Curse of Ike
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Researched by Christof
The New York Yankees have won 26 World Series Championships in their long and illustrious history. The Yankees, however, have not won a World Series title with a Republican sitting in the White House since 1958. Hence, the infamous Curse of Ike has affected the Yankees. The following chart shows World Series appearances for the Yankees since 1958:
Year WS Winner WS Loser President Party 1958 NY Yankees MIL Braves Eisenhower Republican 1960 PIT Pirates NY Yankees Eisenhower Republican 1961 NY Yankees CIN Reds Kennedy Democrat 1962 NY Yankees SF Giants Kennedy Democrat 1963 LA Dodgers NY Yankees Kennedy Democrat 1964 STL Cardinals NY Yankees Johnson Democrat 1976 CIN Reds NY Yankees Ford Republican 1977 NY Yankees LA Dodgers Carter Democrat 1978 NY Yankees LA Dodgers Carter Democrat 1981 LA Dodgers NY Yankees Reagan Republican 1996 NY Yankees ATL Braves Clinton Democrat 1998 NY Yankees SD Padres Clinton Democrat 1999 NY Yankees ATL Braves Clinton Democrat 2000 NY Yankees NY Mets Clinton Democrat 2001 ARI D-backs NY Yankees Bush Republican 2002 FL Marlins NY Yankees Bush Republican
As the above chart shows, the New York Yankees are 0-5 in World Series appearances with a Republican President since 1958. On the other hand, the Yankees are 8-2 in World Series during a Democratic Presidency. In addition, this chart shows that the Yankees have played in twice as many World Series during Democratic Presidencies than in Republican ones since 1958. The Yankees have a .800 winning percentage in the World Series they played in under Democratic control, but have been shut out from glory in Series held under the Republicans.
An additional fact: since 1958, there has been 28 years of a Republican living in the White House and 20 years of a Democrat residing at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Therefore, there is a 50% of the NY Yankees playing in the World Series when a Democrat is President, while on the hand; the Yankees only have an 18.5% chance of making it to the Fall Classic with a Republican President.
The Curse of Ike is not well known, but as one can see, it has had substantial impact on the New York Yankees organization.
