Many examples of what is known as a “treaty curse” can be found in ancient Christian and Hebraic texts, where those who break an oath or covenant are damned with a malediction. One illustration of this idea is Esarhaddon, king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, threatening those who betray him by stating, “[May] your days be dark, your years be dim” and “May a foreign enemy divide your spoil.”
Which brings us to the story of the “Curse of the Bambino.”
On Dec. 26, 1919 (102 years ago Sunday), the Boston Red Sox made the controversial and eminently regrettable decision to sell Babe Ruth -- one of the great sports heroes in American culture and the so-called “Bambino” -- to the New York Yankees.
Many dim years followed for the Boston ballclub.
