TheCurse of Coogan's Bluff (also known as theCurse of Eddie Grant) (1958–2010) was abaseball-related superstition that allegedly prevented theSan Francisco GiantsMajor League Baseball franchise from winning theWorld Series following the club'smove fromNew York City toSan Francisco after the conclusion of the 1957 season. The curse began when upset Giants fans in theNew York metropolitan area placed a hex on the relocated franchise. The curse proved true in the World Series of 1962, 1989, and 2002. It ended when the Giants won the2010 World Series in their fourth World Series appearance since the move to San Francisco.
Although the actual curse began in 1958, the story goes back to 1918 whenEddie Grant was killed while fighting in World War I. The team honored him with a commemorative plaque on the center field wall at thePolo Grounds (which was located on a piece of land in New York called "Coogan's Bluff," so named for its owner/developer,James J. Coogan).[1] While the franchise was based in New York, the Giants won five World Series titles, with the longest drought between titles being 21 years. The last championship as the New York Giants came against theCleveland Indians in1954, notably featuringWillie Mays' famouscatch in Game 1.
In the 1950s, Giants' ownerHorace Stoneham began to consider moving the team to another city while needing a new stadium to replace the crumbling Polo Grounds. San Francisco mayorGeorge Christopher negotiated with Stoneham, approving the move to San Francisco starting with the 1958 season. The approval caused the upset Giants fans to storm the field during the last home game before the relocation, stealing the Eddie Grant plaque and losing the team identity.[1][2] Following the move, upset Giants' fans in New York allegedly placed a hex on theSan Francisco Giants, claiming the franchise would never win the World Series while based in San Francisco.[3] Many believed all of the team's good luck is in New York.[4]
During the 50 years after placing the alleged Curse of Coogan's Bluff, the Giants made three World Series appearances and lost each time, twice in a deciding Game 7. In 1962, the Giants tied for first place in theNational League, then won a three-game playoff against therivalLos Angeles Dodgers with a dramatic comeback in the 9th inning of the third game to win the National League pennant. But in Game 7 of the1962 World Series, against their former crosstownrivalNew York Yankees, down 1–0 and with runners on second and third,Willie McCovey hit a sharp line drive, and the ball was caught by Yankees' second basemanBobby Richardson to end the game and the Series.
In the1989 World Series, the Giants were swept by anotherSan Francisco Bay Area team, theOakland Athletics. The 1989 Series was infamous for thelarge earthquake that struck the San Francisco Bay Area, delaying Games 3 and 4 of the World Series by 10 days. In the2002 World Series against theAnaheim Angels, the Giants led the series 3–2 heading back to Anaheim for Games 6 and 7, but the Giants lost the last two games for their third World Series loss since moving to San Francisco. In Game 6 of that Series, the Giants held a commanding 5–0 lead with starting pitcherRuss Ortiz on the mound heading into the bottom of the seventh, and were six outs away from the championship going into the bottom of the eighth despite having their lead cut to two. However, the Angels successfully completed their rally in the bottom of the eighth for one of the greatest comebacks in World Series history. The Giants lost Game 7 (and the Series) the next day 4–1. The Giants’ 2002 World Series collapse was considered another manifestation of the curse by fans and San Francisco media.[5]
Within the same timeframe, the Dodgers, who had only one World Series win in Brooklyn (1955), had much better luck in Los Angeles, winning in1959,1963,1965,1981 and1988; they would go on to win three more in2020,2024, and2025, their ninth overall.
In 2001, historian and author Mike Hanlon suggested to Giants ownerPeter Magowan to have a new plaque to be installed at AT&T Park (now namedOracle Park) in an effort to end the curse. In 2006 the development of the new plaque began but took two years due to problems of production. In 2008 the Eddie Grant plaque was installed on the tower at right field.[2] The installation of the plaque would prove fortuitous for the team's chances of winning the championship. In 2010, the Giants won the division after passing theSan Diego Padres for theNL West division lead on the final day of the season. The Giants qualified to play in the World Series after defeating theAtlanta Braves in theNational League Division Series and thePhiladelphia Phillies (who made back-to-back World Series appearances in the previous year) in theNational League Championship Series. The Giants defeated theTexas Rangers in five games to win theWorld Series championship for the first time since moving to San Francisco in 1958, thus ending the 52-year Curse of Coogan's Bluff. Following their 2010 championship, the Giants would win two more world championships in the next four years—in2012 and in2014. All three championships were won away from San Francisco.