Friday the 13th part XII

[Give My Regards]

Looking for anything to counteract this year's Lynah jinx (2-5-5 at home, yeek!), I offer Cornell's dominance in games played on Friday the 13th.

Since the opening of Lynah Rink in 1957, the Big Red has posted a 10-1 record in games played on Friday the 13th:

3/13/70        6-5        vs Harvard, ECAC Semifinal (Boston)
3/13/81        4-3        vs Colgate, ECAC Semifinal (Boston)
1/13/84        1-3        Boston College
2/13/87        5-4(OT)    at Dartmouth
11/13/87       6-2        at Army
1/13/89        3-2(OT)    at RPI
3/13/92        4-3(2OT)   vs Clarkson, ECAC Semifinal (Boston)
11/13/92       5-4        Princeton
2/13/98        3-1        Vermont
3/13/98        5-4        at RPI, ECAC First Round
11/13/98       7-2        at Harvard

Given this streak, we might have been better off taking on Yale tonight rather than Princeton... oh, well.  (and yes, I noticed that just three of these games were at Lynah, including the only loss)

[jtwcornell91]

When did we stop having a #13?  Can we credit our success (so far) to that? :-D

[Chris \'03]

I seem to remember hearing that Hornby wanted 13 when he was a freshman, but they wouldn't give it to him.

[jkahn]

I hadn't really though about it before, but there were no #13's during my era.  
There must have been more superstition back then.  When I was a kid the baseball announcers always made a big deal about Bill Tuttle of the Tigers being the only player in the league wearing number 13.

[Ack]

Being a baseball player/fan/addict, everything in baseball is superstitious: step on the chalked lines when you're running onto the field and you're done for, never cross bats, rally caps, etc (sure there's this in all the sports), the number 13 is a scary one....

[dss28]

Kinda like how they refuse to sell tickets in box five for Phantom....

[cornelldavy]

Along those lines, Claude Lapointe is the only Flyer to ever wear #13 in the team's history (aside from a guy who played a total of 14 games in two seasons in the early 80s and didn't even wear 13 for all of those games). You can see that he hasn't had the best fortune since joining the team and putting on #13.

[Jeff Hopkins \'82]

Actually, there've probably were next to no #13's in the NHL until the Soviet players started defecting.  Apparently 13 is less of an unlucky number there.

JH

[adamw]

In baseball, the Latin players are the ones who mainly started wearing 13.

[Jeff Hopkins \'82]

e.g. Dave Concepcion (I was a Reds fan in the '70s).

JH

[Big Red Dog]

13 isn't unlucky at all in many other countries...in fact, I'm almost positive that 13 is a lucky number for the czechs and probably for others as well, and 17 is the european equivalent of our 13.

[dss28]

Anyone know the origins of these superstitious numbers?

[Rick \'71]

The explanation I've heard is that 13 is considered an unlucky number because that's how many people were at the Last Supper.  However, I'm sure there are many other equally fascinating explanations as well.

[jtwcornell91]

Rick '71 wrote:
The explanation I've heard is that 13 is considered an unlucky number because that's how many people were at the Last Supper.

And specifically that Judas was the 13th.

[Josh '99]

John T. Whelan '91 wrote:
And specifically that Judas was the 13th.

"Yea, yea, so you say.  But one who sits amongst us has already betrayed me this night."
"Who?"
"Who?"
"Who?"
"Who can it be?"
"JUDAS!"
"Ah!"
"Do you want a beverage?  Try the mulled wine, it's terrific!"