 and '75 and the Eagles triumphant 3 NFL Championships between 1948 and '60.

But as soon as Liberty One was erected, a building surpassing William Penn by almost 450 feet, the curse began. The curse goes like this; Philly would have the worst sports record in the nation so long as Penn's view of his city was obstructed. And so it went that no city went longer without a professional sports win than Philadelphia.

That is until this time last year. Last October 29th, the Philadelphia Phillies were dancing in the streets and knocking over cars. It was game 5 in the World Series against the Tampa Bay Rays and Utley just faked a throw to first so that he could take out Bartlett at home. It was the tipping point for the Phillies and Billy Penn's curse fell all 548 feet.