Pedro Oliveira
To continue the celebration of Friday the 13th at JefeBet, in this article we are going to introduce the main ghosts that have been haunting the world of sports to this day, or at least that is what has been reported in the establishments they inhabit.
The origin of these ghosts could be due to the fact that they were figures in the team’s past, or it could simply be a matter of fate. Without further ado, here are the spooky creatures that still roam the stadiums and surrounding areas today.
Sports Phantoms: Eddie Plank – Pittsburgh Pirates
Plank, a member of the MLB Hall of Fame, retired from baseball in 1917 and died in 1926, after an extraordinary career that included 326 victories as a pitcher and making him the first left-handed pitcher in history to achieve the 300-win mark. It is said that at certain times of the year, sounds similar to those of pitching and catching balls can be heard in the home where he died, in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. These sounds occur at distances similar to the pitching mound and catcher’s position in the major leagues, but within the same house.
After Plank’s death, other members of the household verified this, and the idea of Eddie Plank still preparing to get a pitching job is, to be honest, fairly amusing.
Sports Phantoms: Owen Hart – Wrestling
Owen Hart was a professional wrestler who was tragically killed while performing at the WWF’s Kemper Arena in Kansas City in 1999. The accident occurred during Hart’s descent into the ring, where he broke free of the harness too soon and suffered injuries in his 24-meter fall that would later cause his death. Since then, the city’s media have been convinced that Owen’s ghost haunts the arena.
Employees at the facility have made remarks that appear to support the local media’s theory, claiming to have seen Hart in the stadium stands wearing his Blue Blazer costume, which he was wearing at the time of his death. The same witnesses also allege that the same rope from which Hart descended came loose at random times, accompanied by light failures that happened at the same time.
Sports Phantoms: George Gipp—University of Notre Dame
The soccer star of the University of Notre Dame died of severe pneumonia, which by the 1920s was not an easy condition to treat. Being the sensation of the campus at the time, it seems that his presence was destined to inhabit the campus for the rest of eternity. Students began reporting weird sounds during the night and even random trumpet notes that occurred at the same times within months after his death.
Years later, rumors would grow that Gipp was the cause of the paranormal activity at the Fighting Irish’s college, with students reportedly seeing him on a white horse on the stairs where he supposedly contracted the disease that ended his life. Not only that, but there has been speculation of Gipp making appearances on campus, including the stages and sets of Washington Hall.
As far-fetched as this may sound, such a tradition must be respected and considered, to the extent that perhaps The Gipper will continue to inhabit the University of Notre Dame.
Sports Phantoms: Bobby Layne – Detroit Lions
Bobby Layne was an extremely important quarterback to the Lions during the 1950s. However, at the age of 31, the team’s administration decided it was time to get rid of its star to better equip themselves for the future: this added to the fact that he was sidelined for the whole 1957 season due to a leg injury. For these reasons, Layne was traded in 1958 to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Of course, Layne wasn’t happy about any of this, and told the media that the Lions “wouldn’t be able to win anything for the next 50 years”. Those remarks have remained true to this day, despite the fact that the fifty years that encompassed Layne’s curse have passed.
Detroit has been and continues to be in 2022 one of the worst teams in the entire NFL, and they haven’t come close to reaching a Super Bowl since their last official win in 1957. This seems to be gaining more traction than the curse that fell on the Chicago Cubs (the Billy Goat curse) back in the day.
Sports Phantoms: Pfister Hotel—Milwaukee Brewers
Although the origin and rationale for this story seeming true are unknown, numerous testimonials from MLB players back it up. According to several professionals, not only players, you can hear noises in the hotel, in addition to feeling a strange vibe. People also report having been visited by the ghosts that inhabit the hotel, the main one being the founder of the hotel, Guido Pfister, who founded it in 1893.
According to reliable sources (Trevor Plouffe) Yadier Molina always avoided the hotel when playing against the Brewers. Furthermore, Ji Ma-Choi claims to have had a true experience with a ghost, and other coaches have stayed up all night to avoid going to their rooms because of the hotel’s reputation of being haunted. This has caused quite a stir in Milwaukee, and we’re not sure if it provides the Brewers an advantage every time they play at home, or if it merely becomes an urban legend by the end of the series.
