Curse of the Black Sox Curse of the Black Sox The Curse of the Black Sox/Curse of Shoeless Joe (1919–2005) was a superstition or "scapegoat" cited as one reason for the failure of the Chicago White Sox to win the World Series from until . As with other supposed baseball curses, such as the crosstown Chicago Cubs' Curse of the Billy Goat, or the Boston Red Sox' Curse of the Bambino, these "curses" have been publicized by the popular media over the course of time. The White Sox were dealt a severe blow in 1919 by the Black Sox scandal, with several star players being
Curse of the Bambino the St. Louis Cardinals, the team to whom they had lost in and , and led throughout the series, winning in a four-game sweep. Cardinals shortstop Édgar Rentería, who wore the same number as Ruth (3), hit the final out of the game. Glenn Stout argues that the idea of a "curse" was indirectly influenced by antisemitism, although that aspect was not part of its modern usage; he even says "This does not mean that ... anyone who writes or speaks of the Curse today -- as a journalist or a fan -- is either anti-Semitic or even remotely aware