Phillies Break the Curse of William Penn

The curse of William Penn was a superstition many Philadelphia sports fans believed in, until the Philadelphia Phillie's won the World Series on October 29. The curse of William Penn began in March of 1987 with the construction of One Liberty Place, which would tower over Philadelphia's City Hall. A bronze statue of William Penn stands tall on top of City Hall, representing the land which he was granted. "In the 1800s, when Philadelphia’s City Hall was built, and atop, a statue of William Penn was placed, overlooking his city. At that time, the city’s forefathers decided, by gentleman’s agreement, that no building would ever be built in the city that would overshadow — be taller — than City Hall." (http://blog.scoop0901.net/politics/philly-break-curse-of-the-william-penn-statue/ ). To accommodate the growing city, contractors began constructing buildings taller than City Hall since there was technically no legal agreement restricting them from doing so. Shortly after the completion of One Liberty Place, its sister building began its construction. From that point on, Philadelphia was struck with the William Penn Curse, leaving several sports teams unable to win a championship title until two months ago when the Phillie's defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 4-3. "It was among the wackiest endings in baseball history, a best-of-seven series turned into a best-of-3 1/2 showdown when play resumed in the bottom of the sixth inning tied at 2" (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/29/phillies-win-the-world-se_n_139108.html). Philadelphia fans can only hope that this 'curse' has truly ended, and will only lead to more Championship victories for Philadelphia teams.