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Murphy's Ticket: The Goofy Start and Glorious End of the Chicago Cubs Billy Goat Curse
For 108 years, fans of Chicago Cubs baseball suffered every playofff season, with mishap after mishap each being traced back to 1945 when a friendly goat was kicked out of a World Series game. But the 2016 season felt different. Would this finally be the year that the Billy Goat Curse was reversed? Author Brad Herzog tells the story of the curse's origin and follows the Cubs right through that fateful November night in 2016 when the Cubbies could finally fly the "W."
32 pages, Hardcover
Published July 15, 2017
1 person is currently reading
16 people want to read
About the author
Brad Herzog
80 books45 followersBrad Herzog is the author of more than 50 books for readers of all ages. His children's books include two charmingly illustrated picture books about two of the most inspiring moments in championship sports history -- the 2016 Chicago Cubs World Series triumph (MURPHY'S TICKET, Sleeping Bear Press, 2017) and the 1913 U.S. Open golf tournament (FRANCIS AND EDDIE, Why Not Books, 2013). He has written more than a dozen rhyming alphabet picture books for Sleeping Bear Press, including H IS FOR HOME RUN, S IS FOR SAVE THE PLANET (a finalist in the National "Best Books 2009" Awards) and W IS FOR WELCOME: A CELEBRATION OF AMERICA'S DIVERSITY, which is sold at the Statue of Liberty Pavilion.
Brad is also the author of four critically acclaimed narratives about his travels through small-town America. His first travel memoir, STATES OF MIND (John F. Blair Publishing, 1999), reached #2 on the Amazon.com bestseller list. He followed that with SMALL WORLD (Pocket Books, 2004) and TURN LEFT AT THE TROJAN HORSE (Citadel Press, 2010). DETOUR 2020 (Why Not Books, 2020) is his cross-country chronicle of "America's wrong turns."
As a freelance magazine writer, Brad has been honored several times by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), including a Grand Gold Medal for best feature article of the year. He has been interviewed on "The Today Show" and "Oprah" and has been profiled in publications ranging from People magazine to Reader's Digest. Brad (www.bradherzog.com) lives on California's Central Coast.
Brad is also the author of four critically acclaimed narratives about his travels through small-town America. His first travel memoir, STATES OF MIND (John F. Blair Publishing, 1999), reached #2 on the Amazon.com bestseller list. He followed that with SMALL WORLD (Pocket Books, 2004) and TURN LEFT AT THE TROJAN HORSE (Citadel Press, 2010). DETOUR 2020 (Why Not Books, 2020) is his cross-country chronicle of "America's wrong turns."
As a freelance magazine writer, Brad has been honored several times by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), including a Grand Gold Medal for best feature article of the year. He has been interviewed on "The Today Show" and "Oprah" and has been profiled in publications ranging from People magazine to Reader's Digest. Brad (www.bradherzog.com) lives on California's Central Coast.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
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November 26, 2017Picture book of the history of the Billy goat curse from start to finish. My daughter told me that even though this is years below anyone's reading level, we "have" to get it. I thought that this book written by Cubs fans put their 108 years between championships into a historical context for kids, both Cubs fans and non fans alike. This shows that no matter one's reading level, it is at times refreshing to immerse oneself in a picture book. Highly enjoyable.
April 28, 2018
Read and reviewed for School Library Journal (issue 2017-09-01):
K-Gr 4—Most baseball and sports fan will know about the history-making win of the Chicago Cubs at the 2016 World Series, but do they know that the "Lovable Losers" were once believed to be cursed? The story of Murphy the Goat and the billy goat's curse is the stuff of legends in the Second City, but even those familiar with the details will be enthralled by the rollicking rhymes describing the fateful events that brought on the curse. Fans will become believers all over again as they read about season after dreadful season. Told in three alternating rhymed quatrains per page and peppered with North Side jargon, the narration is well executed. This title adds to Herzog's repertoire of successful sports offerings (2004's H Is for Home Run: A Baseball Alphabet). Whimsical full-page illustrations inject pain into the team's woeful times and revelry into their fortunate ones, providing an old-fashioned feeling throughout the tale. VERDICT A grand slam of an ode to the Chicago Cubs. Consider wherever sports and underdog stories are popular.
K-Gr 4—Most baseball and sports fan will know about the history-making win of the Chicago Cubs at the 2016 World Series, but do they know that the "Lovable Losers" were once believed to be cursed? The story of Murphy the Goat and the billy goat's curse is the stuff of legends in the Second City, but even those familiar with the details will be enthralled by the rollicking rhymes describing the fateful events that brought on the curse. Fans will become believers all over again as they read about season after dreadful season. Told in three alternating rhymed quatrains per page and peppered with North Side jargon, the narration is well executed. This title adds to Herzog's repertoire of successful sports offerings (2004's H Is for Home Run: A Baseball Alphabet). Whimsical full-page illustrations inject pain into the team's woeful times and revelry into their fortunate ones, providing an old-fashioned feeling throughout the tale. VERDICT A grand slam of an ode to the Chicago Cubs. Consider wherever sports and underdog stories are popular.
September 10, 2017
Herzog, Brad Murphy’s Ticket: The Goofy Start and Glorious End of the Chicago Cubs Billy Goat Curse, illustrated by David Leonard. PICTURE BOOK. Sleeping Bear Press, 2017. $17.
It was 108 years from one World Series win for the Chicago Cubs to the next. Was it because of the curse laid on them by “Billy Goat” Sianis when his goat Murphy wasn’t allowed into the game? Maybe.
In this case, the rhyming text works fairly well. It never feels stretched to the breaking point, even though it doesn’t follow a predictable stanza and meter pattern. Fans of the Cubs will, of course, lover reliving those fretful years and the victory that finally was theirs.
EL – ADVISABLE. Cindy, Library Teacher
https://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2017...
It was 108 years from one World Series win for the Chicago Cubs to the next. Was it because of the curse laid on them by “Billy Goat” Sianis when his goat Murphy wasn’t allowed into the game? Maybe.
In this case, the rhyming text works fairly well. It never feels stretched to the breaking point, even though it doesn’t follow a predictable stanza and meter pattern. Fans of the Cubs will, of course, lover reliving those fretful years and the victory that finally was theirs.
EL – ADVISABLE. Cindy, Library Teacher
https://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2017...
October 21, 2017
Along the lines of "Casey at the Bat" this is a poem for baseball lovers that tells the story of Billy Sianis and his pet goat Murphy and one of sport's longest and most famous curses. The Chicago Cubs had a 108 year losing streak. They simply could not win a World Series. Stanza by stanza the story unfolds culminating in the 2016 World Series game which the Cubs won...46 years to the day Billy Sianis died. There is a fun fact page at the end, and charming water color illustrations.
May 28, 2020
So funny so silly... a perfect children’s baseball book with history, stats, curses, superstition and the heartbreak of being a fan. All things you need to know about the game if haven’t played it. Read this then go...”Play Ball!”
July 17, 2017
This is precious. It is all verse, with darling illustrations. This will probably be the book I use in my classroom for the 2016 Cubbies. Highly recommended.
August 25, 2017
LOVED it. Go Cubs Go!
September 1, 2017
Very cute illustrations and told in a sweet rhyme. Best for Chicago natives, baseball fans, or both.
Go Cubs Go!
Go Cubs Go!
October 2, 2017
Go Cubbies, go!
December 15, 2017
A nice ode to the 2016 World Series winners - the Cubbies
March 11, 2018
A perfect gift for Cubs' fans of all ages.
September 26, 2018
This book is adorable! What a cute way to teach the next generation of Cubs fans about the curse.
July 10, 2020
Cute story in rhyme with pictures.
October 6, 2021
This was fun and I'm certainly not a sports guy. Never knew anything about the supposed curse. This lays it out pretty clearly and includes fun facts.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews