Do you feel like Toronto is cursed when it comes to sports teams? After the Toronto Blue Jays’ Game 7 World Series loss, it’s pretty hard not to think so.
Toronto’s storied sports teams—the Blue Jays, Raptors, Maple Leafs and the Argonauts have all been victims of this curse at one point or another. But what exactly is this curse all about? And is it really legitimate?
The Toronto sports curse dates back over 100 years, and unsurprisingly, it all started with the Maple Leafs. In the inaugural 1917-1918 NHL season, the team won their first Stanley Cup championship, setting a powerful precedent and already cementing its legacy.
In the following 1918-1919 season, there was no Stanley Cup winner; the championship series was cancelled due to the worldwide flu epidemic. Toronto would go on to win 12 more Stanley Cups over the next 49 seasons. The team’s 13 championships come second only to the 24 championships of their primary rival, the Montreal Canadiens.
The catch? The Leafs haven’t won a Stanley Cup since 1967. Their 58-season drought without a championship is currently the longest in the NHL.
The Blue Jays have suffered a similar fate. Founded as part of the 1977 MLB Expansion, the Jays struggled in their early years, not posting a winning record until 1983.
The late 1980s and early 1990s, under manager Cito Gaston, were wildly successful for the Jays. The team won five American League East Division titles between 1985 and 1993, and back-to-back World Series championships in 1992 and 1993. Toronto’s World Series titles made it the first team outside of the U.S. to achieve this feat.
After the 1993 season, the Toronto sports curse struck again. The 1994 postseason was cancelled due to a labour dispute between the MLB Players Association and Major League Baseball, which led to a strike. This was the first time in 90 years, since 1904, that a World Series was not played. The strike was suspended in April 1995, making it the longest work stoppage in MLB history and the longest stoppage in a major professional sports league at the time.
Once the strike was suspended, the Jays entered a title drought that spanned over 20 years. In 2015, the team won its first AL East Division title in 22 years but was eliminated in the AL Championship Series by the Kansas City Royals.
In 2025, the Jays embarked on a magical postseason run, giving fans the miracle they had been waiting for over a decade. First beating the New York Yankees in five games in the AL Division Series, then the Seattle Mariners in seven games in the ALCS, to face the powerhouse, reigning World Series champions that are the Los Angeles Dodgers. The two teams battled in a back-and-forth affair that spanned seven games before the Dodgers came out on top in a heartbreaking, 11-inning Game 7 loss for the Jays.
The curse strikes again, and the Jays still have not won a World Series title in over 30 years.
The Raptors have notoriously been among the few teams to break the curse. Established in 1995, the Raptors experienced a similar fate to the Jays in their early seasons, plagued by poor performance and injuries.
Fortunately, their woes did not last long. When shooting guard Vince Carter was traded to the Raptors, the team found glory. Carter captured the hearts of Torontonians with his athleticism, leaping ability and slam dunks—earning him nicknames such as Air Canada and Vinsanity.
As his tenure with the Raptors came to a close, Carter was at the center of controversy, leading him from beloved to booed. In 2004, Carter was traded to the Brooklyn Nets amid another period of struggle for the Raptors.
By the 2010s, the Raptors were on the rise, winning six division titles in seven years. In 2019, the team won its first NBA Championship. Toronto was flipped upside down, partying nonstop and celebrating its first major sports title since Toronto FC’s MLS Cup title in 2017.
However, nine months later, the curse struck again. In March 2020, the NBA announced the suspension of the 2019-20 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, following Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert’s positive test.
While the NBA season eventually resumed later in 2020, bringing with it the infamous NBA bubble, many attribute the delay to the infamous Toronto sports curse.
The Argonauts won the CFL’s Grey Cup in 2024, but before then, many fans thought the Argos were cursed as well.
Founded in 1873, the Argos have had a history of losing games in frustrating, perplexing ways, as well as winning them in lucky ways. At some point during the 1930s, the phrase “Argo Bounce” came to refer to the team’s tendency to receive a fortunate bounce of the football. Between 1914 and 1952, the Argonauts won the Grey Cup 10 times. Unfortunately, after Argos’ victory in 1952, the team entered a 31-year drought, one of the darkest periods in franchise history. The curse was finally lifted in 1983, when the Argonauts won against the B.C. Lions.
Even women’s professional leagues are not safe from the Toronto sports curse. The Toronto Sceptres haven’t won a Walter Cup yet, despite making playoff runs over the last two years.
The newly established AFC Toronto, as part of the NSL, posted the best regular-season record and won the first-ever Supporters’ Shield. The team dominated the playoffs and reached the inaugural NSL finals against the Vancouver Whitecaps. Unfortunately, they were defeated 2-1, showing that the curse knows no bounds.
Whether there’s a genuine curse or it’s all just pure coincidence, Toronto fans need another championship win soon—before they all go crazy!