An invention of a
sportswriter named James X. Coleman, of the
Toronto Globe and Mail, in the
1940s. Coleman stated, matter-of-factly, that in
1927,
Chicago Blackhawks coach Pete Muldoon had put a
curse on the team, when Major McLaughlin, the team's then-owner, tried to fire him.
"Fire me, Major, and you'll never finish first! I'll put a curse on the team that will hoodoo it until the end of time!" He was fired, and the curse began.
As bad as the team was at the time of Coleman's column, it was a believable story, and for years, some fans (many fans?) believed it. But the "curse" ended when the Hawks finished in first place, in the 1966-67 season. The team still managed to win three Stanley Cups during the run of the curse.