Greek diaspora legend Sam Sianis, one of Chicago’s most famous tavern owners of all-time, has died at the age of 91. The restaurant announced that he passed away peacefully in his sleep Friday morning surrounded by his loving family.
Sam Sianis’ fascinating American success story and William Sianis’ famous “curse”
William “Billy Goat” Sianis rose from being a penniless shepherd in the hills around Tripoli in southern Greece to becoming the founder of the Billy Goat Tavern, which would grow into a fixture of Chicago folklore. His larger-than-life personality and marketing flair helped turn the tavern—and the “Billy Goat” name—into a lasting part of the city’s cultural mythology.
The family legacy would later be carried on by relatives such as Sam Sianis, who helped maintain the tavern’s prominence for decades after. By 2022, the brand had expanded to include several Billy Goat Taverns in the Greater Chicago area, at O’Hare Airport, and even in Washington DC.
Born in 1895 in the Peloponnese, William “Billy Goat” Sianis, an ancestor of Sam Sianis, emigrated to the United States in 1912. He taught himself English by reading newspapers, and his first jobs included delivering them in Chicago. Sianis soon became a devoted Chicago Cubs fan and eventually purchased the Lincoln Tavern across from Chicago Stadium, where the Chicago Blackhawks played.
According to legend, Sianis repaid the debt for the tavern after a baby goat fell from a truck just outside the building. He decided to adopt the goat as a pet and named him “Murphy.” Sianis became Murphy’s number one fan and somewhat of a goat aficionado, which led him to rename his bar “The Billy Goat Inn.”
It was in 1945, when Sianis decided to bring his cherished pet, clad in a jaunty Cubs jersey, to the World Series game at Wrigley Field where the Cubs were playing, that brought him everlasting fame.
As security staff stopped Sianis from taking his “smelly goat” into the stadium, the Greek angrily declared before all who were within hearing distance: “The Cubs ain’t gonna win no more! The Cubs will never win a World Series so long as the goat is not allowed on Wrigley Field.”
The Cubs lost that World Series, and the so-called curse lingered for decades until the team finally won another championship 71 years later in 2016. William Sianis’ words echoed across America, and what became known simply as “The Curse” went down in sporting history, becoming a touchstone of the nation’s cultural life.