“One night after a loss, we headed to the tavern to lick our wounds and gargle a few beers. After a while, Sam brought a goat in for a drink. The goat smelled pretty bad and Mike kept feeding the goat $1 bills. Then someone hands Mike a $10 bill and the goat eats it. Just a couple minutes later, the goat lets loose with a fusillade of pellets on Mike’s shoes. Seeing this, Sam yells from behind the bar, ‘Hey, Mike. He gave you change.'” – Tim Weigel from the book “A Chicago Tavern” –http://tinyurl.com/jsv7elt
The original Billy Goat Tavern on Madison had always been a hangout for sports writers, journalists, and photographers covering Chicago Stadium events. So when the tavern moved to Michigan Avenue it was naturally nestled between the major Chicago newspaper companies. A journalist’s hangout, it inspired numerous columns from some of the greats like Mike Royko, Dave Condon and more. If there ever was a museum dedicated to Chicago newspaper journalism it would start by looking like the Billy Goat Tavern.
Kup’s Column featuring the goat’s ticket from the 1945 World Series:
Mike Royko’s softball team celebrates in the VIP Room:
And the Curse of Murphy the Billy Goat lives on for another year:
Mike Royko was a fiercely devoted 16-inch softball player and team sponsor. He describes playing for the team his father’s tavern sponsored as one of his “great thrills in life”. After his death, Royko was inducted into the Chicago 16-inch Softball Hall of Fame.
“And I tell ya. The Pulitzer Prize doesn’t even compare.” – Mike Royko describing his home run in a memorable softball game.
